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
Mira says
Bryan,
I think you’re joking right? But if you’re not, look at her profile and there’s a website.
I admire her. She came up with a great idea, and ran with it. She’s clearly energetic, and very good at networking and promotion.
But don’t forget. She can’t write YOUR book. Only you can do that. And that’s not a desert. That’s a lush field of sunflowers.
Oh. You’re a guy. Um, a lush field of….what do guys like. Corn chips? Burgers? A lush football field? š
Christine H says
Okay, I know I’ve been very chatty today… but I have another related issue: so-called “information dumps,” whether contained in a prologue or not.
Perhaps I’m old-fashioned, but I like knowing the set-up before the action takes off. Let me get a feel for the location before we start roaring down the runway and battling terrorists for control of the plane.
For example, I enjoy the leisurely openings of Jane Austen’s novels, which give a brief description and history of the characters before their lives are disrupted. Or Tolkein’s description of hobbit-holes and hobbits at the start of The Hobbit. On the flip side, The Street Lawyer is so relentless, you never even learn the first-person narrator’s name. I lost interest in it after the first chapter. Actually, after the first few pages.
So why must modern writers always jump-start things with some kind of explosive action? Isn’t that, in a way, catering to the laziness of readers who don’t want to make the effort of getting to know the context of the book?
Just thought I’d throw that out there.
Anonymous says
NO! Prologues mean one of two things: 1. The writer isn’t very good at writing or, 2. The writer is so stupid they can’t figure out how to incorporate the prologue material into the acutal storyline. One or the other.
LCS249 says
Nathan, you are wise beyond your years. Taking something out and seeing if it still works is one of the best pieces of advice a writer can get.
The Ms. S says
As a reader, I love em!
A juicy prologue makes we want to dive right in. It’s like a yummy appetizer before a meal…it promises more deliciousness to come.
Amy says
I also just started WATER FOR ELEPHANTS. The book has a prologue and is written in first person present tense. I love books like this, but often times in writers workshops I have other writers lambast me for this style. WATER FOR ELEPHANT has made me come to terms there’s nothing wrong with this type of story telling.
Good books are good books, whether they are about Vampires or have prologues.
Scott says
Lest anyone think otherwise, I give mad kudos to giddymomof6. Cheers, Mira, for doing your homework. Still, whatever her idea, that’s a lot of work in a short amount of time and a very swifty move up the ranks.
Still a mirage, though. š
Horserider says
I don’t mind prologues as a reader, unless they’re one huge world building info dump with information that could’ve been revealed later inside the story rather than separate.
My first novel began with a prologue that I cut in the first edit. It was just world building and definitely wasn’t required in the least. So I guess the real question is: is the prologue important or are you just trying to “set the scene?”
Kathie Leung says
I’m pawing through the responses, it’ll take me near a week to do ’em justice as apparently this is a very hot topic! Like Scott, I’m flustered :::tossing laptop out the window with Scott’s pen::: to read the bit about the author with an agent and six novels in a year who didn’t even want to write to begin with. However, the “be specific, to the point, don’t waste words, get right into the matter, don’t overdo descriptions” etc. doesn’t fluster me. I’m gonna write the way that it feels good to me. Nor does the whole debate about to prologue or not to cause me angst.
The whole debate has been one that rages on in our writing group and I suspect won’t ever cease. Bravo!
I did read a wonderful prologue not too long ago by a fellow writer in our group. His covered a very short span of time when “The Event” occurred that caused the world to change dramatically and thus spiraled into the main thrust of the story. That deserved to be called a prologue. He questioned if he should call it a prologue. My suggestion was to simply title it “The Event” and then number the chapters from that point forward. He liked it and I hope to see more on that story, but I digress.
Some prologues are important, others make you wonder who let them get away with writing it and not just titling it “chapter one.” And then like another commenter noted, there are the ones that make you want to itch in all the wrong places (lovely analogy).
PurpleClover says
See this is probably where I have the most problem.
