Prologues - various questions

[Brian Rogers]

In a current WIP I've begun re-writing the second draft and my prologue is now a bit different. The goal of this prologue is to provide details about the: Setting; Technology; Multiple characters which will be introduced throughout this first book and also into the second; Hints at underlying political tensions/subterfuge/terrorism.

This prologue is right now 11,000 words and uses multiple viewpoints - doomed character about to be destroyed and his thoughts to engage readers emotionally as well as one main character and one minor character doing the attacking and their thoughts/backgrounds.

The prologue is set 20 or so years prior to the main plot lines so although the doomed character never makes another appearance, the things he does do relate directly to the main plot 20 years later.

Without posting the entire prologue to the critiques section I know I can't have highly detailed answers but I wanted my fellow Chrons perspective on their likes/dislikes when it comes to creating prologues - what to include, what they should provide, what not to do, etc.

 

[HareBrain]

I'm more tolerant of prologues than some readers, but even so, 11,000 words would risk trying my patience unless it grabbed hold of me and didn't let go. The trouble is, I always know I'm not reading the "real" story, which I'm often anxious to get to, and a long prologue that switched POV would likely make me skip ahead at one of the POV-switch points -- unless, as I said, it was superbly done.

The goal of this prologue is to provide details about the: Setting; Technology; Multiple characters which will be introduced throughout this first book and also into the second; Hints at underlying political tensions/subterfuge/terrorism.

This makes me a bit uneasy. The primary goal of the prologue should be the same as it would be for chapter one in a prologue-less book -- to hook the reader with an engrossing story. Most readers won't stand for a spiel of background facts about a world they're not yet interested in. This might just be the way you've worded your post, but a lot of prologues we see here do seem to fall into the trap of thinking that because the author is interested in this stuff, the reader will also be. But the writer is interested because it's his creation and he's been working on it for ages. This isn't true for the reader.

Anyway, it might be worth thinking how much of the information you're keen to get across could be filtered into the main text, and I would suggest that a prologue of about 3,000 words from one POV (maybe just your doomed guy) is much less risky.

 

[Ogma]

Eleven thousand word sounds to me at least way too long for a prologue. If you have a prologue, it has to be short and punchy. Effectively one scene if you like with one POV, something that will give a reader an appetite for more. Eleven thousand words is so long that a reader may forget they are reading a prologue, not the main story, making the sudden jump 20 years into the future jarring.

Could this prologue be worked into the main story? Could it work as the first part/book of the main story or maybe be told in flashbacks as needed?

 

[Zebra Wizard]

A prologue to me is a sample of the book as a whole. gives you a sense of the setting, style, feeling to hook the reader in. It should be used for infodumping, its the first impression and the reader doesnt care about the whole story, only whether this is the book for them. It has to be exciting, intriging etc.

From what you described I'd suppose just keeping unknown words/names/places to a bare minimum, just focus on the situation the surroundings, feelings. The last thing you want from a prologue is a confused reader or a reader who keeps thinking "whats this? whos that?" etc.

 

[Brian Rogers]

It should be used for infodumping, its the first impression and the reader doesnt care about the whole story,

From context I'm guessing you are saying "shouldn't" be used for info dumping?

From what you described I'd suppose just keeping unknown words/names/places to a bare minimum, just focus on the situation the surroundings, feelings.

I also agree with this - for example when I hint at underlying subterfuge I use no names or actions, just the idea something is occurring and the reader doesn't know what. I want that to create a draw to read more, that part of my dialogue is not written to explain anything.

I do have other areas that do contain background info that can be seen as a small infodump just to familiarize readers enough with technology and setting so the dialogue seems natural and not contrived - characters don't blatantly explain or ask a question that explains something for the reader; EX: "John, you are the commander, and you've had 30 years experience, what do you think?" IMO it would be better to write: David looked to his commander, a man of vast experience. "John, what do you think?" My dialogue would be confusing in some cases except I add in the character's thoughts before he speaks to create a little familiarity. It's a delicate balance for sure...

