Posts tagged ‘prologues’

April 23, 2012

To Prologue or Not to Prologue

by limebirdkate

As far as prologues go, I can tell you that I personally love them. Especially the teaser-type ones that arouse my curiosity. I have heard through the grapevine that publishers do not like them. They treat prologues as scenes that the author didn’t have the heart to scrap. Their belief is that what’s important in prologues should be in chapter one anyway: the introduction to main characters, setting, and problem. So, to that end prologues are superfluous, a writer’s Little Darling.

The trick is to ask yourself some key questions. Without the prologue, does your plot still make sense? Which characters are in the prologue? Do they show up again in the novel? Are they part of the backstory of your novel? Does your prologue take place in a different time or setting? Does the prologue set the mood for the book? And most importantly, is your prologue more exciting than your first chapter?

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