Prologues: A Useful Beginning or a Waste of Space?

What is your opinion of prologues?  From what I have studied, apparently many people skip them.  As I was reading all the reasons why prologues should not be used, and how many people don't read them anyway, I tried to remember when I might have felt the same way.  But I couldn't.  So either I have not read as much as others, (which is probably the case), or I haven't read books with awful prologues to shadow my opinion of them.  In my naivety, I always figured the prologue must be there for a reason.  I better read it so I don't miss something important. (Not to be confused with a Foreword.  Sorry, but I very rarely read those.)



That being said, I did read some compelling instruction on the appropriate use of prologues.



A prologue should be short and concise.  If it is long enough to be your first chapter, then consider making it so.  Most people expect prologues to be less than four pages.  Two is even better, because we know inherently that this is an introduction, and we do want to get to the meat of the story.  I recently finished a novel where the writer had sectioned it.  This is a great device for stories that are epic in nature and show dramatic change throughout the character's story.  However, this author gave a title to her first section, then called it a Prologue.  The prologue was 33 pages long.  I found myself flipping to see how much longer I was going to be there.  While this is a best-selling novel, written by a much beloved author, I was confused by that choice.  Why couldn't the prologue simply have been chapter one?  Of course, the fact that it is a best-selling novel just goes to show that sometimes the great authors break the rules successfully.



A prologue can give the reader a brief glimpse of back story that helps understand the motivation of a character.  If a particular event in the character's past caused a drastic change in that character's life, it might help the reader to know that.  But consider if knowing this information at the beginning of the story is important enough to place it in a prologue.  Flashbacks can achieve the same effect.  And remember the word "brief."  If your prologue ends up telling your character's whole sordid childhood, you might lose your readers.



A prologue can help establish theme.  If your story is set in another time or place, a prologue might be helpful to create that atmosphere for the reader.  Therese Walsh used Seabiscuit as an example.  In the prologue, the author reminds us of the Great Depression's effect on the psyche of Americans who lived through it.



So when you are considering how to begin your story, know that prologues have a much maligned reputation, whether deserved or not.  Decide if a prologue is vital to your story.  If its not, most people would say don't use it.



Here are some links I found that expound upon the matter quite eloquently.



http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/7-deadly-sins-of-prologues-great-novel-beginnings-part-2/



http://thewritingplace.wordpress.com/2009/07/24/story-elements-using-a-prologue/



http://writerunboxed.com/2007/02/22/once-before-a-time/





Happy writing,



Karina Harris

www.karinaharrisauthor.com


Lonely Hearts ~ a sweet Christian Romance
The Price of Trust ~ Christian Romantic Suspense
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