Eleven thousand word sounds to me at least way too long for a prologue. If you have a prologue, it has to be short and punchy. Effectively one scene if you like with one POV, something that will give a reader an appetite for more. Eleven thousand words is so long that a reader may forget they are reading a prologue, not the main story, making the sudden jump 20 years into the future jarring.

I was also worried about that 20 year jump, and it would definitely be a surprise to find out everything you've read for 20 page is a prologue...I will see if I can

Could this prologue be worked into the main story? Could it work as the first part/book of the main story or maybe be told in flashbacks as needed?

I would suggest that a prologue of about 3,000 words from one POV (maybe just your doomed guy) is much less risky.

Here's an idea - from the doomed guy's actions and perspective the reader learns about the initial setting (main plot takes place on many worlds, not just one) along with the hint at terrorism/political subterfuge. The second POV only occurs once, not revealing anything other than a few character names which the reader will recognize later in the book when perhaps I throw in flashbacks to include the rest of the scenario.

If you have a prologue, it has to be short and punchy. Effectively one scene if you like with one POV, something that will give a reader an appetite for more.

A prologue to me is a sample of the book as a whole. gives you a sense of the setting, style, feeling to hook the reader in.

The primary goal of the prologue should be the same as it would be for chapter one in a prologue-less book -- to hook the reader with an engrossing story.

Any other preferences or do's and don'ts out there we should avoid or look to create in prologues? Thanks for the tips and advice so far!

 

[Ray McCarthy]

To me a prologue shouldn't be an info dump. Clive Cussler uses them to tell a separate historic tale, which part of the plot hinges on. To me it should be a well formed short story and the reason it's not Chapter one is because the main characters are not involved. They are I think best avoided. Sometimes you can have a flash back instead in say Ch2 or 3. (but those disrupt the story)

 

[J Riff]

Without reading some, it's all opinion. Could easily work, read well and set up the whole story nicely. Post a bit in critiques for a more accurate bunch of opinions. )

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Do you want to be agented and/or seek a big publisher? If so, this sort of prologue will hinder you a lot. If you want to be self published, ignore that.

But, for me, a prologue there to give me the setting, background etc would have me putting it down. We all think readers need to know the intracy our world to understand the story and it is rarely true. Honestly, half the time I find the first 3 chapters of a sff story could be dropped and I'd be hooked more quickly. I know it's huge and important for the writer to know, but the reader just wants the story. And, normally, a sff reader is ready for the world to take a bit of getting used to and will go along with that.

I've used prologues, in four of my five books, so I'm not anti them. But they need to be there for the right reason - to establish the character and the story, not the world.

 

[DPWright]

I have heard so many different opinions on the use of prologues. In my limited experience, many in the industry (agents and 'established' writers) tell people to stay away from them but I think this is because so many are poorly executed. Heck, if it's good enough for Stephen King who loved a good old prologue to introduce many of his classics, its good enough for us! I enjoy using it to get the reader thinking, get them used to my writing and hopefully hook them into reading on.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Without posting the entire prologue to the critiques section I know I can't have highly detailed answers but I wanted my fellow Chrons perspective on their likes/dislikes when it comes to creating prologues - what to include, what they should provide, what not to do, etc.

The big problem with prologues is that we inevitably use them to try and explain backstory to the reader. That's a big technical mistake, and and agents/editors who see that can be expected to kick them back.

The prologue itself should - ideally - be a worthwhile chapter in its own right, showing conflict, setting, and theme to establish the beginning of the story.

The only reason for it to be named as a prologue, rather than a chapter 1, is because it is out of sequence with the chapters that follow. So it could be something that happened a lot earlier, or it could show what's going to happen. Either way, though, it cannot be an infodump, or a means to backstory.

If any of your prologue can be referred to in passing - either in dialogue, or via internal exposition - later in the novel, then it may not required.

And 11k words for a prologue is huge. Without looking at it, I would suspect that your prose is over-written, else your prologue is actually multiple scenes all squashed together under the wrong heading. Even if your MS is a big 180k words, your prologue is still 8% of the story - which doesn't sound right at all.