I started with a prologue that was a flash forward to a crucial turning point in the story. Then chapter one started a week earlier. Then I read prologues are *bad* so I made the prologue chapter one. But then I was advised flash forwards are not pretty to agents (it will be the only “flash” forward or backward in the book). The scene is a great and crucial scene so it must stay, but I can always move it to the correct place chronilogically but then my beginning doesn’t pack much punch because its a lot of dialogue and scientific info. I mean I could just make someone die in the first chapter and hope its enough punch to carry it for a bit. š
ugh. I’m just so confused.
AW says
I’m also interested in the concept of an Epilogue. I wrote one for a book as a ‘wave goodbye’ chapter to round off a few remaining threads (not central to the plot), a bit like the stuff at the end of movies that lets you know that Fred was freed after eight years and became a real estate salesman and Jane ended up CEO of a multinational company, married the major shareholder, and was divorced two years later and now lives happily in the backwoods of Wherever’.
Would you like to do a similar exercise for Epilogues, Nathan?
Ink says
Mira,
Yeah, I’m just having fun. Actually, I think it’s pretty cool what she’s done. She had a saleable idea, went with it, put it out there, and was rewarded. That’s the name of the game, isn’t it? And she seems to be having a blast doing it! That’s the ticket.
And I’m still going to pretend she’s not there. š I like deserts. They’re, uh, sandy. Very sandy. And hot. Can’t forget hot. And sandy.
And a lush field full of Peek Freans cookies (especially those rectangular chocolate ones from the variety bags) and NBA tickets would do me nicely… where it at?
Bryan
Bethanne says
I don’t have a problem with prologues. I usually like them. I might skip it on a second read of a favorite book. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter to me if I’m ‘starting’ a book twice. I mean, I don’t even see how that can be true. It’s like coming into a house through the side door or the garage door. You’re still in the house…it’s not a different house. Stairs in the same place, bathrooms all where you expect them to be…you just get there using another route. š
T. Anne says
I do read the prologues. I might even enjoy them. It’s flashbacks I won’t read, they annoy me.
Amethyst Greye Alexander says
I’d like you know how you feel about epigraphs, actually . . .
Thanks!
Amethyst
K. Andrew Smith says
I hate prologues that are near incomprehensible, that are actually from the middle, or even end, of a story.
Inevitably when a prologue is like this, it’s written in an obscure way to disguise what is being written so that the reader doesn’t understand what’s really going on. If the prologue is disguised in such a manner and ends up confusing the reader, then what’s the point?
Another thought on prologues: they’re often used as a crutch. Authors have already determined where they want to start the story, but can’t figure out how to work some necessary information into the narrative, so they take the easy way out and add a prologue. This isn’t always the case, of course, but I see it happen far too often for my taste.
I look at it this way: I spend a lot of effort to make the start of my stories interesting, to make readers want to invest their time. Why mess that up with a prologue?
So I guess in general, I’m against them. While they do work occasionally, far too often I find them just lazy writing.
Deb Lehman says
I like a prologue that creates suspense. The master of the effective prologue is Jodi Picoult. She pulls me right into her stories without seeming repetitive.
Jil says
I always read the prologue if there is one but if it gives the wrong impression of the book that followsI may not read on. Mark Helprin, my very most favorite author has one in his latest, “Freddy and Frederica.” It is written by a fictional character and really piques the interest in and sympathy for the Royal, rather foolish, couple the novel is about. “Pretty Birds” a novel about two girls during the Serb -Bosnia war has a prologue that proves the writer, a war correspondent,was there and knows what really occurred so one never doubts what happens to the protagonists when their story begins..
He did however use one saying twice in both end of prologue and beginning of first chapter which was annoying.
I have never found reason to use one myself, but would if it added some necessary facet to the story that follows.
Lady Glamis says
Great questions, Nathan! I originally had a prologue in my novel, but made into the first chapter. I have often wondered what you thought about prologues. Now I know. Thank you!
Madison says
I have three complete manuscripts and none of them have a prologue. I have a trilogy I’m working on and I have a prologue in book one, but that’s it. I used to write prologues all the time, then I realized that except on the very rare occasion, I don’t need one.
