A Tale of Two Prologues - THE CORNISH HOUSE and AUGUST ROCK
Now I know I've posted about this before but it has come up again on twitter because I axed my prologue again in the rewrite process....No, I can hear some of you cry and hurrah from the rest.
So I thought I would share my thinking...as muddled as it is. First though let me state that as a reader I kinda like prologues but as a writer I'm not to sure.
So both THE CORNISH HOUSE and AUGUST ROCK have had prologues, in fact AUGUST ROCK has three different ones. The most recent prologue for AUGUST ROCK died this morning when I 'merged' it into chapter one, scene one. AND no, I didn't just relabel it.
When I met with my brilliant editor Kate back in Decemeber to talk about what i was doing with August Rock we spoke about pov. I knew with certain clarity that AR needed to be written in first person but THE CORNISH HOUSE was written in third...another story on that another time...
So I had sent her before the meeting a few chapter rewritten in first to see if she was 'cool' with it...she was but the prologue wasn't right. She knew why I wanted it there but the voice was too old. The heroine Jude is supposed to be 13 in the prologue....
I went away from the meeting thinking - worrying I know...it should be a doddle to make the voice more youthful. Well, it wasn't. Believe me I tried. The reason it wasn't ...because what I wanted to convey wasn't what a 13 year old girl would think or see even if she was mature....
That left me with a problem. I needed that prologue because without that knowledge the bomb that drops in chapter one scene two wouldn't have the impact I wanted....
Well, I chewed on that for a week...and finally I realized that by sacrificing my best opening linse ever ...The incoming tide lapped over my red toenails and wet the brilliant white lace of my wedding gown. Tears caused it all to blur to pink. I hate pink not that anyone had cared or had listened.
I could do this. I had to start the story sooner and build those thoughts (the important bits of the prologue) into something that was happening right then and there...
So i sacrificed my best opening (although those words are now later in the chapter) and altered the timing of the scene (only by ten minutes)and was able to to lose the prologue and I think it's much better for it....
My experience of prologues was slightly different for THE CORNISH HOUSE. But again it involved some of the best writing I have ever done (and now no one will see!). I can't tell what it was, but I needed that scene right there at the start of the book to focus me while I rewrote it. By putting it at the front I couldn't forget it and nor could my heroine Maddie.
Confession to make. I did try after that rewrite to put that scene in other places later in the book, but in the end the emotion was the page without the need of it...in fact I think it's stronger because it isn't there.
So prologues....ask yourself ..
Why? What is the scene doing? Teasing? Relaying important info? Character stuff? Foreshadowing?
Once you know the purpose you then then ask if there is a different way to achieve your goal...then ask is it a better way? If yes, then ditch the prologue and kill those darlings....What's your take on prologues?
So I thought I would share my thinking...as muddled as it is. First though let me state that as a reader I kinda like prologues but as a writer I'm not to sure.
So both THE CORNISH HOUSE and AUGUST ROCK have had prologues, in fact AUGUST ROCK has three different ones. The most recent prologue for AUGUST ROCK died this morning when I 'merged' it into chapter one, scene one. AND no, I didn't just relabel it.
When I met with my brilliant editor Kate back in Decemeber to talk about what i was doing with August Rock we spoke about pov. I knew with certain clarity that AR needed to be written in first person but THE CORNISH HOUSE was written in third...another story on that another time...
So I had sent her before the meeting a few chapter rewritten in first to see if she was 'cool' with it...she was but the prologue wasn't right. She knew why I wanted it there but the voice was too old. The heroine Jude is supposed to be 13 in the prologue....
I went away from the meeting thinking - worrying I know...it should be a doddle to make the voice more youthful. Well, it wasn't. Believe me I tried. The reason it wasn't ...because what I wanted to convey wasn't what a 13 year old girl would think or see even if she was mature....
That left me with a problem. I needed that prologue because without that knowledge the bomb that drops in chapter one scene two wouldn't have the impact I wanted....
Well, I chewed on that for a week...and finally I realized that by sacrificing my best opening linse ever ...The incoming tide lapped over my red toenails and wet the brilliant white lace of my wedding gown. Tears caused it all to blur to pink. I hate pink not that anyone had cared or had listened.
I could do this. I had to start the story sooner and build those thoughts (the important bits of the prologue) into something that was happening right then and there...
So i sacrificed my best opening (although those words are now later in the chapter) and altered the timing of the scene (only by ten minutes)and was able to to lose the prologue and I think it's much better for it....
My experience of prologues was slightly different for THE CORNISH HOUSE. But again it involved some of the best writing I have ever done (and now no one will see!). I can't tell what it was, but I needed that scene right there at the start of the book to focus me while I rewrote it. By putting it at the front I couldn't forget it and nor could my heroine Maddie. Confession to make. I did try after that rewrite to put that scene in other places later in the book, but in the end the emotion was the page without the need of it...in fact I think it's stronger because it isn't there.
So prologues....ask yourself ..
Why? What is the scene doing? Teasing? Relaying important info? Character stuff? Foreshadowing?
Once you know the purpose you then then ask if there is a different way to achieve your goal...then ask is it a better way? If yes, then ditch the prologue and kill those darlings....What's your take on prologues?
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