I wrote a prologue for my story, simply because the majority of it takes place on different planets or outer space, and I wanted to give the reader a glimpse of how terrible life was on Earth - as that is one of the main motivators for one of my protagonists.
I'm putting a prologue in my book. I got talked out of it, and then tried hammering the round peg of a prologue into the square hole of the first chapter and was wondering why it wasn't working. The solution was right there: just have a prologue. Then it all made sense again and I knew I was worrying about nothing.
Prologues should be in the form of a complete story, like a short story but with foreshadowing elements and perhaps a loose resolution, or an open story question
Prologue is quite tempting and confusing at the same time. It's like a mystery piece which I intrigues the readers but is also said to be useless. I heard many big authors say it's not good for our book while some say it's good so I was stuck as well. Thank you for this advice, it will help me :)
One thing that sometimes bugs me about prologues is when they set up a flashback/forward that references a large number of people, relationships, worldbuilding elements, etc. with no context, with the implicit promise that everything you're reading is important and will make sense later... but for now you get a mystery. Then you start off the first chapter having to get acquainted with entirely different people, relationships, and concepts -- and now you have to hold on to two disconnected sets of information for half the story or more. By the time the information from the prologue becomes relevant, there's a good chance I have to stop what I'm reading and go back to refresh my memory. It just strikes me as a transparently manipulative "hook" to make you wonder what it all means, which is perfectly fine if it's only telling you a little nugget of a mystery that easily clicks. But the more mental effort I have to invest in keeping track of like five different mysteries that won't make sense until much, much later (possibly the very end) the more annoyed I'll be. A prologue that I thought was done very well was in _Jurassic Park._ It opens with a doctor on the mainland treating a crewman who's been flown in with a life-threatening injury, with a shady corporate rep trying to tell her it was a mechanical accident when it's clearly a mysterious kind of animal attack. It sets up a compelling mystery, foreshadows the raptors in a teasing way, effectively sets a horror mood -- but you know the characters and specific incident in the prologue aren't at all important to remember later. So I guess my personal advice is, please don't overwhelm me with too many mysteries, especially if the lack of context _right now_ makes it incredibly difficult to appreciate the prologue scene on its own merits.
That's typically a "Forward". Battlefield Earth has an atrocious forward, and it was years before I got around to reading it, thinking it was somehow important to the story, but it was a fucking slog, so I put it down.
@@clintcarpentier2424 "Foreword." Not trying to be nitpicky, but it's good not to misspell the very first word someone will see in the book. Also, I've usually seen the thing you're referring to called an Introduction. Generally, a Foreword isn't written by the author themself but is a commentary written by someone else (another author, editor, what have you) by request. May not be universal, but that's the convention I'm used to seeing.
I have a prologue in my book. The bulk of the book takes place after a significant event that changes everything for the central characters. The prologue shows the day of the significant event and allows me to provide a glimpse of life before the world changed.
(Possibly very slight spoiler) I recently finished Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn" and that actually has a 2 chapter prologue, one from a random character pov that's never heard from again, and the other from a pov character that's persistent in the rest of the book, though that scene was disconnected from where the actual story starts. I thought it actually worked well to set up some of the world and briefly introduce the magic system. Then, way later in the book, a character from the prologue makes another appearance, and you've probably forgotten about him at that point. I thought referencing the prologue later worked well to kind of tie that event in as not entirely disjointed.
I have a chapter in my manuscript that is crucial to worldbuilding and eventual plot development. With great excitement, I decided it would make a compelling prologue! Upon watching this video, I feel much more ambivalent now, concerned that it might very well be a chunk of info dump. So now I'm confused and a little disheartened: That chapter is hovering over me, with all of its detailed, backstory data in limbo, seeking a place (or several places) in my novel. Woe is me...Not really, but I do feel a bit trepidatious about my options. Nevertheless, thank you for helping me see my suspenseful, currently suspended chapter in a new light. Darker light? Brighter? I don't know. But it's definitely a new light. David A.
