Do you begin your novel with a Prologue? Or do you dive proper into Chapter One?
The selection can decide whether or not readers are drawn in or by no means get previous the primary web page.
I lean away from a Prologue each time doable. Once I do use one, it’s solely as a result of there’s backstory the reader can’t do with out.
That ought to hardly ever be the case.
When you do resort to a Prologue:
1—Don’t label it as such. Readers are inclined to skip preliminary materials. Allow them to be pleasantly shocked after they come to the top of it and discover Chapter One.
2—Don’t use it as an excuse to do one thing you wouldn’t do on web page one, chapter one. It ought to be each bit as partaking as your opener, all exhibiting and no telling.
What a Prologue Is Not
- A preview
- A scene from the center of the story
- Details you may weave into the story
- An info dump
Use a Prologue solely to encourage the reader to maintain studying.
Do You Actually Want a Prologue?
Decide this by asking your self:
Do I’ve info the reader completely should have earlier than Chapter One?
Ideally, you need to work all the pieces into the primary chapter and, as Les Edgerton implies in his writing ebook Hooked, don’t underestimate your reader.
Too many starting novelists, he says, don’t give readers sufficient credit score to have the ability to deduce what’s happening with out all method of backstory.
Naturally, he leans away from Prologues and towards sturdy hints at backstory in your opening chapter, setups that might be paid off later.
My Finest Tip for Writing an Efficient Prologue
Make it charming—a scene as sturdy as any in your novel.
This turns into your opener, carrying with it all of the import your first few paragraphs demand. This isn’t the place for narrative abstract. Seize readers with an evocative scene that forces them to maintain turning pages.
In case your Prologue fails, you’ve probably misplaced your readers for good.
Prologue Examples
- The Valley of the Dry Bones by yours actually
- The Bourne Id by Robert Ludlum
- Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (certainly one of my favorites)
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