Prologues and Epilogues

[Timben]

Are prologues and epilogues important to a story? I've seen many a book with these in them. So I was curious. My current story has one.

 

[.matthew.]

Not at all. You can have them or not, it depends on whether you have something that doesn't fit into the main narrative.

For example, a prologue with some lore building or some significant earlier event. Epilogues work for time jumps at the end too, where you can show what the characters are doing after the story has finished.

Some people like them, others not so much, but it's really not something to worry about as long as they fit into your writing.

 

[alexvss]

Are prologues and epilogues important to a story? I've seen many a book with these in them. So I was curious. My current story has one.

I think they appeal more to longer pieces, like novels and novellas. I hate when I see them in 5k-word short-stories.

 

[tinkerdan]

Here are some examples.

How to write like... | How to write a prologue

Your prologue is not a Wikipedia page about your book, and other helpful hints about a most divisive literary device.

howtowritelike.com

If your stuff isn't quite any one of these; maybe you have just a chapter.

 

[Venusian Broon]

I think they appeal more to longer pieces, like novels and novellas. I hate when I see them in 5k-word short-stories.

Jeeez, a 5k "short". That's flabby.

 

[alexvss]

Jeeez, a 5k "short". That's flabby.

Yeah could be anything up to 7,5k, as per the most oft-touted markets and awards out there.

 

[Susan Boulton]

It's up to you if you use a prologue or an epilogue. As with most things beyond basic grammar and laying out a manuscript, it is what suits your story. Don't get side tracked by thinking you should do this or that. Just make your story as strong as you can, the rest will fall into place.

 

[Venusian Broon]

Yeah could be anything up to 7,5k, as per the most oft-touted markets and awards out there.

Oh I know, but I think it's bad practice (as a writer) to write to these sort of limits. Firstly it encourages bloat (having read many amateur short stories that go over 5k, the wish they had cut back their chubby proto-novellettes is extremely strong) and secondly, if you analyse some of the biggest paying markets, they all tend to publish the size of sub-5k - and usually way less.

Unless you are a very well established author. Stephen King, for example, doesn't really write shorts, he writes long novellas and calles them short stories.

 

[Dan Jones]

The "rule" that you oughtn't have a prologue in a story these days is one that infuriates me. Well, it mildly irritates me. Sometimes a prologue is just what the story requires; it plants a seed that enables a better payoff sometime down the road. Some folk will say that if you have a prologue then it should be Chapter One, but I don't agree. It's a specific device, and may introduce a theme or plot device or character POV that we don't see until much later.

However, "rules" are rules, especially for newbie writers, and I've come to the conclusion that for writers starting out it's just not worth including a prologue as it tends to turn some people off, and why alienate people unnecessarily, especially when you're subbing and your chances are vanishingly small anyway?

For the established writer, it's clear the rules become somewhat fuzzier, and prologues become much more permissible. Seems a trifle unfair, but that's the game. But if you're self-publishing, then go crazy with your prologue, no-one can stop you; if you believe it works and is necessary for your story, include it.

 

[alexvss]

Oh I know, but I think it's bad practice (as a writer) to write to these sort of limits. Firstly it encourages bloat (having read many amateur short stories that go over 5k, the wish they had cut back their chubby proto-novellettes is extremely strong) and secondly, if you analyse some of the biggest paying markets, they all tend to publish the size of sub-5k - and usually way less.

Unless you are a very well established author. Stephen King, for example, doesn't really write shorts, he writes long novellas and calles them short stories.

We're deviating , but I just realized that, if you go down to the bottom of the page, you'll see that there are at least five threads similar to this, and their replies mount up to almost 100. So we've just been repeating the same arguments . @Timben, do your research before posting!

So, FWIW, this limit and the limits for flash-fiction actually make me trim down my stories sometimes. I don't know why, but they actually help me. And I don't think they encourage bloat. If those amateur writers of yours are bloating their stories up to 7,5k, they would be doing the same with any other word limit. Simply because the word-limit is not the problem; the problem is about structure.

 

[Venusian Broon]

We're deviating , but I just realized that, if you go down to the bottom of the page, you'll see that there are at least five threads similar to this, and their replies mount up to almost 100. So we've just been repeating the same arguments . @Timben, do your research before posting!

So, FWIW, this limit and the limits for flash-fiction actually make me trim down my stories sometimes. I don't know why, but they actually help me. And I don't think they encourage bloat. If those amateur writers of yours are bloating their stories up to 7,5k, they would be doing the same with any other word limit. Simply because the word-limit is not the problem; the problem is about structure.

I will stop polluting this thread with this discourse that is not on topic , but all I'll say is that some writers are just not short story writers, they are just too wordy (and like being wordy) and don't like the "reduced structure" that is required. Which is fine. I don't like poetry. Don't make me write it!

Back on topic I kinda agree with @Dan Jones, there can be a time and place for prologues and epilogues, that should be different in their effect than a normal pair of chapters would have on a reader, but I do think they can come across as a bit 'gimmicky', so you should use them sparingly.

 

[Phyrebrat]

The commenting on short stories is relevant to this thread, and I think it’s all linked (also I don’t think it’s our job to police what other members post).

I struggled writing below 5k, and even tho I have a growing collection of short stories, I’ve not be able to sub them as all calls require shorts between 1-5k. (See the submissions threads I post in publishing from time to time.)

If I found a prologue in a short story I’d be intrigued rather than peeved. It’s a big gamble, using your word count on a prologue! If a short has an epilogue, I’d be far less tolerant inasmuch as the best short stories leave you (well, me) wanting more, and are more like a vignette into a larger world. Using an epilogue to explain an ending would diminish the short story’s effectiveness.

When it comes to long form, I’m a fan of prologues and epilogues. I’ve never written a prologue or epilogue in any of my fiction but I do love reading them.

The problem comes when they’re used as a poor excuse for world-building and/or info-dumping.

 

[zmunkz]

Are prologues and epilogues important to a story? I've seen many a book with these in them. So I was curious. My current story has one.

The answer to almost all of these kinds of questions is: it depends. If you know what the prologue can do for you and you use it deliberately for that purpose, it can enhance your storytelling. There are many stories with prologues that I absolutely love. A few good uses include making genre or tonal promises, or capturing an absolutely relevant inciting incident.

If you’re not doing it deliberately, it can hinder your storytelling. A few poor uses include not understanding where your story actually starts, or dumping context / backstory your readers doesn’t actually need, or trying to shoehorn in an action sequence just to get a hook at the start of a story.

Myself, I almost always write one and then almost always cut it. One thing to note is there are some people who will skip prologues every time.