I used a prologue in my most recent book as a 'false document', where I present me (well, my author pen name) meeting a character in the book, several decades after the story that the reader is about to start. It hints at a dark event that the character was partially privy too, and sets the story up as being possibly real (it isn't, but I wanted readers to openly question if it might be). It's a technique I first encountered reading The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins. I still, to this day, wonder if German soldiers actually killed Churchill's double :)
Im writing a short prologue because my first chapter is totally necessary and establishes a lot, but doesnt (and cant seem to) immediately capture the tone and mood of the story. Its gonna be a flashback to a childhood conflict that carries through the book, and hopefully it will characterise both of the main characters straight away and it should be a good juxtoposition between past and present and raise questions and mystery. Also, theres no other scene in the story which brings up the event as a flashback, only as uncomfortable and avoidant discussion between characters, so it would be nice to give a short yet still mysterious visual to this event without revealing it all.
I have a prologue in my book and it happens 10 years before the first chapter and in its two or three pages it shows a connection between two siblings when they were children when in the actual story they are separated as teenagers/adults and one of them gets close to the protagonist, their relationship and fate affects the events of the whole book. Also their father visits a prisoner that is connected to the other protagonist (it’s also a medieval fantasy) and this mystery is revealed towards the end.
I don’t have a prologue... but I have a really short “flash foreword”/reflection scene that builds tension and (hopefully) makes the readers ask questions. When you describe what a prologue was, that first scene seem to fit exactly what you said... I’m wondering if I did label as a prologue because of all the hate prologues have gotten in the past... I’m not sure what to do from here... thoughts?
I've been thinking about adding a prologue to my Superpower WIP and if I do add one it'll follow one of the POV character's dads, it'll show his death, and the prologue will introduce an important character (albeit unnamed during the prologue since the dad is unaware of that character's name) that will be showing up later down the series.
I skip prologues sometimes. It's usually too slow, so when I'm deciding if a book is worth my time or not by downloading sample for example, then I head string to ch1 to see if it's worth it. Then I'll read the prologue if it hooks me.
I have a prologue that supplements the story. The book makes sense if you don’t read it, but gives you some clues as to why some things are happening later.
I am a new writer and started off with a prologue- for my fantasy story - as not quite sure how to always get the detailed background of my worlds in the main story. What do people think of using maps/diagrams instead?
If I buy the book I read the prologue, but it's shocking how many from newer authors aren't good. Many are totally different in tone from the book. Sometimes a character I just learned to like is dead or never to be heard from again. Many are self-indulgent. Weird on purpose. Luckily they show in the Look Inside so I can make my decision right there.
I wrote a prologue and an epilogue for my story; and I broke a lot of "rules" in the process, but I can't see taking it out. None of the characters impact the story in any way; point of fact, both are flash-forwards, 15 and 20 years respectively. The prologue gives an idea as to how the MC would have grown up, and why she gets the deference that she does. Within the prologue are several seeds/set-ups hinting at what's to come. Most importantly though, I use it to set the tone; it's upbeat tongue-in-cheek field trip, which quickly becomes very dark at the end of it. The epilogue just gives finality to the prologue.
I’m writing one because my subject matter is very sensitive (religious) and I don’t want the readers to experience the backfire effect. It’s very vulnerable and honest, to disengage defense mechanisms, and it clarifies my intent: I have no ax to grind with the religious or non-religious. (Because I don’t!)
Mine is 300 words. It is my explanation of the title, what some are more equal means in the context of Animal Farm. I admit there are quotes from Orwell, directly. Why not? I could not do any better myself.
I’m using a prologue in this ScFi story (book 2 of a series) to help the reader see the perspective of aliens in a conflict with the main character. Hopefully it will encourage the reader to dive into chapter 1 to see how the main character deals with the challenge. Could ChatGPT help with this prologue?
In many cases I wonder why a prologue even needs to be labeled "Prologue". Why not just call it the first chapter? If it deals with a past or future scene, I don't see a problem because that will become apparent to the reader through the writing or through labeling it with some time element. I think hate on prologues is misplaced simply because of labeling it as such. People get the trope in their heads that "prologues are bad", a trope only because some have been written as info dumps and given them a bad name. and I agree, I don't know anyone who skips a prologue when reading a book just because it is there. I have a future scene as my first chapter that could be consider a prologue... done for the mystery and tension, and as a hook because of the mystery it uncovers before I go back to start the chronological story.
