Thoughts about prologues

[M.L.]

I'm interested in your thoughts about prologues. I asked this in a writers' group and since I'm writing fantasy thought I would ask it here too. What do you think, do you include them in your stories, are they helpful or not. Any favorites? I'd be interested in those.

[Trike]

It’s like anything: if done well, they’re awesome. Most are not awesome.

One thing I absolutely hate Hate HATE is italics. Writing more than a single sentence in italics means I will not read your book.

Two prologues I love are from SF novels, but they are worth reading. James P. Hogan’s Code of the Lifemaker and Robert L. Forward’s Dragon's Egg. I went back to read the latter recently and ended up rereading the entire book. That’s how good it is.

Edit:
Code of the Lifemaker prologue: http://www.baen.com/chapters/W200203/...

Dragon’s Egg prologue: http://investigacion.izt.uam.mx/alva/...

I just realized they are both identical in format. Jeez, took me nearly 35 years to put that together.

[John]

OK -- four novels so far, and I always do a prologue. Not always in the same format, not always to the same purpose however.
First novel, prologue was a "sneak preview" of action to come -- something that wouldn't happen until well past the halfway point of the story. Looking back at it, not sure I would have done it that way because it sort of cast the first half of the book into "flashback" mode (since all of it happened before the prologue).
Second novel, prologue told about a legend that would become a recurring theme in the next several novels. Again, it didn't come up again until well into the novel, but this time it wasn't an action scene that was waiting to happen so it wasn't a flashback.
Third, OK... I'm actually writing SERIES here, so I used the prologue to sort of bring readers up to date on what had gone before (disguised as the memoirs of a prominent character from the first two books).
Fourth one I went in another direction -- prologue describes something that happens 15 years before the story begins. Wrote it so it was OK with a standalone story (though they are a series, I try to write them so each novel stands alone) BUT readers of the series will recognize a tie-in between the prologue of the fourth and the epilogue of the third. Yes, I do epilogues, too.

Anyway, I guess the point is that I like prologues as a writer, but the feedback I've gotten from readers seems to be positive on them as well. Just haven't come up with any set formula on how to use them. Of course, the options for that are a lot different for a series than they are for a standalone.

Oh... one other point. I try to keep the prologues short, less than three pages (in 6x9 print format, not e-book).

P.S. to Trike... Oops! Guess you won't want to read my first three novels -- prologues were in italics (even though they were only between one and three pages). Got a new publisher now, however, whose editors have a different view. The prologue of the FOURTH novel is NOT in italics. :-)

[Trike]

I don’t get why people use italics for pages on end. It just makes it hard to read. I saw one book that had a prologue which must’ve been 13 pages... all italics. Hard pass.

[Ine]

like Trike said, it has to be good. Think about it, you as writer know everything about your world and whats happening and why this prologue here is SUPER INTERESTING. We as readers do not.

I liked the prologue in ASOIAF, iirc we are dropped in a suspenseful situation and while we do not know all the information, reading about a night watch man patrolling the woods at night with SOMETHING lurking there had me glued to the page.

Whereas the prologue in Child of a Mad God by R A Salvatore wasnt to my taste. I dont remember it exactly but it was some unnamed person writing to someone else and it felt like I had skipped a book in a series. Who are these people? I dont really understand whats going on and why this is at all relevant? Also nothing really to grip me?

I otherwise liked this book just fine though!

[Trike]

Going through my Fantasy novels...

I have Red Sister on my TBR and I like that prologue quite a bit. I’ll have to decide if it’s distinct once I read the book.

On the other hand, the prologue to The Blade Itself is literally just the first chapter, so it makes no sense to call it a prologue. “Part 1, Chapter 1” picks up moments after the prologue ends, still following the main character, so what was the point of calling it a prologue? (Of course, my takeaway from the whole book was that it was essentially a 500-page first chapter, so maybe Abercrombie has a problem with story.)

Similarly, The Lies of Locke Lamora has a prologue that goes on FOREVER. It even has chapters! At that point why is it even a prologue? Just call it Chapter One and be done with it. The book is good but that structure baffles me.

The introduction to Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight serves as an excellent prologue, basically a one-page backgrounder that is similar to the opening title crawls of Flash Gordon and Star Wars.

The prologue to the first Wild Cards book is quite good. It gives you the setting and basic characters in a colorful way by making it a pastiche of Studs Terkel. It’s such a pitch-perfect rendition that when I eventually read Terkel I kept expecting superheroes to show up.

[M.L.]

Trike wrote: "It’s like anything: if done well, they’re awesome. Most are not awesome.

One thing I absolutely hate Hate HATE is italics. Writing more than a single sentence in italics means I will not read your..."

I'll read these, thanks for recommending them. I agree about italics. More than a few lines are hard to read and it takes away from the idea of setting a particular passage aside.

[M.L.]

John wrote: "OK -- four novels so far, and I always do a prologue. Not always in the same format, not always to the same purpose however.
First novel, prologue was a "sneak preview" of action to come -- somethi..."

