The Prologue - When to Use One, How to Write One

What is a prologue? When must you use one particular? Ought to you overlook about a prologue and basically start out at Chapter one particular?

All also generally we choose up a published book and study the prologue, then wonder why it was there at all. It does not look to do something that Chapter 1 could not have carried out - or that could not were worked in throughout the story itself. Or the prologue is a scene taken straight from the book - a couple of paragraphs inserted only to make us maintain reading. I really feel cheated if I get to a point halfway through the book - or close to the finish - and locate that the prologue is absolutely nothing a lot more than a word-for-word excerpt from the book. (Appears like 'entrapment' or anything!)

Some writing tutors hold that a prologue ought to by no means be there basically to supply atmosphere and to 'hook' the reader. I do not agree; it depends on how It's handled. I consider there is a spot for a prologue to act as a drawcard for the rest of the story - however please, never be clear about it. Do not 'cheat' by simply copying a quick scene from a 'cliffhanger moment' close to the finish, pasting it in ahead of Chapter a single and calling it a prologue.

A prologue should really reveal important information that contribute to our knowing of the plot. It ought to be vivid and entertaining in its personal suitable (who desires to study a boring prologue, no matter how substantially of the background it explains?) It ought to make us Need to study on.

What Is A Prologue?

A prologue is utilized primarily for two factors.

1. To outline the backstory rapidly and economically, saving the author from getting to resort to flashbacks or ruses such as conversations or memories to explain the background to the reader. This is generally accomplished in science fiction and fantasy to show why a particular quest is becoming undertaken or what will occur in the future. The prologue is a much better choice than a initial chapter bogged down in detail.
2. To hook the reader and give the story query correct up front, providing them a explanation to hold turning the pages to uncover out the answer. Rather usually the prologue relates to a scene close to the finish of the story, and the story itself then shows what has led up to this moment. When is this justified? Probably when you Need to introduce your characters in a far more leisurely style, and your reader's knowledge with 'meeting' them will be enhanced by some sort of foreshadowing of what is to come.

Apart from these two factors, a prologue can be employed to introduce a particular character's viewpoint on a single occasion only. The rest of the book may well be told from merely 1 other viewpoint, or from a number of various viewpoint characters that are in some way removed from the a single you have applied in the prologue. The prologue can bypass the danger of viewpoint violation.

Do You Require a Prologue?

The items raised above will Possibly supply you a great concept currently of whether or not you Rather Require a prologue. If you are nonetheless not sure, then merely ask:

• What if I simply call the prologue Chapter a single? Will the story flow smoothly from that point anyway? (If the answer is "yes", ditch the prologue.)
• Do I ought to provide the readers a fair bit of background facts for the story to make sense? (If "yes", the think undertaking it in a prologue prior to the 'real' story begins.)
• Am I pondering of working with a prologue merely to hook the reader? (If "yes", then ask oneself why you can not do this merely as proficiently in Chapter a single anyway. Do you should brush up on your strategy for developing suspense and conflict? Does your plot Want revising? Are you beginning your story as well early?)

Probably the finest way to illustrate the use of a prologue is to really show a single. I've selected not a prologue to a fantasy - the Need to have for a prologue tends to be much more apparent in speculative fiction - yet a modern novel, Mary Stanley's Revenge (Hodder Headline 2003)

Prologue

Millicent McHarg sat on an iron chair on the patio in the back garden exactly where the Buddha with its green lights resided. She was wearing her winter coat, her grandmother's furs and her felt hat with an ostrich feather. As she stated herself, she only wore that certain feather when she was feeling triumphant. Still she was in a thoughtful mood. Her height, her elegance, her fine-boned attributes had been sophisticated even in repose.

The funeral was over and she was preparing on how to proceed. She looked up at the home with her apartment attached at the side. The lights have been currently on and the warmth from inside nearly drew her in. Then she turned and looked down at the orchard. For a moment she thought there was movement amongst the trees, yet not becoming provided to fanciful considering she swiftly dismissed the possibility of a ghost. She had other factors on her thoughts. She regarded her granddaughters in the main part of the property and she viewed as the features.