Mira says
Bryan,
Okay, one lush field full of Peek Freans cookies (especially those rectangular chocolate ones from the variety bags) and NBA tickets for you.
And since you like deserts, I’ve included some sand.
Of course, in order to get these items, you must write the book.
This is just the prologue.
š
JaxPop says
I think a prologue works if kept short & to the point. I favor them when present day (in the story) is affected by a point in history (a shipwreck 300 years earlier). The trick is tying in the prologue without being redundant.
Anonymous says
I like prologues if they aren’t completely divorced from the opening action of the story, and don’t leave me without a clue of what’s going on. But I really don’t like wondering what in the world the prologue was about for the next ten chapters before the question is finally resolved.
Charlie says
Iām surprised that so many readers skip the prologue. I understand having a preference, but to intentionally skip it?
I feel that if the author included it, he/she had a good reason. Iāll trust the author and read it. I do not think the author is a bad writer for including one as Anon suggested.
Pro-prologue
YvettesGoneFishing says
I guess I’ve been doing it wrong then. I have a prologue that runs 250 words and I don’t include it with partials.
I don’t want the added drama of explaining a prologue to an agent I’m trying to get to representation with, and I figure if it gets that far–to where I’m being considered–they may very well ask me to dump it anyway.
I start from page one, chapter one.
Laura Hyatt-Author says
I absolutely loved the prologue of Assumed Identity. It tied in to the rest of the story, but not until the end. It was kind of like two separate stories/worlds collided at the climax. Without the prologue there would have been no basis for understanding the reasoning of the aboriginal people. As it is, it is totally brilliant. Gotta love David Morrell!
RainSplats says
I don’t have a problem with prologues. However, after Ms Snark said she never reads them, I skipped the next one – just to see what it was like. Skipping part of the book??? /gasp.
I haven’t read one since.
Moth says
I think there should be a NB blog prologue contest! š
Richard Lewis says
I write pre-prologues to really get things going.
And off topic, my laptop workhorse has the conficker worm. Can’t do scans, access the antivirus sites, etc.
Doomed. Won’t be online with this tomorrow until I see what’s happening.
Of course, it’s April 1st here in Asia right now, but I assume conficker goes live April 1st in the West, where it was born.
And I have it on good authority that it is programmed to turn all prologues into Nathan Bransford jpeg headshot photos.
Richard Lexic says
Love prologues. Love them. Often they are my favorite part of reading a book- prologues are the hook that makes reading the rest of a book worthwhile. Can’t imagine people skipping them- the author is obviously setting a tone for the story to come, and feels we need information to help us understand the world-view necessary to make the story make sense
Beatriz Kim says
Most of the time, prologues annoy me. I love it when the first sentence grabs me and the author is able to include necessary information without a separate, “by the way”.
Prologues are great in historical novels. It just makes sense. Especially, if it’s good.
But like any writing…if it’s bad, cut it out! I’d rather be left wondering a little, than filled with the unnecessary.
Jessica says
The consensus amongst the writing community often seems to be that, as so many readers view prologues as unnecessary and skip them, you should never put anything in your prologue. Which always seemed like a self-fulfilling prophecy to me. Not putting anything important in one’s prologue for the benefit of readers who dismiss them as unnecessary will lead to…wow! Unnecessary prologues!
I always read prologues and remain baffled by those who don’t. I haven’t yet written one but, based on the above advice that is always passed about, I want someday to write a prologue that is so packed full of vital information that the reader who skips it will be lost.
World prologue domination will be mine….
Writer from Hell says
As a reader I have never (abs never) liked prologues. It is like you said starting a story twice….. to read the same story actually.
Mostly I see it when some incident happens and then the story starts 20 years later. Though I wd have preferred it as a flashback woven intriguingly into the story – purely as a reader!
Nixy Valentine says
I like it when writers (especially mysteries and the ilk) include a little bit at the beginning from the POV of the villain.
If a prologue is use correctly, they can add a bit of intrigue. Many times they’re just a short “Chapter 1”
Word verify: plogly (describes my mood today perfectly)
Christine H says
Okay, I think I have to clarify something I said earlier, now that I have figured out the difference between a Prologue and an Introduction.