If I have a prologue at the beginning of one book in a series, should I have one at the beginning of the other books in the series as well?? Any thoughts?
Hi, just wanted to say thanks. I was making a book, for a project, but I wanted to make a good book, not just some random words on a paper with imposed meaning. Thanks to these videos I’ve been able to do it, and now that book, although not the best, Is being used as a base for the story of a video game I’m making. Also, I was the like number 69, so guess I am obligated to say it: NICE
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
I like reading prologues. They're like appetizers before the main dish.
I wrote a prologue for my story, simply because the majority of it takes place on different planets or outer space, and I wanted to give the reader a glimpse of how terrible life was on Earth - as that is one of the main motivators for one of my protagonists.
Cool way to do it
Interesting!
I'm putting a prologue in my book. I got talked out of it, and then tried hammering the round peg of a prologue into the square hole of the first chapter and was wondering why it wasn't working. The solution was right there: just have a prologue. Then it all made sense again and I knew I was worrying about nothing.
Prologues should be in the form of a complete story, like a short story but with foreshadowing elements and perhaps a loose resolution, or an open story question
Prologue is quite tempting and confusing at the same time. It's like a mystery piece which I intrigues the readers but is also said to be useless. I heard many big authors say it's not good for our book while some say it's good so I was stuck as well. Thank you for this advice, it will help me :)
One thing that sometimes bugs me about prologues is when they set up a flashback/forward that references a large number of people, relationships, worldbuilding elements, etc. with no context, with the implicit promise that everything you're reading is important and will make sense later... but for now you get a mystery. Then you start off the first chapter having to get acquainted with entirely different people, relationships, and concepts -- and now you have to hold on to two disconnected sets of information for half the story or more. By the time the information from the prologue becomes relevant, there's a good chance I have to stop what I'm reading and go back to refresh my memory. It just strikes me as a transparently manipulative "hook" to make you wonder what it all means, which is perfectly fine if it's only telling you a little nugget of a mystery that easily clicks. But the more mental effort I have to invest in keeping track of like five different mysteries that won't make sense until much, much later (possibly the very end) the more annoyed I'll be.
A prologue that I thought was done very well was in _Jurassic Park._ It opens with a doctor on the mainland treating a crewman who's been flown in with a life-threatening injury, with a shady corporate rep trying to tell her it was a mechanical accident when it's clearly a mysterious kind of animal attack. It sets up a compelling mystery, foreshadows the raptors in a teasing way, effectively sets a horror mood -- but you know the characters and specific incident in the prologue aren't at all important to remember later.
So I guess my personal advice is, please don't overwhelm me with too many mysteries, especially if the lack of context _right now_ makes it incredibly difficult to appreciate the prologue scene on its own merits.
I used to think prologues were about the writer so I never read them, but now I know better and I always read them.
That's typically a "Forward". Battlefield Earth has an atrocious forward, and it was years before I got around to reading it, thinking it was somehow important to the story, but it was a fucking slog, so I put it down.
@@clintcarpentier2424 "Foreword." Not trying to be nitpicky, but it's good not to misspell the very first word someone will see in the book.
Also, I've usually seen the thing you're referring to called an Introduction. Generally, a Foreword isn't written by the author themself but is a commentary written by someone else (another author, editor, what have you) by request. May not be universal, but that's the convention I'm used to seeing.
@@umbrascitor2079
I did spell it foreword, but for some reason I got a red squiggle, while forward didn't. And today, both are acceptable, go finger.
I'm starting my book with a prologue, and it does tie in with the story. It smoothly transitions into Chapter 1
Aside from this video, I'm excited how many people are writing books right now. All of you, keep it up! I hope to read some of your stories one day.
This is really helpful! Could you make a video on epilogues sometime?
