Who's on first -- does it matter?

Hello, fellow scribes!

I'm kinda stumped over something.

I notice in most suspense and horror novels, the victim of some kind of crime or murder is the first to appear in the prologue or first chapter. Then there's usually the protagonist not far behind.

My question is, does it really matter if you introduce the protagonist or antagonist first? With my genre (horror), I want to introduce the protagonist first (usually in the clutches of the antagonist) because I want readers to know immediately what kind of conflict our hero is dealing with. But, maybe introducing the antagonist first, in showing him/her/it in action, would draw readers into the story (or gross them out; haven't decided yet), thereby gaining their interest.

But I can't figure out which way is best.

What say you?

--Dawn

Try it both ways and ask your beta readers, would be my way of going at this problem.

In this area there isn't a best. There's only what works for a particular story and what doesn't work for a particular story. It's all in how you handle it.

It all depends on what the story calls for. In Blackhouse, by Stephen King and Peter Straub, the protagonist didn't make an appearance until around 70 to 100 pages into the story. Not suggesting you do something like that, but it is still food for thought. In other words, introduce the protagonist and antagonist when the story calls for them.

I've seen a number that was protagonist first. these days if i pick up a book and the first paragraph is a fleeing damsel i put it back on the shelf -- anything but that old cliche.

I'd put the protagonist first. But it must flow well with the following chapters and how you inroduce the other characters.

Do what works. :b

If I have a preference, however, I'll want to see the protagonist first (in the horror genre).

I don't have a preference. Just be interesting. And don't build sympathy for a character then (surprise!) make them bad guys. Reader identification is a tenuous thing.

And don't build sympathy for a character then (surprise!) make them bad guys.

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It could still work though, if your bad guy is complex and warrant sympathy, and if you give enough foreshadow. An example would be the bad guy in "Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown. I assume it could work that way in Horror.

In a series, the protagonist would probably show up first in each book – think of detective novels.

I want to introduce the protagonist first because I want readers to know immediately what kind of conflict our hero is dealing with. But, maybe introducing the antagonist first, in showing him/her/it in action, would draw readers into the story

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I think showing the protagonist with a conflict can be just as interesting as the antagonist. If you use the protagonist, then we are immediately given the person we want to 'root' for, the conflict they're dealing with, so already on page one we care about the outcome.

If you use the antagonist, it's probably more of an intrigue - what's going to happen, who is it, etc, but they're all "surface" emotions - interest, "thrill," but nothing more than that.

Thank you SO MUCH everyone for your replies. You've given me much to think about! :grin