That's interesting, the different ways of using prologues. Will there be a fifth book or more? Congratulations on book 4! I saw that in the author promo thread. I'm following that thread, it's like a newsletter.

[Tomas]

I, personally, use italics for thoughts the character does not say out loud (or, in one case, a dream).

Anyway, prologues. I think they are good when the prologue happens at a different place or in a different time than the rest - otherwise, it could be just a chapter like the others. I don't mind them if they say something meaningful. Prologue for the sake of itself will not help anything.

As for my writing experience, I struggled a bit to get it right for my WIP and the current version has a ~1000 word prologue that happens some 18 years before the main story and sets up some of the main characters as well as teasing a bit of backstory (to which some of the following events have a link).

Edit: What I might mention as slightly interesting is a book from World of Warcraft series Tides of Darkness which has two prologues - one from the human side and another from the orc side.

[M.L.]

Ine wrote: "like Trike said, it has to be good. Think about it, you as writer know everything about your world and whats happening and why this prologue here is SUPER INTERESTING. We as readers do not.

I lik..."

That's one of my favorites, A Game of Thrones. I think my favorite so far is The Eye of the World. I love that. The idea of the earth still moving, well, I'm in California, earthquake country. I know what that feels like.

[M.L.]

Trike wrote: "Going through my Fantasy novels...

I have Red Sister on my TBR and I like that prologue quite a bit. I’ll have to decide if it’s distinct once I read the book.

On the other hand,..."

I think we have Dragon's Flight so I'll read that (re-read). It's been a while since I read it.

The story following right on the heels of the prologue does seem a bit odd. I think the prologue should be apart in time.

[John]

To M.L.... Thanks, yes, fifth book is in the works though if past history is any guide it will take a year or so to finish.

Though there may be different ways to approach a prologue, the goal is always the same, to make the reader want to read the rest of the book. I try to keep that in mind, but as Ine said, writers sometimes lose sight of the fact that the reader is coming in "cold" -- especially with a series where you have no guarantee that the next reader has read any of the previous books.

I'm finding a problem with that in the latest David Weber "Honorverse" novel (just published) -- not in the prologue (there isn't one) but in the early chapters. He casually mentions many major events from previous novels, just in passing with no details provided. That's fine for people (like me) who have read all of those novels; but somebody picking up this book and trying to read it as a standalone would have to wonder what he was talking about, especially since most of those events he mentions really aren't that important to the present story. I think it's another case of an author who has fallen in love with his own "universe" and just assumes that everyone who reads his books will be as familiar with it as he is.
On the other hand, if he makes that assumption, why mention these characters and events at all? If I've read all the previous books, I don't need to be reminded of something that happened five novels ago.
Again, if it's a series, maybe a prologue offers an opportunity to present a synopsis of what has gone before. If so, it should probably be a brief synopsis, otherwise you will just be boring the people who have read the previous books.

[Kirsten]

John wrote: "To M.L.... Thanks, yes, fifth book is in the works though if past history is any guide it will take a year or so to finish.

Though there may be different ways to approach a prologue, the goal is a..."

This is why I refuse to read out of order unless I am sure it's okay.

[Phillip]

I'm indifferent to them. Some people use them incorrectly, but I don't really care if what should be called "chapter 1" is instead labeled a prologue. It also doesn't bother me if the author wants to call the last chapter an epilogue. If the story is good, I'll overlook the technicalities. I'd rather read a great story with typos and excessive commas than perfect prose with a boring story (*cough* Melville *cough*).

[M.L.]

Tomas wrote: "I, personally, use italics for thoughts the character does not say out loud (or, in one case, a dream).

Anyway, prologues. I think they are good when the prologue happens at a different place or i..."
What I might mention as slightly interesting is a book from World of Warcraft series Tides of Darkness which has two prologues - one from the human side and another from the orc side.

I haven't come across any double prologues, two perspectives, I'll have to take a look that.

[M.L.]

John wrote: "To M.L.... Thanks, yes, fifth book is in the works though if past history is any guide it will take a year or so to finish.

Though there may be different ways to approach a prologue, the goal is a..."

A synopsis, I agree, would have to be brief. I don't mind reading out of order, especially if a later book sounds more interesting than the first one. That's one reason I would not likely start a book that has, say, ten published and more to come. I'm not reading all nine just to get to the last one.

[M.L.]

Phillip wrote: "I'm indifferent to them. Some people use them incorrectly, but I don't really care if what should be called "chapter 1" is instead labeled a prologue. It also doesn't bother me if the author wants ..."

I'm not indifferent. :) It's about the writing, but I have to be able to get to the writing. I should not have to pole-vault over haphazard punctuation. :) no obstacle courses!

Which brings up something else. Reviews. (I'm not talking about anyone here.) I don't read many reviews--I want to read the book first--but if a review glosses over some really glaring *stuff*, well then that's not a good thing. Nope, won't believe 'em anymore. :)