I get quite a lot of questions about whether prologues are necessary, whether agents frown or smile at them, and whether they should be included in partial requests.
So consider this a post on all things prologue.
UPDATED 5/30/19
What’s a prologue?
What is a prologue? Typically it is 3-5 pages of introductory material that is written while the author is procrastinating from writing a more difficult section of the book.
Ah, I’m kidding.
It’s usually a scene that’s separate from the main plot of a novel that provides an introduction, often for atmospheric or tone-setting effect.
The most common question I get about prologues: are prologues necessary?
The prologue litmus test
Personally I think the easiest litmus test is to take out the prologue and see if your book still makes sense.
If you can take out a prologue and the entire plot still makes perfect sense, chances are the prologue was indeed written to “set the mood.”
But here’s the thing about mood-setting: most of the time you can set the mood when the actual story begins. Do you really need to set the mood with a separate prologue? Really? Really really?
Sometimes the answer to those four reallys is: “yes, really.” Or the prologue is to be used as a framing device around the plot or to introduce a crucial scene in the backstory that will impact the main plot.
So okay, prologue time.
What makes a good prologue
What makes a good one?
Short, self-contained, comprehensible.
The reader knows full well while reading a prologue that the real story is waiting. A prologue makes a reader start a book twice, because it doesn’t always involve the protagonist, and starting a book is hard because it takes mental energy to immerse oneself in a world. You’re asking more of a reader, so they’ll want to make sure it’s worth it.
As for the more nuts and bolts concern of whether it should be included in partials sent to agents: yes. It should.
Agents want to see the first 30 pages as you want them to send them to the editor. They want to experience your novel as your ultimate reader would. If that involves a prologue… let’s see it.
Do you like when authors use prologues? What makes good ones work?
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Art: In the library by Ludwig Valenta
I’d read in other professional blogs and sites that prologues are a ‘no-no,’ and that they are a sure sign of an amateur. I was made to understand that prologues are unnecessary, and if they contain anything worth reading it should be in the book, not in a prologue. This was distressing to me, since I’ve always enjoyed reading a good prologue. I like the way it sets a mood for the story.
Then, over the last couple of years, I started paying a lot of attention to the books I was reading. I found that about 90% of them had prologues, including some that were represented by the ‘pros’ who said they would never look at one. Go figure. I think you really just have to write what the story needs, and forget about outside opinions. Anyone who says ‘never’ in this business, probably shouldn’t be in this business. The English language has suffered some horrific blows at the hands of artistic best-sellers. So what? I’d take the paycheck. That’s why I’m off to start my next manuscript. Right. Now.
I’ll probably be hanged for saying this, but a prologue is essentially backstory. Why start your book with backstory? If you first page can’t set the tone then you’ve got bigger problems. I’ve never read a prologue that couldn’t have been deleted. Not saying they can’t be entertaining, just saying that you should put all that effort into the first page instead.
I’ve never understood why so many dislike prologues. I’ve seen some good reasons to have them. I love the prologue George R.R. Martin has in his first book of the tremendous Song of Ice and Fire series. It is necessary as a prologue because it doesn’t fit into his normal pattern of each chapter being told from the POV of one of the main characters.
The concept of the prologue has always been an iffy one for me. A prologue can make or break a book. I’d much rather keep the reader interested in why this character is the way s/he is. What happened to his mom? To his brother? Why is she so rebellious, anyway?
I choose not to include a prologue in my works. They take too much away and many find it too much effort to read it.
I believe prologues are good, when they’re not just used as information dumps. Science fiction and fantasy novels are the most at fault for this: writers think they can explain the entire world in a prologue and it only serves to confuse the reader.
I GROAN every time I see PROLOGUE, groan and wince, argh! Why, oh, why?
(In case I was being too subtle: I hate Prologues.)
Leis, I’m with you (hate prologues) and love your sense of humor (“In case I was being too subtle: I hate Prologues.”) I hated the prologues in the Twilight series but those books made me think, “I write better than this,” and so I wrote a 94,000-work novel in 4 months. With a prologue…
Leis, I’m with you (hate prologues) and love your sense of humor (“In case I was being too subtle: I hate Prologues.”) That said, I just wrote a novel and then added a prologue. It sets up so many things in only one page. I hated the prologues in the Twilight series but those books made me think, “I write better than this,” and so I wrote a 94,000-work novel in 4 months. With a prologue…
I read this prologue before and it was so good that it made me want to start reading right away! but if its like a quote before a chapter, I would skip it. I know they take a lot of time choosing the right one, but i’m more interested in the actual story. i think prologues are used to get the setting up maybe let a bit of the future leak out to the reader
I must admit, I am a prologue writer… but before any of you "prologue haters" jump down my throat, just let me say this: I don't write a prolgue for my book unless I deem it absolutely nessesary. And if I use one, I do deem it nessesary.
