Personally, how do you like to use prologues?

[Worthy39]

A prologue is pretty self explanatory, but not everyone uses them in the same way. Some people use it to just give a little backstory to set up the main story, I've seen a few people show a scene that will happen much later in the story, more like a preview almost (personally never understood that one), some people show a major historical event, or a history of the world. How do you personally prefer to use the prologue of your story?

 

[Eldoria]

Since I have answered this question in another thread, I will copy and paste my answer:

I've read prologues with 4K words that provide info dumps that new readers don't even understand why they should 'care'? Or conversely, short prologues that only provide a glimpse of the scene (usually an epic battle).

Well, people are free to make any kind of prologue, but again. If the prologue can't hook the readers to 'continue reading', then it's not a good prologue.

I personally use the prologue as a moral premise for each arc that will be the gateway to the arc's main conflict. I don't know if it can really provide a hook for new readers. But then again, if they are not interested in reading the main conflict offered by the arc, then they are not the market segment. On the other hand, if they are interested, then they are the market segment. After all, the best a story can offer is how the conflict will be presented to the readers. imho

Critical Note:
I always number chapter 1 as the prologue. It's number 1, not 0. This means that if readers skip the prologue, they won't grasp the moral premise presented in that volume. And they might find it difficult to follow the story. It's like reading a research paper without reading the problem statement.

 

[Jerynboe]

Personally I don’t use much in the way of prologues, but the ones I have seen that worked best for me were essentially a narratively relevant hype train. The opening sequence of an anime in literary form. Something that hints at what this book is about while establishing some baseline information, while most importantly being relatively readable on its own (as opposed to being almost purely intended for rereads)

The prologue of the first Stormlight Archives book springs to mind. Well, technically that book has two prologues but I digress.

The one that works especially well is Szeth son son Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, wearing white on the day he is to kill a king. It’s a giant showcase of one of the series’ most prominent magic systems as a single dude charges through a castle full of soldiers and eventually kills a king, shrugging off injuries, running on walls, and sending guards flying left and right. He eventually fights a guy with a giant anime sword and magical power armor.

It’s awesome, it doesn’t really require prior knowledge to understand what’s going on, and if that prologue doesn’t get you at least moderately hyped then one of the pillars of the series (the crazy magic combat sequences) is not for you. It is also a major inciting incident for the main plot happening in modern day and introduces a few major characters, so it’s not just fluff. It couldn’t realistically be chapter 1, because it happens years before the rest of the book and focuses on someone who isn’t a primary pov character.

 

[Grizzly18]

Depends on the writing and the story. A good author makes a prologue an intriguing window into the world they are crafting. A bad one can put in too much making it dense and uninteresting for people who might like the story or they can put in too little or something wildly out of context that doesn't match with the ton of the story (ie a slice of life/sci-fy story where the player engages in a space battle except its a rare thing in the story making the story seem like a more action packed story then it is turning away some people and making other feel stupid for not reading the tags). Personally I think prologues should be relatively short and sweet and capture some of the essence of the story or the main characters goals/personality/backstory. Otherwise I think authors should just jump into the story.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Very carefully. Often with a con... never mind that running gag.

Usually, a prologue either tells something that happened long before the main story and sets up something important (the segment of Star Wars where R2 gets the plans from Leia is kind of a prologue to the rest of the film, though the real prologue was Rogue One). It may show the villain doing something villainous, a artifact being forged, or hidden away, or just a scene in the life of the MC that has little or no bearing on the story, just showcases who or what the MC is.

 

[LeilaniOtter]

Call me coo-coo, but I like prologues that are almost completely disconnected from the book, telling a whole different story that segues smoothly into the first chapter - offering only a few tiny hints. then I can read something from Chapter One and and have an aha-moment, which gives my brain more to think about as I continue reading.

 

[Ai-chan]

A prologue is pretty self explanatory, but not everyone uses them in the same way. Some people use it to just give a little backstory to set up the main story, I've seen a few people show a scene that will happen much later in the story, more like a preview almost (personally never understood that one), some people show a major historical event, or a history of the world. How do you personally prefer to use the prologue of your story?

Ai-chan writes it as an early hook. It is never chapter 1, but more like what Ai-chan promise the story will have soon.

If it's a horror story, the prologue will have a semi-complete scene of horror, but may not be directly related to the characters in the novel, only that it is related to the story.

If it's a romance, it will be something that had happened before that is related to how that that romance came about, such as the story of how the protagonist's parents were murdered by the king's guard, resulting in the protagonist to be drifted down the river. Then chapter 1 starts with how the protagonist is already in their teens, where the story starts.

