Novel's time frame

I wouldn't recommend you use a prologue unless its purpose is to enlighten or expand upon the main body of the story. I've personally never used one. The closest I've come to using one is at the beginning of my fourth ms, where I inserted a short, quiet scene about the two "most main characters" (it has many, though these two are the biggest) before the opening chapter. It's not labeled a prologue, and is not in the strictest sense of the word, because the scene takes place in the middle of the ms' timeline. It deals with the two characters talking about their newborn child, which foreshadows events that happen FAR into the story, including events that take place in the ms before it...

As a side note, my third through fifth ms are part of a 5 book series, in which each successive book is a prequel of the last one (the first book in the series is the last chronologically, the second takes place twenty years prior, the next several thousand years before, and so forth). In this sense, each book in the series can be considered prologue to the one before it; each ms alludes to events that take place in the past fictional history of the story's universe that are elaborated on in the following book.

billyf027 said:

I just read a wnderful novel. "The Blind Side of the Heart." It was written by Julia Franck. The novel starts with a prologue then goes back many years before it and jumps forward through time in the following chapters. It eventually reaches the time peroid of the prologue and then goes past that in the ending chapters. I loved the format. Anyone else see this done. I have a work in progress that follows a similiar pattern but worried about using a prologue and going backwards in time after it building to the present.
It worked wonderful in this German novel.

Anyone else use a prologue? This is a literary novel.

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I think you have answered your own question.

In the interest of full disclosure before I continue:
- I am not part of the anti-prologue brigade nor am I part of the prologue defense league. I belong to the if-it-works-use-it camp and yes I read the prologue it's part of the book.
- I have a prologue in two of my works-in-progress. One details a crucial event that takes place 6 months before the main story, the other works just as you describe above.
- I write paranormal suspense. (in case that matters ... )

I have commented on the to-prologue-or-not-to-prologue before, too lazy to go find my previous posts. Therefore I will let my conference buddy Bill Cameron ('Lost Dog', great book, great guy!) share his thoughts:

http://billcameronmysteries.blogspot.com/

IMVHO, a prologue is just a tool you can use to tell your story, not some cursed object that will label you a talent-less hack for all eternity. If you need this tool to tell the best story you can tell, then go for it.

I have no real idea about this, but in my current WIP the character has a few flashbacks about her life...

This is actually a very common pattern. I can't recall offhand which books I've read this in, but I have, and have seen this in many films as well (think Forest Gump (spoilers) - he starts telling his story on the bench, flashback to the tale of his life. The tale of his life finally catches up with him on the bench, he learns where Jenny lives, and then the movie follows the rest of the tale as he marries her etc). It's done all the time, and for that reason I'm sure therefore people enjoy it and you should have no problem in doing it yourself. One small suggestion. Don't take too long wrapping up the story once you've got back to the prologue part later in the book. By then the audience is expecting the story to end soon, and might feel you are dragging things out too long otherwise.

Toothpaste said:

This is actually a very common pattern. I can't recall offhand which books I've read this in, but I have, and have seen this in many films as well (think Forest Gump (spoilers) - he starts telling his story on the bench, flashback to the tale of his life. The tale of his life finally catches up with him on the bench, he learns where Jenny lives, and then the movie follows the rest of the tale as he marries her etc). It's done all the time, and for that reason I'm sure therefore people enjoy it and you should have no problem in doing it yourself. One small suggestion. Don't take too long wrapping up the story once you've got back to the prologue part later in the book. By then the audience is expecting the story to end soon, and might feel you are dragging things out too long otherwise.

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P.S. And what she said.

ladylynxx said:

I have no real idea about this, but in my current WIP the character has a few flashbacks about her life...

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Flashbacks aren't prologue, though a prologue can be made up of flashbacks (for that reason, I couldn't say why...a flashback before the story is told doesn't make much sense).

In my book, the prologue is a flashback to the event that lead to the first chapter. Then it flashes forward to the present, and after the first two chapters, it's a flashback. Then, in the epilogue, it's the present. Now, the story calls for such a format. If the story can do without it, than I donb't suggest it. I'm not sure that I cna pull it off, since it takes very good writers to not make it confusing.

I guess my manuscript's quite similar to that. My prologue, I can't live without unfortunately. The prologue tells of a future event, and the next chapter starts with what happened the year before, until it eventually leads up to the prologue.

Haven't read any other book that did this, so thanks for the post, I'll look for that book.

I just finished The Time Traveler's Wife, and to say she did this seamlessly would be an understatement, at least imo. That also starts with a prologue from both MC's perspectives, but the prologue isn't a certain period of time, it just explains their mental state as adults, so when you reach that point in the book it doesn't feel like anything has been given away.

melaniehoo said:

I just finished The Time Traveler's Wife, and to say she did this seamlessly would be an understatement, at least imo.

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Yes, excellent example.