For instance, in the MS I'm working on currently, the prolgue not only provides backstory (in a sense of action, btw… because I do HATE those prologues that are just aimless thoughts without meaning) but it also has important facts that will be tied into a sequal. I did try to take the prologue out and include the info later, but it didn't work… seriously. And the info was too important to the story to leave it out. So there you go.
But in another book, I do use a frame method, where my MC is several hundred years old (no, not a vampire or anything like that… and not an elf either. *lol*) and she is thinking back on her much younger years. For this particular story, though, it is a very relevent and important fact that the whole story is basically a memory for her… sort of like "Water for Elephants".
I do enjoy reading prologues on occasion… the Prologue to "Eregon" was certainly a hook for me… but it really depends on the writing more than anything else.
So that's my outlook on the subject anyways.
I alway skip the prologue (If the book I am reading has one). If the book was good, I will usually go back and read after I have finished. It's like I am trying to squeeze in that little extra love for the book I didn't want to end.
~2
In my soon to be published novel there is a prologue…the protagonist is motivated her entire life by events of her childhood however the story is actually of her choices in her adult life. So the prologue is one pivotal revelation in her life that reveals her motivation for her behavior. To write her entire childhood story would have made the book too long…at 100,000 it's already lengthy so…oh, and it's a literary romance, if that matters 🙂 Some of it is brought out during the story but the editor thought it needed more so we went with prologue. I think it works.
Breeze
How about starting the novel with a quotation?
And then moving into a prologue?
And then commencing the novel proper with a dream sequence in which the protagonist wakes up, only to discover a moment later that this was itself a dream, and that the protagonist has really been dreaming about having a dream?
In chapter two why not reveal that the whole thing is just a story within a story anyhow, and that what we're really reading about is a person who is writing a novel?
Maybe we could toss in a vampire for good measure?
Or how about a zombie love triangle?
Or better yet – a story about a lawyer/detective who was once a zombie, but has now become a vampire, and is presently dating a werewolf?
I've got a better idea – why don't we all just slit our wrists and hang ourselves… it would be the fastest and the quickest way out.
The Goose.
I think if you write a prologue, it's best to keep in mind that half your readers may skip it.
I read them grudgingly, if at all.
Sebold's "prologue" in THE LOVELY BONES is a ten line, double-spaced paragraph that took five seconds to read, and it was beautiful, lyrical and oh-so-perfect.
I usually skip the prologue, author's notes and introduction and go right for the first chapter. You know what I'm thinking…the best story tellers start a story smack dab in the middle–then they have a choice of going forward or back or both.
A prologue is only as good as its written. I think they have value at times, especially if you are introducing some critical backstory that would otherwise slow the story's pace. I certainly don't detest them enough to skip reading them as some have indicated they do.
Prologues have their place, but not every book needs one. My big complaint is when the prologue is too long. I don't want to wait until tomorrow to get into the meat. A good prologue may take the place of the darned-almighty flashback that would come later on and put a big speed bump in the way of a smooth read.
A prologue can be good or bad. No fast rule.
My project is a trur crime. I had a published true-crime author look at my first several chapters, and he said I should use the first chapter as a prologue. I changed it, showed it to another household name true-crime writer who said not to use a prologue, nobody reads them. So there you are.
Prologues annoy be because it's the story before the story. But when I wrote my recent novel, I added one half way through. Why? It was the one crucial event that gave the reason for everything else and released me from writing a bunch of boring backstory.
I made sure it mentioned at least one mc. I loathe prologues that don't and leave you hanging for chapters on end for some kind of connection.
My prologue is integral as a prelude. The story is not as salient without it, so it stays and the novel sold so I have to keep it now! But as a reformed prologue complainer, I'm eating my words and loving it.
Karen
It's a facile way to do back history — which probably condemns it.
