How do you feel about prologues, really, I want to know. Love ’em? Hate ’em? Skip ’em til you finish the book and then go back and read them all over again? I’ve heard that many young readers just skip right over a prologue and dive into the book. So what’s a writer to do when you want to set up a scene that happens 12 years before the book takes place and gives the readers clues to figure things out along the way? Some people say they still do a prologue but they call it something else. (I’m playing with that idea.) Some people use lots of flashbacks. (Not fond of that idea myself.) Some people come up with something new. (That’s what I’m working on now.)
So come on, tell me how you feel about prologues, really. I want to know.
Indifferent, really. If they’re short, I don’t even notice one is there–meaning, I’m usually surprised when I turn the page and see “chapter one.”
As a reader I’ve always been pretty indifferent myself. It’s a whole ‘nother story on the other side of the fence. There are times in a book, when I feel confused, and I even go back to see if there was a prologue I’ve missed.
I skip them, and then, if I get to the end of the book and don’t want the book to end, I go back and read the prologue.
ooh…now that’s really interesting…you only go back if it was a good read. Hmm…have you ever read through a book and felt like you were missing an important piece of the puzzle that might be in the prologue?
Can’t say that I have. I guess I’ve always felt that the prologue was like a pre-show or a warm up, and not that integral to the plot.
since you asked…
I’ve never, ever, seen a kid who reads them.
As a parent, and tutor then librarian, I will read the prologue aloud if I feel it is important to the book. (Until then, I myself never read them either!).
To a young reader, something that happened twelve years prior — well, that’s a LIFETIME to them, one reason they sometimes struggle with flashbacks too.
It’s hard, as writers we always want to give that “prestory” information, and I know I haven’t found the right balance either. If you figure it out, we’ll all be happy to learn!
Re: since you asked…
>>I’ve never, ever, seen a kid who reads them.
Wow – great info considering how much contact you have with young readers.
>>To a young reader, something that happened twelve years prior — well, that’s a LIFETIME to them, one reason they sometimes struggle with flashbacks too.
I agree, both that it is a lifetime to the reader and the struggle with flashbacks. I really dislike most flashbacks myself. However I do like to read little snippets of things from the past just before the chapter which is sort of where I seem to be heading with this book.
>>It’s hard, as writers we always want to give that “prestory” information, and I know I haven’t found the right balance either. If you figure it out, we’ll all be happy to learn!
And that’s it, isn’t it? So much of it is info that we, the writer, need to know in order to tell the story. And so much of it is good juicy stuff. I kept trying to rationalize it to my husband last night. “There’s this HUGE crash! And it’s so good and there’s smoke and flames and explosions and it’s SO good.” And as I was talking, I could hear myself trying to convince anyone who would listen that it was okay but as I have learned, as soon as I start to question whether something belongs or not, it’s usually a sign that it doesn’t. Grrr.
I’m mainly a fantasy reader and that genre is big on prologues, so, of course, I like prologues. But, I like them short, 3-5 pages, and sharing a secret the main character doesn’t know. 🙂
Wow – you consider 3-5 pages a SHORT prologue? I love the idea of sharing a secret the MC doesn’t know. That’s what I want to do. But I’m thinking I need to come up with another way.
LOL! Well it is in fantasy. Contemp novels probably should stick with 1 page or a couple of paragraphs. 🙂
I’m totally indifferent. I just read the book. When I open a book and see a prologue instead of chapter 1, I read it with the assumption it’s there for a good reason. I’m always curious about the structure of a book and I think it’s fun when an author tries something a little different.
Good luck and I hope you share with us what you decide to do!
🙂
(BTW, I my WIP has a prologue!)
So someone else who is indifferent. I do think writers read differently than just readers, don’t you? Like you, I love to see the way an author has chosen to put a book together and try and figure out why it does or doesn’t work. I’ll let you know as soon as I figure it out myself. 😉
I’ve used one only once. It was short, dealt with a pivotal event that took place maybe ten- fifteen years before. It was deliberately elliptical and would only make sense when you had completed the book. If you got it, then there was an “oh, yes!” moment. A lot of readers mentioned that. If you didn’t get it, it didn’t matter. My publisher put it in italics.
>> If you didn’t get it, it didn’t matter.
Now that’s interesting. Hmmm.
