Young Writers Society

Never really thought about it, but now I realize that I truly love prologues. Especially when they actually narrate a part of the story which is right in the middle of events. I think it creates suspense and it pulls me in to realy start the story and then I love getting to the part where I understand the prologue...
Sorry really bad description and to make it even worse I'm going to finish off as anyone presenting a presentation at school would...
...So yeah.

Prologues, when properly used, can add additional background to the story.

Trouble arises when they are used improperly. Prologues should never lead right into the first chapter; under any circumstances.

Good ways to use it:

[list]
[*]When the viewpoint is only used once (i.e. how the princess came to be locked in the tower.)
[*]To add background on a McGuffin device. (The Story of the Ring of Power, in Lord of the Rings.)
[*]To describe a past event which is of significance to this story several years later. (Traumatic childhood events generally.)

Prologues shouldn't be used to describe things that can be done in the course of a story.

I hate prologues. Hate them. They're a cheap way to start a novel. But they are sometimes necessary.

I love them. Prologues are always necessary, the writer always gives the reader a prologue to assist them in entering his own personal vibe. As a writer, he or she should be able to put together a prologue of either pre- or post-story events to add more to that must-have suspension/thrill factor to the tale in the following pages.

That spark every writer needs to give his story light is almost always achieved by the prologue. I remember one of the first prologues I've read and loves is Eragon's prologue in book 1. It's almost like a puzzle being put together since book 1 all the way to the end, the prologue being the blurred picture.

Griffinkeeper wrote:Trouble arises when they are used improperly. Prologues should never lead right into the first chapter; under any circumstances.

Calling THAT kind of prologue 'Chapter 0' would be more appropriate.

I'mma go with 'sometimes'. Like cC said, around here they pretty much always suck, but that's comparing amateurs to pros. In a for-reals published novel if the action of chapter 1 doesn't immediately flow into the action of chapter 2 or introduce the protagonist then chapter 1 can become a prologue.

Eh, sometimes. They're way too overrated.

Awesome article @BlueAfrica as usual

I don't know why they are getting so much hate here. I've always LOVED prologues, especially those in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" books. Martin is an amazing storyteller and he his expositions are exciting and motivate me to read (or listen, since I like audiobooks since I like to be entertained passively) on. Ken Follett is an amazing storyteller too and makes prologues almost as cool as G.R.R. Martin (but I usually prefer Historical Fiction to Fantasy).

I also am a nerd who has an uncanny weakness for Star Wars books (a lot of them are well written), but the prologues are unnecessary. Just make them chapters, in that case. For instance, in "Revan", by Drew Karpyshyyn, there was really no set up or anything for the world. Everyone knows about Star Wars. Everyone reading the book already knows who Revan is, since the book is a sequel to KOTOR and would be out of context if anyone else were to read it.

I somewhat enjoyed the prologue, since it gave some insight on the plot, but it would have been better off if it were "Chapter One".

Still, I enjoyed it, because it did make a pretty good opening, reintroducing our favorite characters.

I voted "Love Prologues", but what I mean by that is that I love GOOD PROLOGUES...

I tend to write prologues, but usually I do them GoT styled, as the characters aren't the main characters in the book itself, but usually suffer as a result of something that happens.

Another example of such is in my maritime book, where the book begins (in the prologue) with "Edwin always hated his beard". There is no dialogue, but the chapter gives an insight of Edwin's character and who he really is, which is subtly implied (a famous historical individual). This ties into the epilogue too, because the last line is "Edwin found that he quite liked his beard".

So, they aren't necessary, but they are a good touch is they are good and actually add something. Usually, however, they appear in only fantasy and historical fiction and sci fi. Realistic fiction for modern day has no need for prologues.

That aside, I have always enjoyed prologues, especially if they are ridiculously long.

A good prologue is one that's necessary, doesn't give away too much, and is fairly short. At least, that's the criteria I personally look for. And if it fits those standards, then awesome! A good prologue is always fun to read.

However, if it's poorly-written and not necessary... well, that's another story.

For me, I much prefer an epilogue, but prologues can be nice too.

I said I love them, and I do. I love reading them, I love writing them.

Personally I feel like they add to the story -- whether it's in a good or bad way, I can't decide until after I've finished reading the entire thing. So that's sort of why I didn't choose "sometimes necessary" or "not necessary." It depends on the story itself. So yeah =) Just my two cents.

I think prologues, if done properly, can do a great job of adding to the suspense of a story. I think it's really difficult to do a prologue properly, and if they aren't done properly they can either be an info dump or just confuse the reader.

The only successful and awesome prologue I remember reading is the Prologue in the last Hush Hush book. That's just my take.

People seem to like the ones I make.

Prologue is just something that doesn't belong in the story, but that the writer doesn't know what to do with.

It's pointless. XD

Historical fiction and fantasy are the only genres that an author can pull off a prologue, as they introduce the world or time or place, adding context. For other cases for other genres, there is no need at all.

But then again, prologue is but a word...all books have introductions, one way or another.

In this case, the word is more psychological. If people make prologues the first chapter, people are more likely to read it.