This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
A prologue, as you are no doubt aware, is a chunk of writing that comes after the dedication and before chapter one, but is still part of the novel.
Prologues are a literary device historically associated with plays, but have been used in fiction for a long time (certainly since Chaucer). However, it is worth remembering that many modern readers skip them as a matter of course.
Prologues are often used as a way to convey information, such as when there is lots of world building to do (to help set the scene) or to ‘set the mood’.
Sometimes they are used to jump inside the mind of a character who doesn’t have a POV again throughout the rest of the book. In a crime novel, for example, to peek inside the mind of the killer or to live through the victim’s last moments.
So, should you use a prologue or not?
Well. It depends (sorry). There are a thousand writing teachers who will line up to tell you that prologues are evil and should be consigned to the seventh circle of hell and, I must say, they have excellent reasons for doing so. Prologues are often (very often) mistreated. They are used to give information that either doesn’t belong anywhere in the story, or belongs in chapter one.
We’ve already discussed the importance of openings (chapters and first lines) and if you use a prologue that becomes your opening. You must be certain that your prologue is valuable enough to justify delaying the brilliance of your first chapter.
Also, a reader will be aware that the prologue is not the main story, so you’re effectively asking them to read two openings. Is the pay off worth the time and mental energy?
If all you are doing with your prologue is setting the mood of the story, then you’re probably better doing that in chapter one. After all, you have to do it in chapter one, as you can’t be certain your reader will have read your prologue.
Also, if you’re using your prologue because there is something very different in tone, theme or even point of view to the rest of the book, then you need to think twice (or, preferably, three or four times). The prologue is no different to chapter one – it is a promise to your reader about the contents of your story and if the opening differs wildly from the rest then you are cheating your reader.
So. When can prologues work? They can be useful if you have an important event which occurs a long time before the rest of the story. You could, of course, describe the event (as back story) later in your novel, but it can also work well to ‘show’ the event in a prologue.
I also think it’s perfectly valid to use the prologue if you want (or need) to show something from a POV that doesn’t crop up throughout the novel.
Prologues (often with a matching epilogue) can be used as a framing device. For example, the prologue describes a woman finding a stack of old love letters in her attic, or a grandfather sits beside his grandson’s bed and says ‘let me tell you a story’.
Whatever you decide to put in your prologue, however, I would say to keep it short.