Elmore Leonard, who knows a thing or two about writing, includes Prologues in his list of things not to do.
I used to have a thing for prologues. My first three books (in a series) all had prologues. My next four books (new series) do not. Maybe i got it out of my system.
I think I tended to use them to deliver backstory in scene, because I was working so hard to avoid flashbacks and narrative.
As an editor, I will consider prologues if they serve as signposts of something important to come that otherwise couldn't be melded into the text.
Like if there's a lake filled with alligators, there'd better be a "Swim at Your Own Risk" sign at the shore.
Otherwise, I tell writers there's a delete button. (or copy and paste for those softies).
No I do not like prologues. Capture me with Chapter One. I want to go on the journey of the story – I don't want you tell me.
It depends. Often I don't like them, especially the ones that get me invested in a character who is killed off by the end of the prologue. Urgh, that's annoying! If they're short, to the point, get me interested in reading more or fill in some vital character history that would drag down the main story, then they work. Otherwise, I just zip to Chapter One. I used them in my earlier novels; now I simply begin the story.
I have been a fan of good prologues for years, and I've got at least one story that has one. I like them. It's a dandy way of giving the reader a precipitating event prior to the story's taking place, but one which absolutely affects the rest of the story and how it will unfold. I've got one in my (singular) published novel(which rights have now reverted to me…sigh) that absolutely riveted pretty much everyone that read it. So I figure I must have done something right. 🙂
OTOH, the worst prologue I ever read was 43 PAGES LONG–no, I am not making this up, and it wasn't manuscript pages, it was BOOK pages. The event in the prologue actually occurs/unfolds about halfway through the story, and by that time, frankly, you don't care. It also contained a glaring, absolutely incomprehensible error (to anyone who'd done a scintilla of fact checking). If that had been the first time I'd ever encountered a prologue, I, too, would run screaming away from them!
JB
verification word: "gewcapel." That's got to be usable somewhere…
This couldn't have been more timely as I have a prologue dilemma. I intended the 1 1/2 page prologue to place the reader (this is a middle grade) in the narrative by suggesting that the story could be happening just next door. Now I'm considering dropping it. Nathan, you say to send it, but my concern is that the prologue might "kill" the agent's interest simply because he/she doesn't see it as I do. Thoughts?
Guys, we get it – the word verification when posting a comment can sometimes sound funny.
Presently, mine says dontbesobloodyunoriginal.
I believe in prologues if they are well written and integral to the telling of the story. I've written four novels and only my current one has a prologue. I use it to blend two parts to the story: the first part where the character faces major familial issues that began long before the book begins, and the second part where the character's life is still in termoil but has reached an entirely different point of impact.
Chapter one by itself is very strong and compelling, but gives the impression of a book going one direction, when really, it is only the beginning of part one. With a book broken up like this one, I felt readers may develop a complete misunderstanding for what to expect. By tying things together through the prologue, I hope their expectations are suspended long enough for me to establish that each part of this story is essential to this character's development and growth.
But if someone chooses to skip past my prologue, I won't be offended. I expect prologue skippers also tend to read ahead to the last page of the book (impatient types, and all) at which point you'll gather the information I give in the prologue anyway.
And either way, you are still reading my story. 🙂
I hate when there are huge prologues, I usually end up skipping them because I want to get to the actual story. I usually don't find this bad for me. What I like the most are the reall short ones, only a few paragraphs and no more than a page long. If the prologue is forever long, I'll skip it. I just don't like long ones!
Though this oes explain some things I need, I feel somehow a aching horribleness about cutting to a new scene in my prologue.
NO! I SHALL NOT DO THAT! I SHALL CONTINUE! It is merely silly that I would want to do that to my beautiful Prologue, though sometimes I wonder… 🙁
Then again I live Prologues to bits and always include them when I can, because "CHAPTER 1" is such a horrible phrase. "Prologue" sounds much more sophisicated, that's why I put it in fantasy more often.
Only read one or two prologues, or skipped them, but they seem to make the characters seem more THERE so everyone, "MAKE PROLOGUES BETTER, OR IF THEY ARE TRULY BAD, THEY DO NOT FIT."
There we are, thank you for telling me this great information about prologues, and your opinions on it are inspirational. 🙂
I skip prologues, and usually books that have them. Their presence signals a type of novel I don't enjoy. It's just a matter of personal taste. No book is for everyone.