Prologue - Do or Don't???

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Gawian

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Easy to find inspiration, hard to get it on paper.
So yeah, due to the nature of my story, I'm wondering if I need a prologue. Some of you may have read my topic about the amount guidelines, in which case, sorry for the re-run, but here is a summary of my story.

Twenty Three Years after the human-colonisation wars, the Taulmorane are striving to regain their lost power. Uneasy truces between the Humans and Jondari continue to plague them, and the civil-conflicts between Taulmorane tribes only slow progress.

Led by War-Admiral Dawn Summers, the tribe of the Taulmorane Alliance seeks to end the civil war, and rebuild the powerful alliance that once laid waste to the galaxy.
Fleet Admiral Kael Michaels & Crewman Cassandra Royce must stop them, before they become too powerful.
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Basically, I'm wondering if I should start the story "present day", or have a prologue with a short clip of the Human-Colonisation wars?

Considering the wars will be mentioned quite a lot during the story, I'm not sure if it's worth bombarding the reader with a prologue of it right at the beginning.
 
I'd leave it. They turn agents off and it sounds like you have it covered in the main story. Remember, much of the world you know about the reader doesn't need to know. Ever. Tis painful. But if you become a best seller, think of the spin-offs. :D
 
Considering that you're thinking of the prologue in terms of "do I need", and "bombarding the reader", I would hazard a guess that you don't.

If the prologue was necessary, it would already be there. In your mind, if not on paper.
 
Agreed with those above. Its not necessary, and people like me skip them immediately because I feel like the author is trying to have two beginnings at once, and I don't like cheating. In fact, I refuse to read them. I can hear the author saying, "I know my beginning is slow and kinda sucks, but just slog through and you'll get to this cool stuff!"

NO, I won't. Start where your current story starts, and grab me so much I don't want to let go.
 
I'm not fond of prologues.
But...

If you are finished entirely and can really find something that helps move the story along at that point then maybe it could work.

If you are not complete yet perhaps that might be what you should do and maybe the right place for whatever you have in mind will suggest itself.

You can always write it out and let it float around until you decide it does or doesn't have a home in your manuscript. It would be a lost opportunity to not write it if you are thinking of it.

The worst that could happen is a moment of " What was I thinking?"
 
As a reader, I personally like prologues - but the reasoning of those above makes sense. If you are wondering whether the book needs it, probably not.
 
If the rest of your story won't make sense without the prologue, then you need a prologue. If it does, then you don't.

Dawn Summers is the name of Buffy Summers' sister in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ;)
 
Write it if you want too or feel the need to get the information out of your head. You can remove it, or trim it ,or keep it. They are not a deal breaker if the story is good. Such is the case of Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora, the prologue is over 9,000 words about the first thirty pages of the book! It's all a matter of what your story needs.
 
Clive Cussler makes good use of the Prologue. Most stories don't need them. If you can't decide, then it maybe isn't needed.
The Chapter 1 in some books is really a prologue.

^^^^ What Mouse and most of the above wrote I agree with
 
I like them. I don't skip the end or random parts of the books, so I'm not skipping prologues. (That mentality is a big WTF to me, to be perfectly honest.)

But I also agree that many agents are not into prologues. So, you have to ask yourself, "Do I REALLY need this? Or do I want to give myself the best possible chance of publication?"

I've read some great ones, though. I like the "voiceover/mystical" feel of some.
 
ZombieWife said:
I like them. I don't skip the end or random parts of the books, so I'm not skipping prologues. (That mentality is a big WTF to me, to be perfectly honest.)
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You know, I was just thinking about this thread last night, and that's exactly what came to mind!

I don't understand when people say they don't read prologues. It's just another chapter, with a different name. It's something the author included as part of the story. Saying you don't read prologues is like saying you don't read Chapter 13, or that you only read 350 pages and everything after that is unnecessary.

I don't think every book needs one, but if it has one, I will read it. Same with epilogues.

Now forewords, on the other hand.... :D
 
TheDustyZebra said:
You know, I was just thinking about this thread last night, and that's exactly what came to mind!

I don't understand when people say they don't read prologues. It's just another chapter, with a different name. It's something the author included as part of the story. Saying you don't read prologues is like saying you don't read Chapter 13, or that you only read 350 pages and everything after that is unnecessary.

I don't think every book needs one, but if it has one, I will read it. Same with epilogues.

Now forewords, on the other hand.... :D
Click to expand...

Epilogues are the best! #tieitupwithabow
 
The biggest problem with prologues is that they aren't needed if it's something that easily fits into the story somehow. And because of that 9 out of 10 that I read have a disconnection from the story and some of those don't even make sense in any relationship to the story. If you have something that adds to the story and you think it will go well at the very beginning then it would be acceptable- especially if it doesn't quite fit in to the first chapter. Although part of the first chapter with a scene break would work.

Either way try to keep it short and sweet.
 
Gawian said:
Well, the prologue would be about an event that is mentioned dozens/hundreds of times during the main story.

It wouldn't have any impact as such to the main story. It would just be a key point in a war that is brought up often.
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Each character may mention the events in question differently. Depending on the picture those before them have painted. Side A might paint a picture of a turning point in the war. Side B might say it was lambs to the slaughter.

The reader will have to decide which character viewpoint they find most trustworthy. By including the actual event in a prologue, you are deciding for the reader.

And you could always write a book around the war at a later date :cool:
 
don't do it! Whatever is in that prologue can be gotten into the main story.
 
TheDustyZebra said:
You know, I was just thinking about this thread last night, and that's exactly what came to mind!

I don't understand when people say they don't read prologues. It's just another chapter, with a different name. It's something the author included as part of the story. Saying you don't read prologues is like saying you don't read Chapter 13, or that you only read 350 pages and everything after that is unnecessary.

I don't think every book needs one, but if it has one, I will read it. Same with epilogues.

Now forewords, on the other hand.... :D
Click to expand...

Haha. I feel the same. I get the feeling that people are proud to admit they skip prologues, and to me it's like saying, "Hey, I ripped the first 20 pages out and started where I wanted to." I'd be a bit embarrassed, I guess. But that's just me. Maybe it's the Neverending Story stuck in my head: you may judge a book while you read, but it judges you back.

I have yet to hear a compelling excuse. I've been "burned" by plenty of chapters, books, genres, but so what? Haven't we all? I hate a book to end, so I stop reading the last chapter? I guess I could?

(baffled)
 
Also, I often see the prologue as a movie's initial sequence, before the title and opening credits kick in and the story starts 'for real'. A mixture of an intro to the world and a bit of backstory.

Is it necessary? No. But when done right they can be a great tool.
 
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