Prologues. Yeah, i kno, i kno..

Darkness Rising · Jul 6, 2008

Okay, I'm currently planning on my second novel as my first is rapidly coming to an end. Originally, as I've wrote down the scenes and chapters I did not have a prolouge, but then an idea came...

I plan on giving the second novel to wolves of publication and I thought... what if I could use this prolouge as a sells pitch. Now here me out! My prolouge fits into everything that a prolouge should be. It is a scene that will become important to the entire novel.

I also thought, that maybe if an agent requests some work, which will be the begining of the novel, it would be... impressive to him/her that the first scene is something that I hope will be very interesting and different (The idea for the prolouge scene blew me away when I thought of it). I thought it may be interesting enough to hook the agent/reader.

Do you think this will work, or is the prolouge too cliche and may turn off agents/publishers? I'm still in the planning stages, but the prolouge may change the course of the novel. Or should I just shut up and write? lol.

Clair Dickson · Jul 6, 2008

I've heard that agents asking for sample pages want the flavor the the novel, and that usually it's best to leave any prologue for when they request the partial/ full. The prologue isn't the same flavor as the novel, and may give the agent a false impression. It may aslo use up precious sample pages when you should be showing off the wonderful novel you've written.

Mumut · Jul 6, 2008

I don't use prologues at all. Too many people don't read them, I've found. So my second book in the series takes a couple of chapters to introduce all a person needs to know from the first book to enjoy the story on its own.

willietheshakes · Jul 6, 2008

People who don't read prologues - f*ck em. I'm not interested in writing a book for people who aren't actually going to read it. If I'm writing a prologue, it's there for a reason. Read it or don't, that's their decision. But if they don't, they're missing out. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna shape my work for people who care that little.

Akuma · Jul 6, 2008

willietheshakes said:
People who don't read prologues - f*ck em. I'm not interested in writing a book for people who aren't actually going to read it. If I'm writing a prologue, it's there for a reason. Read it or don't, that's their decision. But if they don't, they're missing out. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna shape my work for people who care that little.

I usually compromise and skip the prologue. If I like what I see, I'll flip back to the prologue.

Shweta · Jul 6, 2008

Not sure I know about prolouges

Shall I fix the typo?

ETA: ur typo, I fixt it.

Madison · Jul 6, 2008

Shweta said:
Not sure I know about prolouges Shall I fix the typo?

yes please - it nearly drove me mad...

TPCSWR · Jul 6, 2008

willietheshakes said:
People who don't read prologues - f*ck em. I'm not interested in writing a book for people who aren't actually going to read it. If I'm writing a prologue, it's there for a reason. Read it or don't, that's their decision. But if they don't, they're missing out. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna shape my work for people who care that little.

My thinking exactly. Skip if you want... at your own risk.

t0neg0d · Jul 6, 2008

I always felt that prologues were 'Oooops! I forgot!' and that if the material was that important, the author would have found another way to work it into the book. This isn't to say that I don't read them, it's just reminds of a sneaky way to info-dump (again, not saying that they are always used in this fashion... just something about the separation that always bothered me is all).

I wouldn't think sending a prologue in a query wouldn't be such a good idea, but who knows? It could be the most brilliant thing ever written!

Sean D. Schaffer · Jul 6, 2008

Darkness Rising said:
Okay, I'm currently planning on my second novel as my first is rapidly coming to an end. Originally, as I've wrote down the scenes and chapters I did not have a prolouge, but then an idea came...

I plan on giving the second novel to wolves of publication and I thought... what if I could use this prolouge as a sells pitch. Now here me out! My prolouge fits into everything that a prolouge should be. It is a scene that will become important to the entire novel.

I also thought, that maybe if an agent requests some work, which will be the begining of the novel, it would be... impressive to him/her that the first scene is something that I hope will be very interesting and different (The idea for the prolouge scene blew me away when I thought of it). I thought it may be interesting enough to hook the agent/reader.