I don’t skip reading prologues, because they are part of the story. I skip Introductions. Then, if I find there’s something I’m missing that might be in the Introduction, I go back and read it.
As a reader, I tend not to like prologues because they seem too gimmicky, as other people have mentioned. Unless they are well-written and not too far divorced from the main action of the story.
I dislike prologues/epilogues that frame the story in some kind of flashback mode, making it seem as if the rest of the book is just filling in the gaps between the covers.
Prologue: “As I raced along the cliff edge with the monster behind me, I couldn’t help thinking that I never should have opened that darn box from Aunt Dora, or wishing that the UPS driver had had a heart attack on the way to my house…”
Epilogue: “So now I knew that the monster behind me was really the UPS driver, and wished to God he’d had a heart attack on the way to my house…”
Sophie Beal says
I worried I was the only person turned off by prologues. I also like happy endings.
I think I’m an American reader trapped in the body of a Brit.
Heather says
I’ve always wondered, “Why not just make the prologue be chapter 1?” (And the same goes for epilogues.)
Okay, I don’t always wonder that because sometimes I like to think about shoes, but most of the rest of the time I’m pondering that question of life.
Haarlson Phillipps says
Thanks for posting this, very timely. I’m currently grappling with this very issue. My writing group all said, “You need a prologue to show the events which are told in the first chapter dialog. Switch tell (dialog)for show (prologue,”)they said. My trusted readers all said, “No! What have you done? You don’t need the prologue – it detracts from the reveal in the first chapter dialog.” I’ve got three weeks to sort this out before it gets printed up as an ARC. Your post is helping. Regards.
Kimber An says
A good prologue is a rare and beautiful thing. My suggestion to other aspiring authors is to try very hard not to include one at all. 99% of the time they’re not needed and/or indicated sloppy storytelling later on. Try to include the information in the story itself. If you can’t, go read some books with excellent prologues and emulate them in writing your own.
B.E. Sanderson says
I like prologues, if they’re done right. They’re like the appetizer course. As such, they should prepare the reader for the main meal. Most of the time, you can skip the prologue and still savor the book – but the right prologue can make the experience that much more enjoyable.
mcpolish says
I do like a good prologue…but only, like I said, if it’s good. I see it as a delicious little taste that gets me excited to read the rest of the book, that hooks me in – I want to find out what they’re talking about!
Sheryl Tuttle says
Great post – thanks. I’ve linked to your post on one of my blogs as you’ve said it as well as it can be said.
Writer from Hell says
As a reader, the hardest section about a new novel is starting it. The first few pages tend to be dreary till you connect with some character or something in the book and then its fun. Prologues do make the starting more (just a little more) tiring.
Epilogues are lovely coz though a book feels nice if it ends on an intriguing note, its still reassuring to know everything ended happily ever after.. ah the fairytale end magic can never go stale. – just a reader
Stephen D. Covey says
I’m normally against prologues, but I’ve even recommended one for another writer in my critique group. The problem was that her first chapter failed to establish the genre – there was no hint of SF.
And we MUST establish a contract with the reader, so he/she knows what the story is about, its style, its genre, tone, even language, violence, sex. And if the story starts where the protagonist’s life is changed, perhaps those other details won’t be introduced until fatally late.
So use a prologue (if absolutely necessary) to set the tone and genre of the story, if Chapter One fails to do that.
ML says
The prologue to Tigana was one of the best I’ve read. I have nothing against such pieces as that where you can get a sense for the characters in them and get a sense the book. That prologue almost made me cry!
I think it’s sad to say no one should bother with prologues, because I think then you’d miss on some really good pieces of literature, but at the same time, a lot of them tend not to be necessary.
