Prologue's (Page 1 of 2)

There are no concrete rules to writing a good story whether you're talking prologues, grammar, punctuation, dialogue, whatever; if you make it enticing to the reader, then they will read and if not, they won't. Pretty simple really, in a complicated way. Take care. Vern

Prologue's what?

Don't worry! Everything alleged in that blog post is wrong.  A writer's prologue is like operatic or broadway musical composer's overture. The concept started in Greek drama to be like a movie trailer, and if the listener/reader is turned off by a overture/prologue, then is it a fact that he had better spend his money elsewhere.   Readers should thank an author for a prologue. I think it is a bad author who cannot let his reader feel the true timbre of his work at the beginning, from his first words exclusive of characters and plot, and instead, at best, relies on trite, unimaginative formulas which disappoint shortly into the book because that's all there is, sort of like putting a picture of steak on a bag of cow brains.

I don't like to read prologues so I don't write them. As a reader, I generally don't find prologues add anything to the story and they are hard to do. Why introduce a character or a scene right off the bat that it removed from the rest of the story?

Yes, but . . .  prologue as a flashback is a different animal, just like a forward/introduction, as Janet points out, is not a prologue either.  If it is to recap the story in a series, that is one thing, but to start a story with a flashback is a bad idea. They've been doing that a lot in TV and it doesn't play well, and for the most part, the flashback deserves the bad rep it gets. I'm struggling to limit flashbacks in the sequel to my book (Remembrances . . . ) that was all flashbacks (and false memories). I may have permanently damaged my narrative technique that should be linear and unambiguous unless one is deliberately trying to effect a different, non-traditional (i.e., non-commerical) style like I was doing in Remembrances . . .

A short introduction, to set the theme and tone of the entire story,  not sequential in time, perhaps.  The movie American Sniper has a kind of prologue with him taking aim in Iraq - - then flashback  up to that same scene, and then the story progresses sequentially with inclusion of new flashbacks of his meeting his future wife, etc.  This sort of thing has become more common in movies and TV, and  I find it a little annoying, though not so much in that movie because it is non-fiction and I was familiar with the story. I also think flashbacks are easier to bear in movies than in novels.

I understand and use the term to mean a break in the story that moves back in time to present something that came before the time of the story's opening, followed another break that returns to the point where the first break occurred.  This may be a character's memory, or the events that a character is remembering or recounting, or something else.

The lack of the leading break is why I don't think a story opening, prologue or not, can be called a flashback.

My two cents worth. I enjoy reading prologues. It's like the appetizer before the meal. I also love a good forward. Those make me love the author and the reason the story was written. As in all writing, a poorly done prologue is a turnoff. But then, if the teaser is poorly done, what does that say about the rest of the book? I say, if the prologue fits, wear it. If it squeezes your toes, rebuild the entire shoe. Okay, I've been working outside all day and had a few beers to keep going and it's late, so I don't think I made much sense.

But I do like a well written prologue

Write On!

Mike, if it helps, my prologue is 5000 words (about ten pages). I'm going to put up version 4 tomorrow. As NJC mentioned somewhere in this thread, make the prologue a good short story. If you decide not to go with it, you'll have fleshed out the details of the past to use to fill in the rest of the story.

From what I've read of your story, I think the flashbacks would work well as a prologue, unless there's more of the past than I've read so far (Clay's interrogation and guilty plea). There's nothing quite like trying to squeeze a ton of story into 10 little pages. Tonight I deleted a lot of stuff I previously thought was essential to the prologue, all to pick up the pace.

The other way you might consider going is to break up the flashbacks into a long guilt trip for your MC. Have him think of it in short recollections that coincide with your main story unfolding. Only you would know if that makes sense here.

Cow brains and eggs? Now that brings back memories. :-)
Dirk

There are a few things I find irritating as a reader: prologues (Why can't it be chapter 1, if it's part of the story?), technical information overload (I don't really want to know; I'll never need the information again), dreams (how presumptuous of a writer to assume the inner workings of the human mind--and yes, I'm guilty of this), and whole sections of text in italics (if there's that much to say, just say it). As a reader, I find all the above cumbersome and distracting--why do I have to pay special attention to this/ why can't I just read it in the story? It's like going for a walk in the country and having to climb over logs!

Okay, I read the article - and subscribed to the blog - and it's exactly what we've been discussing in this thread. Use it if you need it - if it sets up the story AND entertains and gives a massive hook and incentive to read the rest of the book. Don't use it if it's an info dump of backstory. Not sure it works for a flashback since the reader isn't sure what the flashback is about. I'm still struggling with Big Hearts. First I'm told the reader doesn't care about MC who just lost her home because they don't know why she lost the place. Then I get slapped for backstory (they were correct). Now I have a few paragraphs of what happened before MC walks up to her door for the last time. Not sure if I should call it 'Eighteen Months Ago' followed by chapter 1 Lost, or make it Chapter 1 Perfection Lost.

Really getting a lot of information from this discussion. Of all the threads and arguments on this topic, I think this is the best yet.

Write On!