The way I looked it, the prologue served two purposes. The first was to tease and make the reader want to find out what this whole thing was about. It was a two page mystery in which a lot of questions were raised – who was the running man, why did he hate his sister, what was it that he had stolen from her, and why was there a dog trapped inside a lean-to made out of branches? The actual book starts with the arrival of a Scottish boy in 1801 Upper Canada. All the questions set up in the prologue are answered, eventually. A smart reader might wonder about the dog in chapter two and if there is some link and so one. My second reason for having the prologue is for those canny readers who like to work things out, it provides the back story which they will recognise when they finish reading the book, and things fall into place. The dog in the lean-to is Dog who appears throughout the book, the running man is her brother whom they realise they meet on at least two occasions in the book, and what he stole was her human skin.
I’ve used one only once. It was short, dealt with a pivotal event that took place maybe ten- fifteen years before. It was deliberately elliptical and would only make sense when you had completed the book. If you got it, then there was an “oh, yes!” moment. A lot of readers mentioned that. If you didn’t get it, it didn’t matter. My publisher put it in italics.
I detest prologues that are in “ancient poetry” or go on and on about some historical prophecy or anything like that. Those, i skip. If a prologue catches my attention in the first few lines, i read. Mary Hoffman’s prologue in her first “Stravaganza” book was interesting, but confused the hell out of me until i was done with the book. But at least it was short and easy to read.
I’m not sure what to do with prologues, either. My first book opens with a scene that happens two months prior to the commencement of the story. The scene introduced the characters, the setting and a question that is answered later in the book (i.e. Who is that man?) I’m not sure if it works or not. I get puzzled responses, wondering why it’s even called a prologue. The second book i have a prologue that encapsulates the major plot points from the other MC’s viewpoint. I’ve had complaints that it’s too long and choppy, so i may end up seeding that information into the story as flashbacks – though i am leery of flashbacks. *sigh* Hard choices, i think.
Hard choices indeed. I am tempted to just make it the first chapter, especially as now-a-days a chapter can be just a few pages long. I do wonder though if I did that, if I would need to say that it is 12 years later on the second chapter. I am also very leery of flashbacks. I already have a teen boy who is very introspective and too many flashbacks would really bog this down even more.
I don’t like them because it takes me that much longer to get swept up in the story.
So how do you feel about books that have a few sentences that are set in italics just above each chapter and offer a “bit” of info?
I read a book from the beginning of the book, so I read prologues. However, if they don’t really catch my attention with something interesting and possible cataclysmic, I may not flip to the start of chapter 1, where the real book begins. Meaning that I would put the book down and not buy it.
So, by all means, use a prologue, but be sure it has something very splashy in it. (And, after all, if whatever it is isn’t all that important, I would assume you wouldn’t bother to write it down at all.)
That said, although chapter one of J.K. Rowling’s first book reads like a prologue and acts like a prologue, it is simply chapter one (at least in the US version — I don’t yet own the British editions of the books, although I lust after them constantly). And I’m guessing it’s because Arthur Levine decided that kids don’t read prologues, and might miss out on the important background info in the chapter.
>> I read a book from the beginning of the book, so I read prologues. However, if they don’t really catch my attention with something >>interesting and possible cataclysmic, I may not flip to the start of chapter 1, where the real book begins. Meaning that I would put the >>book down and not buy it.
That’s a good point, Kellie. I want to make sure they BUY the book first.
>>So, by all means, use a prologue, but be sure it has something very splashy in it. (And, after all, if whatever it is isn’t all that important, >>I would assume you wouldn’t bother to write it down at all.)
Same question I asked Cindy above, how do you feel about a few lines above the beginning of each chapter? (Of course I can’t remember any at the moment, but like a journal entry or something?)
Juicy journal entries from the past could be interesting. That appeals to everyone’s prurient interest (face it, everybody has voyeuristic tendencies), so it could work really well, depending on how much, how often, etc.
I read a book from the beginning of the book, so I read prologues. However, if they don’t really catch my attention with something interesting and possible cataclysmic, I may not flip to the start of chapter 1, where the real book begins. Meaning that I would put the book down and not buy it.
So, by all means, use a prologue, but be sure it has something very splashy in it. (And, after all, if whatever it is isn’t all that important, I would assume you wouldn’t bother to write it down at all.)
That said, although chapter one of J.K. Rowling’s first book reads like a prologue and acts like a prologue, it is simply chapter one (at least in the US version — I don’t yet own the British editions of the books, although I lust after them constantly). And I’m guessing it’s because Arthur Levine decided that kids don’t read prologues, and might miss out on the important background info in the chapter.
>> I read a book from the beginning of the book, so I read prologues. However, if they don’t really catch my attention with something >>interesting and possible cataclysmic, I may not flip to the start of chapter 1, where the real book begins. Meaning that I would put the >>book down and not buy it.