Do you think this will work, or is the prolouge too cliche and may turn off agents/publishers? I'm still in the planning stages, but the prolouge may change the course of the novel. Or should I just shut up and write? lol.

Personally, I think you should shut up and write.

Seriously, I've heard people mention this thing about the dangers of prologues/introductions, and I for one have mixed feelings about the whole thing. A prologue can be good for some stories, while a death knell for others. I think what matters is what is good for the story. In the case of my present novel WIP, I have just written an introduction with the belief that it will be good for the story. Whether that remains the case or no, really is up to the story itself.

As to your question concerning how to use your prologue when selling your work to an agent: I agree with some of the others who've already posted. Don't send the agent your prologue until after they've requested a partial or a full. What you need to sell is the story itself. If your prologue is in any way different from the story, it could throw the agent way off when s/he is considering the completed piece. So when it comes time to submit, I don't think you should send the prologue right away.

But like I said above, for the moment you just need to write it.

Best wishes to you, and happy writing.

Paichka · Jul 7, 2008

I love prologues. It's like a hint of what's to come.

That being said, I think my favorite prologue in the world is the one in Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher. The prologue is all portentious, this clandestine meeting between a boy and a girl, she's asking him to do something for her, something slightly naughty, and he agrees...

Turns out that all she wanted was for him to pick her a flower garland, of some flowers she's not supposed to wear until she's older. I laughed a little. It was like the anti-prologue.

My prologue could be skipped, I suppose -- it'd likely confuse the snot out of you later if you did though. So I might retitle it "chapter 1". Decisions, decisions.

Prawn · Jul 7, 2008

I wrote a great prologue for my novel Across the Green Line which I had to cut because it was too tangential to the main point of the story. If you can write a prologue that expresses the theme of your book, or introduces a main character, I say write one. If you are writing a prologue about something that happens somewhere else to someone other than the main character, I say leave it out.

I don't mean to be an asshole, but let me call your attention to some grammatical errors here in your post.

Darkness Rising said:
~~Prolouges~~ Prologues . Yeah, i know, i know...

Okay, I'm currently planning on my second novel as my first is rapidly coming to an end. ~~Originally,~~ as I've ~~wrote~~ written down the scenes and chapters I did not have a ~~prolouge~~ prologue, but then an idea came...

I plan on ~~giving~~ throwing the second novel to the wolves of publication and I thought... what if I could use this ~~prolouge~~ prologue as a ~~sells~~ sales pitch. Now ~~here~~ hear me out! My ~~prolouge~~ prologue fits into everything that a ~~prolouge~~ prologue should be. It is a scene that will become important to the entire novel.

I also thought, that maybe if an agent requests some work, which will be the ~~begining~~ beginning of the novel, it would be... impressive to him/her that the first scene is something that I hope will be very interesting and different (The idea for the prolouge scene blew me away when I thought of it). I thought it ~~may~~ might be interesting enough to hook the agent/reader.

Do you think this will work, or is the ~~prolouge~~ prologue too cliche and may turn off agents/publishers? I'm still in the planning stages, but the ~~prolouge~~ prologue may change the course of the novel. Or should I just shut up and write? lol.

I am not pointing these mistakes just out to be a jerk. I make lots of mistakes when I write, as most people do, but I have to fix them in the editing stage. If this post is any indication of the state of your novel, I'd be more worried about polishing book one than about planning the prologue for book two. Polish away, or perhaps get a Beta reader with some editing skill.

Good luck!

Prawn

JJ Cooper · Jul 7, 2008

Posting on a forum and ones writing for a book can be different styles, voice, attention to detail, grammar etc. The OP wasn't asking for a critique of their post.

JJ

ETA - I don't see any value in a prologue.

Prawn · Jul 7, 2008

JJ Cooper said:
Posting on a forum and ones writing for a book can be different styles, voice, attention to detail, grammar etc. The OP wasn't asking for a critique of their post.

