Correct use of a prologue - Does this work?

Why not make it first chapter?

And if it's just a brief back story, why not just cut it and incorporate the information in later chapter, when she shows up?

Let's ask this question: if the prologue disappears or if the readers skip it, will the story still make sense?

To me, that's exactly why I think prologues are often misused or overused. People use it for back stories that can very easily be integrated into the main story, or something that should have been chapter 1 anyway.

I'm with Maestro. This seems like something that can be woven directly into the narrative in any number of ways--and, weirdly, although you are talking about a pretty heavy event, it still may not be the most dramatic place to start. This is the kind of thing that can act as a hidden, driving force that is only alluded to or suspected for much of a book.

Heck, I might open it with a scene between the mother and the boyfriend after the daughter has vanished...

You could start having her already journeying away from her hometown, or her house, and then reveal it somewhere later in the story, perhaps not even until she talks about it with someone. Or as it has been suggested, through a dream. Or the scenes flashing in her mind. Seeing things on the streets that burst into the fresh memories in her mind.

OR you could do it the way you want it.

Prologues are NOT a "bad thing". Or you wouldn't see them in so many great books. This is one of those mindless "writer nitpick things" like not using adverbs. Don't let it get to you.

There is no "correct" way to use a prologue and no particular reason to get rid of it if it serves your needs.

Prologues tend to be short, the tend to be displaced in time and/or space. They are often anonymous...you have no idea who the prologue was about when you start reading the first chapter, but figure it out later.

But that's generally. Use as you see fit, not as directed.

Running around with ill-chosen companions, smoking and loitering in alleyways.

Good thread, I had been mulling over similar thoughts recently.

I think it's a horrible question to discuss without further clarity. But I think it will be an easy question for you. Here's why...

Think about the purpose and use of a prologue. It's typically for back story. It's usually (not always, but usually) something that's fairly talky and a little boring. It's also something that a lot of people skip without realizing it because they're flipping through the book looking for the bold number "1" where they start reading. IMO, I think this is frequently a reason that people separate something out as a prologue. "Interesting" background information for dedicated readers that add to the story. But not usually anything essential that someone will miss if they skip it. It's one of the elements of the book (with epilogue, acknowledgements, afterword, etc.) that are the origin of DVD extras.

So if this is part of the story that is essential, you should probably incorporate it into chapter 1 or a flashback. If it's not essential, you should toss it. And if it's non-essential but "interesting" to readers (and your betas will be the ones to tell you this) then it would make a great prologue.

ACEnders said:

Thank you, all of you. I'm not sure what I'm going to do - yet. I'm leaving it as a prologue for now at least. I'm definitely a "not as directed" kind of gal too, but I also know that if "most" of the writers here are saying prologues are "bad" then they are probably saying that for a reason. Since I'm unpublished as of yet, and my first novel is out there (sans prologue) with no bites yet....maybe there's a reason for that. So I can't completely discount the possibility of the prologue being bad, but I like mine right now, so I think I'll keep it.

I guess I Just wanted to know why so many people think it's a bad thing. What makes it a bad thing?

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Prologues are often unnecessary or "bad" because they are commonly used for infodumps that the writer thinks are necessary, but are just boring to the reader, and the information in them should really be integrated somewhere else. If it can't be...well, you might not need that info at all.

That ties into the other reason prologues can be unsuccessful: the story doesn't start in the right place. Like other posters have said, although your beginning might be really heavy and interesting, the event might work better if it's one of those events in the past that hangs over the MC's and the reader's head the entire time, but is only alluded to.

How I handled it in my first manuscript was the prologue is an event that happens 4 years before the main story and creates that the context for the entire story. I raised questions and not answering any of them. Nothing explain why the world was the way it was or even what world its on. The design was to show the reader the violent world and enough mystery to hopefully hook them enough to get them to continue reading.

I think a lot of mystery writers use prologues as a way to grab the reader's attention, usually with some riveting scene about someone getting murdered, and then the rest of the novel is in the detective's POV. So I've always felt like a prologue should be a jolt to grab the reader's attention. However, I have to say that when I was trying to sell the first novel I wrote (which was not a mystery) a lot of agents remarked (negatively) on the fact that there was a prologue and I wound up changing it to Chapter one. Though I never did sell that book either. So I'm not exactly sure of the lesson, except you should probably have a specific reason for using a prologue.

Straka said:

How I handled it in my first manuscript was the prologue raised questions and not answering any of them. The design was to show the reader enough mystery to hopefully hook them.

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That sounds like a case though, where you've lost something significant for the readers who breeze past the prologue. That's definitely a "good prologue", but I think the question is, doesn't that belong as chapter 1 then.

chroniclemaster1 said:

That sounds like a case though, where you've lost something significant for the readers who breeze past the prologue. That's definitely a "good prologue", but I think the question is, doesn't that belong as chapter 1 then.

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It’s true if they would breeze passed it they would loose a significant understanding of the basic motivations of a couple of the key characters. I’m not sure how many people would skip it as the first paragraph is leading into a battle. Certainly a good question to ask though. Thanks.

In this project the prologue as I said starts the context, and is the spark the lights the fuse on the first stick of plot dynamite. The first chapter is 4 years later and the MC is introduced and now that fuse is only inches away from burning towards the TNT.

I chose to do a prologue to show a strong distinction in the shift of perspective and time lapse.

I'm also considering the prologue question in my WIP. Events in my prologue occur two thousand years before the events in chapter one. The MC introduced in chapter one was not alive when the prologue events happened. My prologue is meant to hook the reader; if they skip it, they miss a pivotal event in the story and that would disappoint me to no end. I think I'll test it out on my betas to find out where they think it belongs. I feel your pain.

I sit down and begin typing.

If the first word outside the header is "Prologue," then the story has a prologue. If it's "One," then the story begins with chapter one.

That method has worked for me all my career.

I realize it won't work for everybody.

And, for the record (and the countless time), I have never, ever, in more than twenty years had an editor question one of my prologues or request that I scrap it.

Maybe I've been lucky.

Or maybe prologues are really not such a big deal.

They say readers tend to gloss over a prologue if not completely ignore it -- I am not one of those folks -- but to my point, it sounds as if you could write your story without the prologue, using the event as a tool to help you develop the character through the course of the story. To me it would be one of those "aha" moments where in the course of reading, I come to understand and connect with the MC when I understand what compells her to behave or react a certain way (the rape). However, if you think that a prologue is better suited to the story, then by all means write it, but do it in such a way that if I jumped into the story at chapter 1 instead of the prologue, I would still get the benefit as if I had read the prologue.