Of Prologues and Epilogues

[WriterDoug]

I have to seriously wonder something now. My latest novel includes a prologue, but I have never given though to an epilogue for the book. In fact, I do not even want one because it would kill the immediacy and swiftness that I have used to deliver the ending.

Writers and Editors - Preface, foreword, or introduction

This particular source says (quite a ways down the page) that you essentially cannot have one without the other. The two parts are married together. If so, blah and double blah. Rather than getting discouraged over what a random website says, can one of you clear this matter up for me?

I would very much like to keep my prologue and quite frankly not give a darn about having no epilogue.

Cheers,
WD

 

[j d worthington]

I've seen instances of one without the other. I'd say to follow what seems to fit your material. If you find than an epilogue or postlogue helps to wrap things up properly, and it doesn't feel awkward but rather "belongs", then do it. Otherwise, this may simply be one of those rules that is true in general, but not across the board....

 

[Culhwch]

Yeah, don't bother listening, WD. I've read a truckload of books with prologues and no epilogues. And probably the other way 'round, too, though none spring to mind.

The bottomline is, do whatever it is you want to do. There are no rules. I'd suggest sticking to standard spelling and punctuation, but otherwise, go nuts.

EDIT: Having had a glance at that article, I think it's talking about more formal styles of writing, for instance non-fiction or academic dissertations.

 

[vintagefury]

If having a prologue with no epilogue really makes you unhappy, make your prologue chapter 1 and increase every subsequent chapter's number by 1.

Says who the first chapter has to be inline with chapter two? Sure as heck didn't hurt the Harry Potter series...

 

[j d worthington]

Generally a prologue is more useful structurally if you need to introduce a theme, some information, etc., that doesn't fit comfortably into the main body of a work. It also acts as something of a way to set the mood or tone without slowing down the narrative proper. Very few times I can think of where a prologue was made into a first chapter that it didn't stick out like a sore thumb and just feel awkward. Much better to remain with a prologue in such a case, and use an epilogue or not as seems appropriate....

 

[Moogle]

Generally speaking, listen to every piece of advice you hear about writing, but throw it all away and only use what suits your style. If you need an epilogue to tie the ending up, go for it. If you don't, then don't. One of the main reasons I have of calling myself a writer is that I prefer to do things my way, and if people like them, great! If not, well I guess that's too bad for them as I think I have quite a number of interesting things to say.

 

[Birol]

Of course you can have one without the other. Many books I've read have one and not the other.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

A look at your bookshelves should tell you that this is not the case with genre fiction, Doug, whatever may be the convention for non-fiction or drama.

I can certainly think of cases where a prologue might require an epilogue. If the tales begins with the veteran of many battles sitting by the campfire to tell his juniors the story of his early years (or some such framing device), it's going to feel very lobsided if the book doesn't return to the campfire by the end.

But SFF writers often use the prologue to inject a bit of history or cosmology in order to introduce the reader to the world. Or the prologue describes events important to the story yet not consecutive with it -- perhaps events several years earlier, or including characters who aren't going to appear again. Neither of those cases calls out for an epilogue, and adding one on just for the sake of symmetry could be simply adding on some unnecessary bits to an already effective ending.

 

[Piyi]

Generally speaking, listen to every piece of advice you hear about writing, but throw it all away and only use what suits your style. If you need an epilogue to tie the ending up, go for it. If you don't, then don't. One of the main reasons I have of calling myself a writer is that I prefer to do things my way, and if people like them, great! If not, well I guess that's too bad for them as I think I have quite a number of interesting things to say.

Same philosophy here. I don't write for anyone else but for myself. And I love what I write--but I don't think many other people would. That's one of the reasons I began writing because I couldn't find a book out there that suited my interests exactly. So I made it up.

 

[scalem X]

I don't think that many people will be shocked, lol.
In general people will only notice when they have reached the end. That the symmetry doesn't work, but I don't think they will care then.

 

[lin robinson]

This particular source says (quite a ways down the page) that you essentially cannot have one without the other.

This source is bunk.

BUT, if you have an Overture, you must have an Underture.

 

[Jarshen]

See what happens at the end of your book, make the choice then.
Prologues are an introduction to a world, style/mood and/or important plot clues.
There are very few successful epilogues, they are a finish, the best are I think a sign off by the author.

 

[WriterDoug]

The purpose of my prologue was to tell of an event that actually occurred in history, roughly fourteen years after my own novel takes place. The event was also quite similar in most every way, and since my novel was purely a work of fiction, it was my segue from the real to the unreal--it was my of showing that history repeats itself. My explanation might sound hokey, but the actual writing was a beautiful transition I must say.

My whole novel is in fact a cycle, in the sense that the prologue tells part of the end of the book, and the actual end of the book helps explain what you read on pages 1-9. I guess in a way, the prologue serves as both the prologue and the epilogue in one body. For a number of other reasons as well, I just felt an epilogue would have been highly unnecessary and maybe even overkill to my style.

You know what, I am just going to summarize this whole post and say that my book is really weird.



cheers,
WD