I replied to the OP's question. I know s/he wasn't asking for a critique and I wasn't trying to be a jerk, but a post on an writers' website is bound to be read by writers who will pay attention to the writing in the post. If this post is representative of the author's writing in a 100,000 word novel, s/he needs to plan on some serious editing, and I see nothing wrong with pointing that out.

JJ Cooper · Jul 7, 2008

You're making an assumption based on a few paragraphs of a forum post and comparing that against a 100,000 word novel. It's like pointing out to all of those who do not capatalise in their posts that they should for their novels?

JJ

Prawn · Jul 7, 2008

JJ Cooper said:
You're making an assumption based on a few paragraphs of a forum post and comparing that against a 100,000 word novel.

I actually said, "If this post is any indication of the state of your novel..." so I didn't assume this post was representative of the poster's writing as a whole. I said if this writing is representative, then the author needs to set aside some time for editing.

JJ Cooper said:
It's like pointing out to all of those who do not capatalise in their posts that they should for their novels?

If a poster doesn't capitalize, I wouldn't mention it. A lack of capitalization in a post could be an error, or it could be a stylistic choice. If s/he doesn't capitalize AND has a dozen other errors, I might point it out.

Reilly616 · Jul 7, 2008

Personally. My writing in a forum is no representation of my writing in my novel. Just like texting, forums are a means of communication (though more formal). Im not going to worry about a few typos, as long as the communication can be understood.

willietheshakes · Jul 7, 2008

Prawn said:
If you are writing a prologue about something that happens somewhere else to someone other than the main character, I say leave it out.

Heh.

Respectfully disagree. But maybe that's just my WIP talking.

Liosse de Velishaf · Jul 7, 2008

Reilly616 said:
Personally. My writing in a forum is no representation of my writing in my novel. Just like texting, forums are a means of communication (though more formal). Im not going to worry about a few typos, as long as the communication can be understood.

And here I am, obsessively editing my posts, even if they're a week old. Oh well.

I don't see why there's all this angst about prologues. Write the damn thing out, put it aside, and when you go back for revisions, then's the time to decide if it's for keeps.

Susan Breen · Jul 7, 2008

I've always liked prologues because I feel as though the writer is trying to tantalize me into reading the story. Right now I'm reading In the Woods, which has a great prologue. However, I wouldn't send a prologue off to an agent because a lot of them do have a thing about them. Perhaps you could just label it chapter one.

maestrowork · Jul 7, 2008

Much like anything else in writing, do anything you want; just make it really good.

Willowmound · Jul 7, 2008

Liosse de Velishaf said:
And here I am, obsessively editing my posts, even if they're a week old. Oh well.

Good for you. Everything I write is a representation of me as a writer. This is my craft. I don't do sloppy.

Feathers · Jul 7, 2008

I blogged about prologues here. You may find it helpful. I think if you possibly can, you should get rid of your prologue.
If you can't cut it, can't weave it into the rest of your narrative, can't rewrite it as a scene that's part of the real-time action of your story, and can't start your story later to avoid the prologue....then go ahead and keep it. Just make sure it is crucial to the story or really, really, really good writing. Otherwise it has not value to anyone but you.

Prawn said:
I actually said, "If this post is any indication of the state of your novel..." so I didn't assume this post was representative of the poster's writing as a whole. I said if this writing is representative, then the author needs to set aside some time for editing.

Personally I think that all writer's should watch their language online. If things ever got serious, you wouldn't want someone seeing all your typos and bad grammar and changing their mind about you. But that's each person's prerogative.

-Feathers

Wolvel · Jul 7, 2008

In my first novel I used a prologue, but it was planned. I used it to seperate a whole different segment of the book.

Now my other books don't use them.

A prologue is a tool to me, to be used as the writer sees fit.

willietheshakes · Jul 7, 2008

Feathers said:
Personally I think that all writer's should watch their language online.

cough*irony*cough

Prologues. Yeah, i kno, i kno..

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