Is it okay to just start at Chapter 1, and continue on with the story for a little bit, THEN see if I want to put in a prologue? Or do I even have to use a prologue? In fantasy, I see a lot of prologues, but usually I just say: Why was that even there? It didn't make any sense at all. So please, your comments would be appreciated.
To give dignity to a man is above all things.
~ Indian Proverb
You definitely do not have to have a prologue. They are a completely optional part of a story (so is an epilogue) For example, Tamora Pierce (a really good fantasy author) doesn't use prologues often, if ever.
In stories I've started(never finished, sadly), they've always had a prologue, but that's just the way that I write, and it worked well with my specific stories.
Prologues can be good for foreshadowing, or explaining how an event in the story began, but it is completely your choice. If you do want a prologue, but don't know what to put in it, just leave it and come back to it later.
Good Luck!
Just never ever forget to live ok? Never ever forget to be happy when things maybe aren't the greatest. Yeah, that's right- because every moment is making you who you will be and is really worth it in the end. So just....live.
A prologue is good if there is some event that the story references several times without being absolutely necessary to understand the story. I use them if there is something the reader doesn't have to know.
I've written tons of fantasy without using a prologue, expect for one piece that really needed it. Prologues get on my nerves unless they are important and tell the reader something that has happened without going into it too much in later scenes.
I kind of tend to use prologues sparingly, but it really depends on the story. For my current WIP, I think I tried to write a prologue but it really just didn't fit with the story so I just wrote what's now my first chapter.
As to the answer of your question, though, that's perfectly fine to do- if I felt that my current WIP might need/be good with a prologue, I would keep writing a few more chapters and then try writing a prologue and see how well it fit. I don't think fantasy books need prologues by "default," and it's mostly just a choice made by the authors when they're planning/writing. If every fantasy book written were to have a prologue, I think prologues would become a "RAWR PROLOGUE BAD, DO NOT WANT" sort of thing. XD