I have a prologue in my book. The bulk of the book takes place after a significant event that changes everything for the central characters. The prologue shows the day of the significant event and allows me to provide a glimpse of life before the world changed.
I've been on the fence about my prologue. I think it works, but maybe with your suggestions I can make a better fit. Thanks!
I think it’d be great if you had a video on writing fairy tales / fables! There really aren’t any good ones on RUclips so it’d be super helpful
(Possibly very slight spoiler) I recently finished Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn" and that actually has a 2 chapter prologue, one from a random character pov that's never heard from again, and the other from a pov character that's persistent in the rest of the book, though that scene was disconnected from where the actual story starts. I thought it actually worked well to set up some of the world and briefly introduce the magic system. Then, way later in the book, a character from the prologue makes another appearance, and you've probably forgotten about him at that point. I thought referencing the prologue later worked well to kind of tie that event in as not entirely disjointed.
Thank you. I have a prologue and now I understand why.
I have a chapter in my manuscript that is crucial to worldbuilding and eventual plot development. With great excitement, I decided it would make a compelling prologue! Upon watching this video, I feel much more ambivalent now, concerned that it might very well be a chunk of info dump. So now I'm confused and a little disheartened: That chapter is hovering over me, with all of its detailed, backstory data in limbo, seeking a place (or several places) in my novel. Woe is me...Not really, but I do feel a bit trepidatious about my options.
Nevertheless, thank you for helping me see my suspenseful, currently suspended chapter in a new light. Darker light? Brighter? I don't know. But it's definitely a new light. David A.
I used a prologue in my most recent book as a 'false document', where I present me (well, my author pen name) meeting a character in the book, several decades after the story that the reader is about to start. It hints at a dark event that the character was partially privy too, and sets the story up as being possibly real (it isn't, but I wanted readers to openly question if it might be). It's a technique I first encountered reading The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins. I still, to this day, wonder if German soldiers actually killed Churchill's double :)
A good prologue is something I really enjoy. One of my personal favourites was written by Brandon Sanderson for Mistborn Book 1: The final Empire.
Im writing a short prologue because my first chapter is totally necessary and establishes a lot, but doesnt (and cant seem to) immediately capture the tone and mood of the story.
Its gonna be a flashback to a childhood conflict that carries through the book, and hopefully it will characterise both of the main characters straight away and it should be a good juxtoposition between past and present and raise questions and mystery.
Also, theres no other scene in the story which brings up the event as a flashback, only as uncomfortable and avoidant discussion between characters, so it would be nice to give a short yet still mysterious visual to this event without revealing it all.
Heyy thank you so much now I got clarity
I have a prologue in my book and it happens 10 years before the first chapter and in its two or three pages it shows a connection between two siblings when they were children when in the actual story they are separated as teenagers/adults and one of them gets close to the protagonist, their relationship and fate affects the events of the whole book. Also their father visits a prisoner that is connected to the other protagonist (it’s also a medieval fantasy) and this mystery is revealed towards the end.
I don’t have a prologue... but I have a really short “flash foreword”/reflection scene that builds tension and (hopefully) makes the readers ask questions.
When you describe what a prologue was, that first scene seem to fit exactly what you said... I’m wondering if I did label as a prologue because of all the hate prologues have gotten in the past...
I’m not sure what to do from here... thoughts?
I would just not label it as "prologue" ... it is the start of the story, even if it is a flash forward.
@@glenn_r_frank_author Thanks! I thinks that's what I'll end up doing :)
Where do we get the Reedsy jacket?
In my prologue I show how the school becomes the home for my characters, and how the virus spreads
I've been thinking about adding a prologue to my Superpower WIP and if I do add one it'll follow one of the POV character's dads, it'll show his death, and the prologue will introduce an important character (albeit unnamed during the prologue since the dad is unaware of that character's name) that will be showing up later down the series.
I skip prologues sometimes. It's usually too slow, so when I'm deciding if a book is worth my time or not by downloading sample for example, then I head string to ch1 to see if it's worth it. Then I'll read the prologue if it hooks me.
