Nowadays, most stories or poems start with a scene from a critical juncture of the story, and then the remaining story is told in the flashback. This trend has now become a common practice among writers. Sometimes, the writer introduces the perception of a third person and then presents the story. Personification is also widely used in a prologue as a writer sometimes tends to dictate the story with the help of an object or substance, and thus they personify it.
It is not considered good practice to give a lot of information in the prologue as it lengthens the prologue and makes the story very dull. It is also crucial to introduce only those parts in the prologue which will take place in the story, as many writers write a prologue to create an atmosphere for the story. Still, the prologue never really comes in the story. Overall, it can be concluded that a prologue is used to introduce a story or poem to a reader.
It is also used to connect a story with its sequel. It is the writer's chance to give some information outside of the normal voice of the story. Details and specifics don't belong in a prologue, it isn't the place for telling the reader that when John was five he squashed a bug. That is what the story is for.
Personally I would say write the prologue once you have finished the rest of the story. Write it to fill in whatever aspects didn't fit in the story. Make it very short, no more than a few hundred words, and work at it like you would the first paragraph.
If at the end of the prologue the reader isn't saying 'wow! I really want to read this book' then you should tear it out and burn it. As for anything else in a work, you must ask yourself: "what is this for?
Everything you put must be there for a reason. So what is the reason for a prologue? Why a prologue and not, for instance, a chapter 1? Why not spread the prologue info in your normal text? Why does my prologue need a separate identity in the narration flow?
I know this is an old question, however there have been more recent replies so I figure it's not terrible of me to add one more on. I'm not a published author yet, as I'm still working on my novel. But I'd like to contribute my opinion as an avid reader. I'm sick of seeing the hate for prologues. I love them, so long as they are gripping and add to the story something that is necessary. It depends entirely on each individual story whether or not a prologue is needed.
For some it is, for others it's not, and genre comes into play here too. Someone else in these replies gave a pretty good Do and Don't list. You would do well to follow it. There are other good lists like that if you Google it, as well. I have never skipped a prologue personally, and frankly the people who do are the lazy ones. It's not laziness on the writer's part.
That's just a ridiculous accusation coming from someone who doesn't know how to write a good prologue themselves. I can't understand why anyone would skip prologues as a rule Or fast forwarding the first minutes of a movie.
You're only going to be confused throughout the rest of the story, or you'll be asking questions that were probably already addressed in the prologue, but you were too impatient to read it.
I'm honestly surprised they would even bother to read a whole book at all if they're too lazy to even read a prologue. A well thought out prologue takes as much work and care as every other chapter in a story. They're probably going to do a very lazy job or just be generally nasty people to work with. If you think of it like that, keeping a prologue means you can weed out the less desirable publishers and agents, haha. As for length, there's no set limit.
However, If your prologue is even longer than the average length of your chapters, you may want to think about what you can cut out or disperse throughout those main chapters instead. As much as I love a good prologue, even I would find one upwards of 10k or more a bit too wordy. Personally, I would try at least not to exceed 5k words with k being ideal, though ironically my current novel has a 7k word prologue It's still a rough draft, so the length may be subject to change.
So it really is a case by case basis. Don't let other authors dictate to you that you shouldn't have a prologue if you feel your story needs one. Length is as subjective as the necessity of prologues themselves, but a good rule of thumb is that it should probably not exceed the average length of your main chapters, and in fact is best off being a bit shorter than them.
Since your question is years old, I hope you were able to finish your novel and maybe even publish it by now. Happy writing! Prologues are very common in the fantasy genre. It's a good way to introduce different elements of your world to the reader. Those are stories where you need to start with the action almost right away and preferably start with relevant action.
However, for historical thrillers, prologues are common as well, because they start with something that happened a long time ago to set the stage for the rest of the book. In my opinion, prologues shouldn't be more than a few pages book pages, that is. That's enough time to get some important information down, but not so much as to wear the reader out and think "good grief, when's the darn story going to start?! That's about a fifth of a book. Personally, I'd say keep a prologue under 5 or 6 pages; also, instead of using the prologue to introduce the main story, use it as an interesting way to introduce the setting and set the tone for the rest of the story.
Let me use one of my personal stories as an example. I'm writing an adventure fantasy story, that I want to read similar to a fairy tale. So I've written the prologue like this "Many people say, that Fairy tales are nothing more then stories for small children. Some meant to teach, other to scare. But those people are wrong. Magic exists; and most fairy tales happen right under your nose. Try to keep a prologue simple. Use as few words as possible. Like one of the commentators already said, they, want to get right to the main story.
So make the path to that story as short, and easy as possible. As to whether or not you should do a prologue in the first place, it all depends on the story. You might get halfway through writing something, only to realize that the information in the prologue is better explained through elements of the main story and vise versa. I have prologues in two of my manuscripts. They conform to all the 'good' reasons enumerated above. So what? I'm not ambitious with my writing but I'd hate to be scratched from consideration automatically over a decision to use the word Prologue Prologues are good for the author's purposes fleshing out your backstory , but consider whether the reader needs to know it.
Many agents and publishers immediately throw a manuscript aside when they see the word "prologue" at the opening. This is because quite often, what we write in a prologue is actually backstory that is more for the author's sake than the readers. I have a friend who wrote nearly , words of backstory. He could have included a lot of it in a prologue, but he opted not to because it isn't something the readers need to know.
Unless the prologue is absolutely, completely critical to the story and nothing would make sense unless it's included, it might be better to cut it. If you do need a prologue - for instance to show something that happens outside of your protagonist's point of view - it should be written with great care. Make it as short as possible to get your point across. If your prologue is longer than an average chapter in your book, that's a red flag. If your prologue is a couple thousand words of essential information, that's ok.
Obviously, there is no definitive rule on how long a prologue can be. If I were you, I would approach a prologue with caution. Usually the first chapter sets the tone, style and themes of the text. So what impression is it giving the reader about the method of storytelling used by the author? Prologues are not that common and may be misunderstood. Does the reader know that they are supposed to read it before chapter 1?
They might confuse it with a 'Forward' and skip it, thinking that it is irrelevant rubbish. Forwards are more common than prologues and are full of uninteresting trivia about the authors career and associates and stuff. If your going to have a prologue, I think you could make it as long as half a chapter if you wanted.
However, just make sure that its length is properly offset by how "Intensely Interesting" it is. I am also looking to create a major moment of tension that the reader will want to see resolved as the book progresses. Finally, my prologues function as a kind of metaphor for the story as a whole. One to five pages should suffice. A prologue generally happens outside the main plot line.
You can use a point of view different from that of the main character or seek the aid of an omniscient narrator. The latter can become an effective tool in opening a story. Prologue: First, the river. Mountain wash of snowmelt through granite, past fir, larch, red cedar, and pine. And then the car, sun-bit to ruddy red, following the highway that parallels the river, matching it curve for curve. Here is how Barnes opens the first chapter of the same novel: The druggist waited, whistling, looking out the window, nodding to each person who passed along the Main Street of Fife.
It was early, the bank not yet open. The warming September wind wafted through the door seams. A prologue raises questions and is often imbued with conflict, none of which will be immediately resolved.
The transition is the most difficult, and I often polish and tweak the few pages of a prologue more than I do any other set of pages in the book. Not all stories should have prologues, and in fact, probably very few of them are served well by them. Although a prologue has benefits, some readers skip them, deeming them optional, and plunge straightaway into the first chapter. Some industry professionals, too, frown upon prologues.
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