That’s a good point, Kellie. I want to make sure they BUY the book first.
>>So, by all means, use a prologue, but be sure it has something very splashy in it. (And, after all, if whatever it is isn’t all that important, >>I would assume you wouldn’t bother to write it down at all.)
Same question I asked Cindy above, how do you feel about a few lines above the beginning of each chapter? (Of course I can’t remember any at the moment, but like a journal entry or something?)
Wow, I thought it was just me. I generally hate them too. Sorry!
Hey, don’t be sorry for having your own opinion!
I remember reading somewhere the a lot of prologues can really just be first chapters. It all depends on your book, I guess – how you feel the story needs to be told.
Yep, I supposed some of this must have to do with the evolution of storytelling. I am thinking prologues were more popular in the past.
I remember reading somewhere the a lot of prologues can really just be first chapters. It all depends on your book, I guess – how you feel the story needs to be told.
I’ve written prologues before but they often end up being cut, the crucial info absorbed into the story and revealed in other ways. My WIP has one — time will tell if it stays. That said, if a book has one, I read it.
>>the crucial info absorbed into the story and revealed in other ways.
I think that is often the case. And perhaps prologues are there for us, the writers, in our early drafts so we can we remember what else we need to weave into the story.
perhaps prologues are there for us, the writers,
I most definitely found that to be the case with one of my stories. For one thing, it gave too much away. But writing it set the tone and, as you said, helped me remember a critical scene which, though it never turned up in the book, coloured much of it.
It depends. I figure it is there for a reason, so I don’t skip over it.
Dedicated reader! Do you finish every book no matter what you think of it or will you let yourself stop partway?
No. I quit reading after a while if a book doesn’t grab me.
I read books from the dedication page to the acknowledgement page (usually the last page, but sometimes I’ve found it in the front). For me, it depends on what’s in the prologue. I agree with others that have stated it has to be catchy, although I’ve never skipped a prologue if it wasn’t new and different. Usually I’ll just wonder until the end what the point of the prologue was in those cases.
On the whole, I like prologues. I like epilogues as well — especially for books that seem to just end.
I read books from the dedication page to the acknowledgement page (usually the last page, but sometimes I’ve found it in the front). For me, it depends on what’s in the prologue. I agree with others that have stated it has to be catchy, although I’ve never skipped a prologue if it wasn’t new and different. Usually I’ll just wonder until the end what the point of the prologue was in those cases.
On the whole, I like prologues. I like epilogues as well — especially for books that seem to just end.
I always read them and I do enjoy them when they add an extra bit of suspense or intrigue to the story.
My novel-in-progress has one. It’s short — a one-page letter that I hope adds a bit of mystery and fun for the reader. Is it necessary to the plot? No. Will my editor take it out? Probably. In the meantime? It’s staying in, because I like it. 🙂
I always read them and I do enjoy them when they add an extra bit of suspense or intrigue to the story.
My novel-in-progress has one. It’s short — a one-page letter that I hope adds a bit of mystery and fun for the reader. Is it necessary to the plot? No. Will my editor take it out? Probably. In the meantime? It’s staying in, because I like it. 🙂
ooh…now that’s really interesting…you only go back if it was a good read. Hmm…have you ever read through a book and felt like you were missing an important piece of the puzzle that might be in the prologue?
LOL! Well it is in fantasy. Contemp novels probably should stick with 1 page or a couple of paragraphs. 🙂
>>the crucial info absorbed into the story and revealed in other ways.
I think that is often the case. And perhaps prologues are there for us, the writers, in our early drafts so we can we remember what else we need to weave into the story.
If it makes the book work, fine
If it is irritating, toss it out
I’m on the fence about prologues, mainly because the I Hate Infodumping! side is at war with We Need This Background! side. I very often skim through prologues, and yet I keep finding myself writing them (including the one in the current novel). So obviously I’m not much help on this question. 🙂
I did learn recently, however, that when an agent / publisher asks for the first three chapters, you send the first three chapters, not the prologue and first two chapters or prologue and first three chapters.
I’m on the fence about prologues, mainly because the I Hate Infodumping! side is at war with We Need This Background! side. I very often skim through prologues, and yet I keep finding myself writing them (including the one in the current novel). So obviously I’m not much help on this question. 🙂
I did learn recently, however, that when an agent / publisher asks for the first three chapters, you send the first three chapters, not the prologue and first two chapters or prologue and first three chapters.