As long as people think about why it’s there, and they feel it adds more than it subtracts, I don’t care if people bother with them. If I don’t like it, I skip it. If I do, I’m a happy camper.
litenup_rach says
funny you should choose "prologues" on this incredibly bright sunny south florida day that the universe has seen fit to address this particularly crucial, timely, annoyingly relevant, and aggravatingly challenging topic.
ok… so this is my very first entry on your oh-so-cool blog — btw – love it… can't live — or write — without it… gotta have it.
btw, please forgive my use of lower case — i think i broke my finger playing basketball with my son last night and it's swelling to unmanageable proportions; lowercase minimizes pain.
i have been struggling with this 'prologue' thing for about six months on my 'halfway-there' memoir. i have read and reread your criteria for 'do you really, really, really' need it' and the answer is 'yes, nathan… i really, really need it.'
to wit, my guinea pig test subjects also seem to agree…it is definitely required writing on the front end.
but this isn't the worst of it… my dilemma is even larger than the 'to be' or 'not to be' prerequisite…
before i share, you have to promise not to run from the room, holding your sides laughing and crying in gut-wrenching hysterics… promise??
ok, then… here it is: my 'prologue' is 87 pages long…
hheyyy, no fair… you promised ;(
"ok," you finally manage to blurt out after pulling yourself together… "what the %&##% were you thinkin?" "are you begging for rejection?"
well, no… i don't think so, although i do tend to be a glutton for punishment. but here's the thing: or 2-3 things —
1. without this 87 page 'prologue' — btw it is a 'dream sequence' — there is no memoir… it is my 'raison d'etre;'
2. i do not want my readers to know it's a dream sequence until they get to the first chapter — oops, too late for those interested in taking a looksey; since i spent the entirety of my formative years reliving someone else's past, it's crucial to the story that the reader lives it too;
3. the first chapter 'gently,' brings the reader to the 'here and now;' btw, though i use the word 'gently' so as not to irritate an otherwise already touchy subject — the actual time change is obvious and powerful;
and lastly, what in god's name do i send if asked to submit the first 30 pages? the beginning is really good stuff but it doesn't get to 'my stuff' until the first chapter.
it was suggested to me recently, that instead of using the conspicuously claustrophobic term 'prologue,' to go with 'overture', then use musical references for all subsequent chapter headings.
another suggestion was 'prelude' although i felt like it sounded too much like 'prologue' and might be skipped by readers who just can't eat an oreo without first licking the creamy center.
i must admit, i do like 'overture' – seems like an 'acceptable' solution for an otherwise untenable situation…
but i really, really, really would appreciate your comments and that of your incredibly perceptive and well-thought out community of bloggers…
nathan and bloggers… thanks for sharing your insightful, witty, and really uplifting blog and comments… it really has been the only thing that has made me laugh, and think, and not give up the last couple of days.
Kate H says
I have nothing against prologues per se. Your criteria for whether one is necessary sound good to me. What makes me get into a prologue is the same thing that makes me get into the story itself: wonderful writing, with a taste of characters, a world, and a story that I want to spend hours with.
Ink says
Litenup,
That seems less like a prologue and more like a First Act. Or Part One? I like books with interesting structure, so the overture idea is interesting. And call it a prologue or not, I doubt a reader would skip the first 87 pages. And if it’s that long, and that’s how you start the book, then that is definitely what you should send an agent. And in your query that division of fantasy and real would probably be clear, anyway, so the agent will know what’s what before they start. Frankly, the idea sounds great.
Best of luck with it,
Bryan Russell
litenup_rach says
ink,
you have single-handedly reduced my stress level worrying about it and my query to zero… thanks for your comment.
btw – when i first started writing it, i was sitting in my jacuzzi at night with the rays from the amber street lights slicing through my shadowbox fence.
the vision is that of the beginning of the dream which was written with the intent of eventually turning it into a play or screenplay, or both.
your astute ‘first act’ observation is mucho, mucho gusto š
thanks ink… that’s one ‘thumbs up’ for keep it and ‘overture.’
hey nathan, any points in the author’s bio and/or platform paragraph of a query for a blogsite ‘voting’ consensus?
just thought i’d ask… heh, heh š
Gale Sypher Jacob says
One of my favorite prologues is the one to TUCK EVERLASTING by Natalie Babbitt. It makes you want to dive into the book.