Bisky's Twitterling's Scribbles! discussion

Are you a fan of prologues? Why or why not? What benefits or disadvantages are there to starting your book with a prologue? Can you think of any well known examples to support your view?

I just wrote a blog about this, so if I may I'll just copy and paste what I posted (hope that's okay--and no, I'm not a fan of prologues unless they're used ideally):

Why do authors think prologues are necessary? They're not. I see a few authors using them constantly (one in particular) in every book, and they read as chapters, but that's not what they're for. Prologues are to be used sparingly. A prologue is meant to bridge a gap. Writers shouldn't use them all the time--they're not essential to every single story. Prologues are not meant to be used as chapters--call them Chapter One if you do that, not Prologue! Here, read this: What Is A Prologue?

A prologue is used mainly for two reasons.

To outline the back story quickly and economically, saving the author from having to resort to flashbacks or ruses such as conversations or memories to explain the background to the reader. This is commonly done in science fiction and fantasy to show why a certain quest is being undertaken or what will happen in the future. The prologue is a better option than a first chapter bogged down in detail.

To hook the reader and provide the story question right up front, giving them a reason to keep turning the pages to find out the answer. Quite often the prologue relates to a scene near the end of the story, and the story itself then shows what has led up to this moment. When is this justified? Perhaps when you want to introduce your characters in a more leisurely fashion, and your reader's experience with 'meeting' them will be enhanced by some sort of foreshadowing of what is to come.

Prologues can be pretty nifty when they aren't used to info dump or used to post some irrelevant information. I don't always use a prologue, but in my current project I do. I use a prologue and a epilogue to show things that the main character did not witness, but the MC does hear about things connected to those events. The entire story is in first person perspective, so it gives me a chance to explore some other characters as well. The main thing to remember when writing a prologue is to include another hook in your first chapter. There are a lot of readers who will skip the prologue.

I'm a great fan of them if, as Nicole says, they're done for the two reasons she outlines. I've used them in two books and wasn't doing them for any particular reason; they just seemed necessary to start the book that way. Fortunately, I now realize, I did them for the right reasons.

I also like them because they tend to be short and really provocative -- like a great query letter -- to lure you into the book if you're skimming the first few pages at a bookstore.

A Prologue can be extremely tedious, especially in historical fiction where the author feels the need to fill the reader in on background, who's who etc. But if the author or rather author-narrator is dead . . . well, you need a prologue.

I like 'em.

Would I would always use one? Probably not.

They need to be short and sweet.

I would think in this day of eBooks where people are likely to check a sample before buying, it would be more prevalent than ever. You want people to know the tone of your writing from the get go without touching on every element or a huge amount of information.

If, like in David's example above, you feel the prologue is tedious, you're likely to think the rest is also.

I would rather someone know what they're expecting of my writing upfront rather than later on find that it wasn't for them and give a poor/no review.

I like them when they suit the story. Sometimes I want a prologue to give a taste of what's going on, whet the appetite if you will. If such a hint is not necessary, I go straight to the first chapter. But when I do use a prologue, it's me saying to my reader: "Here's the kind of story you're in for, now let's get started."

I use them only if I need them, otherwise...

Each book is different. In my series, book I has a prologue, but book II does not--it wasn't necessary.

That's true enough. In my book one of the Sorceress (which I'm editing now) there's a prologue but in Book 2, like yours Karey, there's none. I guess it just depends on the writer. And the story.

I've skipped prologues, read the story & then went back and read the prologue. Seems there are times when it makes more sense AFTER the story's been read.
*shrug*

Not a fan of prologues UNLESS the first chapter is a bit boring and needing to layout the story. Then a prologue can be used prior to the first chapter to "hook" the reader before going into all those icky details in the first chapter that make the story fabulous in the end.

Using a prologue to jump right into the story instead "chapter 1" doesn't make any sense and just looks dumb.