Why You Don’t Need a Prologue
A prologue is an introductory chapter to a novel and it is the subject of some controversy in the writing world.
Here are some reasons why you don’t need a prologue.
- Prologues can distract from the actual story by providing extraneous detail. If the detail was truly needed, why not include it in the actual story?
- Prologues usually include people, places, and things that are long irrelevant by the time the real story starts, like events from 1000 years ago that somehow still have great bearing on your characters today.
- Prologues are often boring info dumps of historical info or worldbuilding that the author felt must be conveyed to the reader. They don’t, really. Take my word for it.
- Prologues are sometimes used by writers who aren’t ready to jump into the actual story, so they “warm up” in the prologue. Stop warming up and throw your characters into the fire already!
- Prologues can delay the reader from meeting the protagonist (if the protag isn’t part of the prologue). I want to meet the important people in the story as soon as possible, so don’t make me wait.
- Prologues are sometimes tacked on to add a scene of suspense at the beginning of the novel, so the reader knows something scary will be happening later. You don’t need a prologue for that. Give me the foreshadowing in the first few chapters of the book.
- Many readers don’t like prologues and skim through them or skip over them, me included.
Do you think your novel absolutely, positively MUST include a prologue? Try this test– take the prologue out of your manuscript and give the manuscript sans prologue to a fresh reader (someone who hasn’t read your novel or heard any of the details of it from you). If the entire plot still makes perfect sense to that reader, then you don’t need the prologue.
Why You Might Need a Prologue
- You have an event in the distant history of the story that affects the present and including it as a flashback in the story slows down the pacing too much.
- You want to provide a certain character’s viewpoint in the prologue and the rest of the story is in a different character’s viewpoint.
- Your prologue relates to a scene at the end of your story and you want to give the reader reason to keep turning the pages to find the answer to the questions raised in the prologue. (As in… how did the characters get into this awful situation that is in the prologue?)
- Even given these possible reasons to include a prologue, I’d still try to find a way to include the prologue material in the story itself. If it really has to be in the story.
If you’re including a prologue, do your readers a favor–keep it short, self-contained and comprehensible.
What are you thoughts on a prologue as a reader and a writer? Do you use them? Skip them?
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11 comments
SD on August 18, 2009 at 7:45 am
I like to use (very short) prologues when my opening scene is a lot different than what the story will turn into, sort of like “There’s a mystery going on here, people.”
I do try to talk myself into cutting it eventually, but when you start a story, they can be very inspiring.
Cheryl on August 18, 2009 at 7:11 pm
I completely agree. A prologue can be a great way to warm up to writing your story. Just as long as you critically evaluate it after your story is finished to see if you still need it.
Todd Thiner on August 19, 2009 at 11:31 am
do these same rules apply to an epilogue
Cheryl on August 19, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Good question. I would say no. An epilogue is usually a short scene that takes place some time after the end of the book. In the case of a romance, the story ends with the hero and heroine deciding to commit to each other and live happily ever after. I’ve seen epilogues in romance books that depict a short scene a year or two in the future, say at the birth of the first child.
An epilogue seems to work best if there is a story thread that wasn’t firmly finished in the story. The writer jumps to the future and shows the resolution of that thread in the epilogue. On the ones I’ve read, I’ve found them very satisfying, probably because they are answering that final open question.
Jason Black on September 1, 2009 at 6:45 pm
IMHO, prologues work well so long as one critical condition is met:
They contain a compelling hook that propels the reader into chapter 1.
Most of the categories of prologue you list, don’t, and as such you’re right that they shouldn’t make the final manuscript.
But when writers give me a prologue that is, itself, a dramatic and engaging scene? I love that. Why not include it? If it got my attention (and even more so, if it also helped me learn something interesting about the characters), then there’s nothing wrong with this at all.
I have a client who is writing a memoir of her experiences going through paramedic training. She opens with a prologue from when she was seventeen and was involved in a horrible auto accident. Very compelling!
Another client, writing a spy thriller, opens with a prologue that dramatically shows the inciting incident that propels the main characters (who must clean up after this incident) into action.
Those both worked great. Of course, the counter argument is just that in those cases, the author shoud consider renaming the prologue to “Chapter 1″.
.-= Jason Black´s last blog ..How to pick the right point of view for your novel =-.
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Cheryl on September 1, 2009 at 7:11 pm
You’re right, Jason, there has to be a compelling hook in the prologue for it to work. I think that’s where new writers stumble… they don’t know how to make the prologue compelling. The examples you gave from your clients’ work sound very appropriate for the type of book. Those are the prologues I like.
Rebecca on February 27, 2010 at 9:37 pm
I'm using a prologue for my YA novel because an event in distant history affects the present. Now if I can only figure out how to format it in Word…it will not be page 1!
Rachael on December 28, 2010 at 12:00 pm
What if you're beginning the story in the present, but the majority of the story is in the past, i.e. grandma telling her grandkids the story of how she became an actress. Wouldn't we meet the grandma at old age in the prologue, then move into her past in Chapter 1? Then wouldn't you need an Epilogue to bring the reader back to the present, where the grandkids ask her questions? Just curious…
Cheryl Corbin on December 29, 2010 at 10:01 am
Rachael, given your scenario, a prologue makes sense. The story is essentially one large flashback, so you need the prologue to provide context. Nicholas Sparks did something similar with The Notebook.
John D on May 21, 2011 at 1:13 am
My opening chapter is in my antagonist's ( a murderous child) pov, and references my protagonist, who is a child also. Following chapters take my protagonist to adulthood where he comes full-circle to run head-on into the antagonist. Does this make my opening chapter a prologue, or simply chapter one?