She would create the synopsis of a new book, she thought. She would call it Divine Justice, or Probably Retribution. No, she thought. I'll call it Revenge. I'll never ever have it published, yet I'll use it. My God, however I'll provide it to him, and watch him study it, and then he'll know. I'll persons it with real characters, and she ran through the list in her thoughts:

Millicent McHarg grandmother and author, identified as Grammer to the youngsters

Maria McHarg her daughter-in-law, identified as Mum

Prunella McHarg eldest granddaughter aged seventeen at the commence of the story, recognized as Plumpet

Daphne McHarg middle granddaughter aged fourteen and identified as Daffers

Maya McHarg youngest granddaughter, adopted, aged in between four and 5, recognized as the Dumpling

I will let them inform the story, Millicent decided. And I will consist of Theresa Carmody. She can inform her story also.

It was Rather cold on the patio and the plan was forming well. The door from her apartment into the garden opened, and Waldorf appeared on the step.

"Millie," he known as, "are you Fairly sitting out there in this climate? Is that Quite you?"

"The a single and only," she mentioned, which observation Very a lot summed her up.

"I thought I saw a ghost," he commented lightly, "down amongst the trees."

"I believe not," mentioned Millicent McHarg. "I doubt that a ghost would dare to hover here."

"As well correct," Waldorf replied. A tall thin humorous man, slightly older than Millicent, he talked with a plum in his mouth and was provided to wearing a buttonhole, swinging an umbrella and speaking in riddles.

"I am going in to the girls," he told her.

"I will stick to in a moment," she replied. "I am merely placing the finishing touches to a new book."

"I ought to believe you have carried out adequate for one particular day," he mentioned dryly.

We'll see about that, she thought.

The door closed behind Waldorf and she lifted her head. For a moment she thought she may well hear the laughter of her granddaughters coming from the property. She sighed, figuring out that she had not heard them laugh like that all Christmas, and that it would be a lengthy time prior to she might hope to hear them laugh like that once more.

******

I Perhaps do not should explain to you why this prologue functions so nicely - yet let's examine it in a small much more detail anyway.

1. The very first paragraph introduces the protagonist - the girls' grandmother and the strongest character in the book. In 5 sentences we get an good sense of the kind of lady Millicent McHarg is.
2. The second paragraph tends to make it obvious that this is a substantial moment for Millicent. It is following 'the funeral' (whose funeral?) and she is 'thinking her characteristics'.
3. She decides to create a book, and the title tells us instantaneously that she is set on revenge. We never know but why, or what she intends to do - yet we sure Need to have to discover out.
4. She introduces the other main characters and decides she will 'let them inform the story'. We recognize instantaneously that there is a substantial story to be told.
5. Waldorf's comment and Millicent's reply arouse our curiosity even extra. Why does he say she's 'carried out adequate for one particular day'? And what does Millicent mean when she thinks, We'll see about that?
6. What has occurred to this loved ones to make Millicent believe of revenge? Why have not the girls laughed for so extended - and why does she count on it will be some time prior to they laugh once again?

Just after the prologue, the story starts: Chapter a single - the story of Prunella McHarg. We are pleased to settle in and get to know all these characters - simply because this brief prologue has promised us that they will be worth having to know.

A Final Test

Ahead of you make a final choice about whether or not to create a prologue for your book, do this.

Invest some time at the library (or at your bookshelves at property, if they are in depth). Pluck books from the shelves, searching for prologues. Study through at least a dozen. Additional if you can. The time will be effectively spent.

Which prologues worked effectively? Which pulled you into the story? Which cleverly outlined the backstory, possessing it out of the way just before the story began?

Which dragged? Which did not should really be there at all? Which have been weighed down by the load of the facts they had to carry, and bored you? How may they be fixed?

Evaluation of published work is an good way of deciding what performs and what does not. You're a reader also as a writer; you know much about what readers like. Make sure you are a writer that offers your readers what they Need to have, too as what you Need to have.

(c) copyright Marg McAlister

Marg McAlister has published magazine articles, brief stories, books for young children, ezines, promotional material, sales letters and net happy. She has written five distance education courses on writing, and her on the web support for writers is common all over the globe. Sign up for her normal writers' tipsheet at http://www.writing4success.com/