The protagonist’s name

It’s the first Wednesday of the month again, time for a post for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group.

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Recently, I read (or tried to read) a fantasy novel by a bestselling author. She started her book with a prologue. It was told from the POV of some magical creature who didn’t participate in the further plot at all and only briefly materialized again in the epilogue. The story protagonist, when he initially appeared, wasn’t even mentioned by name for the first 10 pages. Guess what? I didn’t finish that book. Some other readers might enjoy it, but I was unhappy with the writer. Why would she withhold her hero’s name from me?

Then I read another book, a chic-lit, this one by another bestselling author, Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Simply the Best. It also started with a prologue, but the protagonist’s name was the first word on the first page. It was a wonderful book. I couldn’t stop reading it until I reached the end.

When I think back to the other books I liked or disliked as a reader, the ones I enjoy invariably have the protagonist pop up on the first page, often in the first paragraph. It is important to me who the book is about. Otherwise, why should I care?

As a writer, my own stories also start with the protagonist’s name on the first page, and more often than not in the first sentence. I think it is paramount for a writer to introduce her hero or heroine as quickly as possible.

What about you? Which approach speaks to you as a reader or a writer? How soon do you introduce your heroes in your own stories?