Not a Prologue, but...

[Cyia]

If you have a short snip at the beginning of a novel, not a chapter like a prologue, what would it be called? A preface, maybe?

What I mean by a snip is three lines, less than 15 words total.

Like if Animal Farm had a couple of lines before the story: All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

[Cassiopeia]

mmmmm....I've seen things like that in italics just below the chapter title or numbered.

[katiemac]

Technically, I think it's still a prologue. I'd probably just make it the first paragraph in chapter one and then go with a line break.

A preface is usually an introduction by the author.

[Cyia]

I've had it as the first chapter by itself, but it looks weird to me. If it looks weird to me, it's likely to look weird to others, too.

[Cliff Face]

I've seen lines like those on what seem to be similar to dedication pages. Like, a dedication page will have "For my brother, and all his porn," in the middle, and then the next page will have that animal farm bit, in the middle.

It's like a mood-setter for the theme of a book. Don't know exactly what to call it, but not preface and not prologue...

[kuwisdelu]

If you have a short snip at the beginning of a novel, not a chapter like a prologue, what would it be called? A preface, maybe?

What I mean by a snip is three lines, less than 15 words total.

Like if Animal Farm had a couple of lines before the story: All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

That's an epigraph.

[Cyia]

That's an epigraph.


http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk207/xlxj4n1n3xlx/Smiley-kiss.gif

Thanks, Kuwi. I knew there was a word for it, but it slipped right out of my brain.

[Feathers]

I didn't know there was a word for it. Awesome.

How acceptable are epigraphs?

[Adagio]

"A glass of water in a dark room--"

[Chapter] I in David Plante's novel Annunciation.

That's all there is. Not even the word "chapter."

Adagio

[Lady Ice]

I didn't know there was a word for it. Awesome.

How acceptable are epigraphs?

Quite a few books have them, I think. I believe that they're pretty much always quotes that are appropriate to the novel- in some cases, they explain the novel's title.

[maestrowork]

Epigraphs usually are put at the top of the chapters, and usually they are quotes. But in this case, I would say it's an epigraph for the entire novel.