I have a prologue that supplements the story. The book makes sense if you don’t read it, but gives you some clues as to why some things are happening later.
I am a new writer and started off with a prologue- for my fantasy story - as not quite sure how to always get the detailed background of my worlds in the main story. What do people think of using maps/diagrams instead?
If I buy the book I read the prologue, but it's shocking how many from newer authors aren't good. Many are totally different in tone from the book. Sometimes a character I just learned to like is dead or never to be heard from again. Many are self-indulgent. Weird on purpose.
Luckily they show in the Look Inside so I can make my decision right there.
Mine has a prolonge but I'm debating if I should keep it🤔
I wrote a prologue and an epilogue for my story; and I broke a lot of "rules" in the process, but I can't see taking it out. None of the characters impact the story in any way; point of fact, both are flash-forwards, 15 and 20 years respectively.
The prologue gives an idea as to how the MC would have grown up, and why she gets the deference that she does. Within the prologue are several seeds/set-ups hinting at what's to come. Most importantly though, I use it to set the tone; it's upbeat tongue-in-cheek field trip, which quickly becomes very dark at the end of it.
The epilogue just gives finality to the prologue.
I am going to put a prologue in my book when I get to the writing stages.
My historical novel has a short one that looks into the future and hints at the story's premise
I’m writing one because my subject matter is very sensitive (religious) and I don’t want the readers to experience the backfire effect.
It’s very vulnerable and honest, to disengage defense mechanisms, and it clarifies my intent: I have no ax to grind with the religious or non-religious. (Because I don’t!)
showing internal conflict is good reason to have a prologue
Mine is 300 words. It is my explanation of the title, what some are more equal means in the context of Animal Farm. I admit there are quotes from Orwell, directly. Why not? I could not do any better myself.
I’m using a prologue in this ScFi story (book 2 of a series) to help the reader see the perspective of aliens in a conflict with the main character. Hopefully it will encourage the reader to dive into chapter 1 to see how the main character deals with the challenge. Could ChatGPT help with this prologue?
Pro-tips 👍🙂
In many cases I wonder why a prologue even needs to be labeled "Prologue". Why not just call it the first chapter? If it deals with a past or future scene, I don't see a problem because that will become apparent to the reader through the writing or through labeling it with some time element. I think hate on prologues is misplaced simply because of labeling it as such. People get the trope in their heads that "prologues are bad", a trope only because some have been written as info dumps and given them a bad name. and I agree, I don't know anyone who skips a prologue when reading a book just because it is there. I have a future scene as my first chapter that could be consider a prologue... done for the mystery and tension, and as a hook because of the mystery it uncovers before I go back to start the chronological story.
Mine has a prologue, and I have a question: when submitting initial chapters to agents, should you skip the prologue?
I'd like to know this too.
If I have a prologue at the beginning of one book in a series, should I have one at the beginning of the other books in the series as well?? Any thoughts?
You can, but you don't need to just because you had one in the first book!
@@Reedsy thanks for the help!
Any unusual or interesting different names to use other than prologue or introduction? I’m calling mine chapter 0 on the draft lol
The beginning of the the start
Nowhere at the beginning of everything would also work
@@flowerpotmadeofclay interesting
My first chapter begins 27 years before the main story. Should this be a prologue? It is 500 words...
Yes
Take a look at vinland Saga's Prologue
I would say yes. 🙂
Cute 🙂 and very helpful 💯
Can I get some examples of books with prologues that are info heavy. Basically just one big info dump.
I read the prologue only after I have read and liked the book...
If you have a prologue, is epilogue a must?
Nope! You can have both, neither, or just one or the other.
I almost always skip the prologue when reading
Vinland Saga
Prologues are TOUGH
Game of Thrones has the best prologue I've ever read.
Only poorly written prologues are bad.
Hi, just wanted to say thanks. I was making a book, for a project, but I wanted to make a good book, not just some random words on a paper with imposed meaning. Thanks to these videos I’ve been able to do it, and now that book, although not the best, Is being used as a base for the story of a video game I’m making. Also, I was the like number 69, so guess I am obligated to say it:
NICE