(If it's of any consolation, I did exactly the same in my first draft, though!! )

 

[Brian Rogers]

But they need to be there for the right reason - to establish the character and the story, not the world.

I'm getting a better picture of how my prologue needs to shape up. Issue: one of my POV explains a plot line that will draw readers in but from the perspective of a "doomed" character never to be seen again. The other POV is solely written to establish a main character and minor character.

To keep the prologue short I would need to sacrifice one POV as was mentioned as an idea earlier. If I sacrifice the doomed guy I lose a major theme of the plot but I can focus on establishing a main character instead. If I sacrifice the main character POV then I can provide intrigue for a reader with underlying plot themes but I would lose the chance to establish a main character.

I could always add in flashbacks for either option to bring back more intrigue (add back in plot) or flesh out the MC (his memories/feelings of the event) so is it better to lose plot or characterization in a prologue? Which is MOST important?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

For me characterization is always king. For others, it's plot. Where do you put your focus, as a main?

 

[J Riff]

Oh plot, story, off the top especially. Get it going, then worry about details of the MC and others.

 

[Brian Rogers]

Where do you put your focus, as a main?

The main draw to the story is initially the character development from multiple POVS with a chapter or two that highlights the plot conflict along side it. My main characters won't interact or become part of the main plot until halfway through the story and up until then you basically see them in many different settings getting to know how they think and act.

With that in mind would it be better to focus on a plot driven prologue since the plot would not really take off from the get go of the MS?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

If it were me, I'd try both approaches and see which worked better.

 

[Brian Rogers]

If it were me, I'd try both approaches and see which worked better.

Literally exactly what I was planning on doing!

 

[Zebra Wizard]

yes i meant not to infodump. Also i agree with the others 11k words is quite alot. The 3 character viewpoints bulk it down too. Why are these events 20 years before so important?

Couldn't you just focus on the final scenes of this story(prologue)? if these people or events are important to the main plot, then perhaps they could be uncovered later during the present day.

The problem i see is that you put focus on these 3 characters yet as soon as that prologue is done and the real plot begins, those 3 people will likely be forgotten. But without actually know what this is, we will just keep speculating without knowing if there is any issues at all.

Maybe its just me but i've forgotten the contents of the prologues for the last 5 books i've read (okay, thats a lie i remember one of them)

 

[TK Greenleaf]

Just last night I was out to dinner with a book marketing professional and we had this very conversation. He said he had been interviewing a number of publishing company editors and agents, and this was their consensus: if you are NOT an already established writer and are trying to become trad published, do NOT use a prologue. Prologues delay the reader from getting to the actual story action and agents/editors are much more likely to reject an ms with one. If you're an established writer, your pub and readers will grant you that small delay, but as a debut writer, they often will not.

That said, I'm actually considering using one in my next book. #somuchforadvice

 

[DPWright]

Completely agree to what TK Greenleaf said. People may tell you to play the percentages and not use this and use that but bottom line is that we write because we love writing and you gotta go with what you feel is good for the story. Like I said before, I like a good prologue - mine happen to be short with a certain element of separation from the main body of text - but every writer is different!

 

[ZombieWife]

Yeah, 11k seems way too big.

1k might be too big.

If it's there to wet the taste buds of the reader and create mystery, I'm into it.

If it's there as an infodump and to show an "AWESOME OMG THIS IS EPIC" backstory, then you've lost me.

If there needs to be that omg awesome epic beginning to show something (whatever that is--no idea), then maybe it needs to be book 1.

Or, maybe that backstory needs to be folded into the current narrative in a way that builds tension and adds mystery.

Is the prologue tipping its hand way too much?

Is it info-dumpy?

Having more than one perspective would throw me off completely. If I get into these POVs and invest in them then suddenly have that rug pulled out from under me, I'm going to feel manipulated, cheated and will likely stop reading.

Either tell that story in and of its own, or, relay the bits we NEED for this book through the POV of a character who is impacted by that information directly. Otherwise, you're kind of training your reader to endear themselves to something for 11k words and then drop it.