My short stroy is only 1,265 words long. I start the story off with a brief Prologue to give the reader some background info as to the history of what happened before the story takes place. I was wondering how do you end a prologue? Do you just skip some lines and start the story? And also I was wondering should I bother using the headline Chapter 1 after the prologue since the story is so short and really only takes place in a hospital room? Thanks for the help.
Question about a Prologue In A Short Story
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I don't think the language ot 'prologue' and 'chapter' applies here. How long is this first section? Is it part of the story because giving backstory to a 1000 word tale feels like a sign that the story may not be starting in the right place?
I suggest that you just use a scene break which is
[blank line]
#
[blank line]
I suggest that you just use a scene break which is
[blank line]
#
[blank line]
The story takes place in the near future where all vital organs and body parts can be replaced with machine like substitutes that will last forever. The story is about a women who has a failing heart and lungs but is refusing to go through with the surgery.
The Prologue sets up the time period that this break through in the medical field took place and what it can mean for people that go through with it. But the story starts off in the hospital room with the women talking to her boyfriend.
I was asking my self the same question you are about the story having a prologue with it being so short. So should I just take out the word Prologue and use the back story as is and then just skip a line like you said?
The Prologue sets up the time period that this break through in the medical field took place and what it can mean for people that go through with it. But the story starts off in the hospital room with the women talking to her boyfriend.
I was asking my self the same question you are about the story having a prologue with it being so short. So should I just take out the word Prologue and use the back story as is and then just skip a line like you said?
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I hate prologues in full novels and tend to skip reading them.
In an ultra short-short story all you need, if you really must, is a brief paragraph under the story title, skip a space, then begin the story.
It's better to work the vital info into the story structure itself, though.
Most pro stories run to 5K words, so you've plenty of space to work in the info.
Most writers don't like to learn how to do that sort of thing. It's so much easier to use a device to set the scene, after all. I'd suggest learn it anyway, just so you know how it's done.
Try reading Ray Bradbury. The man's a freakin' genius at setting a scene using as few words as possible. Stuff like "The Veldt" and "The Small Assassin" can show you how it's done!
In an ultra short-short story all you need, if you really must, is a brief paragraph under the story title, skip a space, then begin the story.
It's better to work the vital info into the story structure itself, though.
Most pro stories run to 5K words, so you've plenty of space to work in the info.
Most writers don't like to learn how to do that sort of thing. It's so much easier to use a device to set the scene, after all. I'd suggest learn it anyway, just so you know how it's done.
Try reading Ray Bradbury. The man's a freakin' genius at setting a scene using as few words as possible. Stuff like "The Veldt" and "The Small Assassin" can show you how it's done!
You really don't want to do that with a story so short. Flash-fiction length stories are less than 1000, and with 1265, you're pretty close to that. Stories that short are best done when the whole thing takes place in one scene (but including flashbacks if you want them) and it sounds like you've got the right idea if the whole thing takes place in a hospital room. I would just get rid of your intro paragraph and add that information throughout the piece in flashbacks, or however else you see fit.
Or maybe you might consider that this story might want to be longer???
Or maybe you might consider that this story might want to be longer???
This sounds like you should throw out the idea of a separate "prologue" and work this info into the story.
If you need a prologue in what is virtually flash fiction, you need to trash the story. Prologues are a pain in novels - in shorts they're just a waste of space.
I'd dump the prologue. a good short story - like a good joke - should work without explanation
I'd dump the prologue. a good short story - like a good joke - should work without explanation
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I pretty much scraped the entire Prologue. What I was trying to say in the Prologue I put most of it in the body of the story and it seems to flow much better. Thanks for all your suggestions.
For what it's worth, Orson Scott Card says that the first paragraph is free in a short story -- you can use it pretty much however you want (understanding, of course, that there are limits to what readers will put up with.) Many writers use that first paragraph to set the scene, or give one vital piece of information that must be understood to grasp the story. It's sometimes from a different point of view than the rest of the story. Many other writers abuse this because they see it used successfully and don't actually understand how to do it themselves. For the most part, in a short story (and even in a novel), you want to work the information in throughout the story.
Shagy1186 said:
Good choice. A prologue before a short story? That's like an engagement ring before the first date. Too short a time for such a thing. Though I bet it's been tried.
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