If it's an action story and Ai-chan doesn't start the story with action, then the action will be in the prologue. Just to whet the appetite of readers so that they will be more forgiving of the first 2-3 chapters not having any action.

 

[DaydreamingScribe]

I don't like prologues, I usually just skip them.

Most of the time they're like a short story set in the same universe, if it's good I'm frustrated because it's short. If it's bad then that's fine, they rarely effect the plot of the main story. I used to read them because I was afraid I'd miss something but it almost never happens.

If I'm really lost, I might go back and see if reading the prologue helps, but I can't think of a time when I've needed to.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

Prologues should be used for any lead up to your story IMO.

Like for my fanfics, it is where my MC dies and is reincarnated, and the interactions they have with the gods or higher beings, explaining what is expected of them, or in my OG, it is the 15 years prior to the story start, explaining how the MC and a few others survived the meteor that crashed into the Earth, and the higher being that is off his meds decides to help.

Some stories though, a prologue isnt required, but you should always check it out, as there should be relevant information in it...it is part of the story after all

 

[Worthy39]

I don't like prologues, I usually just skip them.

Most of the time they're like a short story set in the same universe, if it's good I'm frustrated because it's short. If it's bad then that's fine, they rarely effect the plot of the main story. I used to read them because I was afraid I'd miss something but it almost never happens.

If I'm really lost, I might go back and see if reading the prologue helps, but I can't think of a time when I've needed to.

Prologues should be used for any lead up to your story IMO.

Like for my fanfics, it is where my MC dies and is reincarnated, and the interactions they have with the gods or higher beings, explaining what is expected of them, or in my OG, it is the 15 years prior to the story start, explaining how the MC and a few others survived the meteor that crashed into the Earth, and the higher being that is off his meds decides to help.

Some stories though, a prologue isnt required, but you should always check it out, as there should be relevant information in it...it is part of the story after all

Those are some contradicting opinions...

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

Those are some contradicting opinions...

And like assholes, everybody has one :) doesn't mean either of us is correct.

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

250k behemoth explaining a third of the little nuances with worldbuilding.

 

[DireBadger]

If the writer is good, the prologue is good and important (saberhagen)

If the writer is bad, the prologue sucks (most scifi and fantasy writers today)

I would avoid prologues until you have proven you are a popular writer, and have the right instincts to pull one off well.

 

[Deleted member 266]

How do you personally prefer to use the prologue of your story?

I don't always use them, but when I do, I like to... It's like a part of a machine. It's seemingly irrelevant, good-looking and interesting, and halfway through the book, the read go, "Oh, fuck, THAT's what it was about?!?!" like a plot twist.

Therefore, I always write the prologue late in the writing process, because it's a set-up for the "reveal" later.

 

[bulmabriefs144]

A prologue is pretty self explanatory, but not everyone uses them in the same way. Some people use it to just give a little backstory to set up the main story, I've seen a few people show a scene that will happen much later in the story, more like a preview almost (personally never understood that one), some people show a major historical event, or a history of the world. How do you personally prefer to use the prologue of your story?

I like the Dragoon approach.

If you don't understand the reference, there's an anime back from the 90s called Ryuki Densho, or Dragoon in America. It was awesome cheese with really terrible stock lines. It's also softcore porn.

The prologue starts at some distant scene (that we never get to see, because the anime ended prematurely). They are talking about launching the dragoon, a dragon-shaped mecha housed and control by a (naked) girl named Mei. Her eyes glow as she controls the mecha, while herself having lost control of her mind and memories. She is opposed by a more experience verson of the male lead, Seidon. Seidon lifts his sword and charges, and the music swells...

Then we flash back to weeks or months earlier. Mei is on the boat to be delivered to people who will erase her sense of self and use her as a weapon. The sailors talk about "expensive cargo" and "sampling the goods." Mei screams as they try to molest her, and her eyes glow. Her clothes are ripped away, but the radiation from her power does an Indiana Jones face burning to skeleton thing. The next cut is to Seidon training in a snowy forest. Swinging his sword, he makes a small gust, using a sword technique. It is here that he finds Mei's naked body, covers her, and takes her to his cabin (after initial perversion of touching her breasts trying to lift her).

I think a good prologue should try to build hype for a show. An okay prologue leads up to something that is backstory to characters, like a childhood story for the female lead in Clevatess (which awesomely subverts the norm by having her senselessly killed in the first act). And a bad prologue deals in characters that have a secondary connection to the story, who only show up after several chapters pass and you forget they were mentioned (Wheel of Time novels do this, having the even more egregious problem of incredibly long prologues). I am ashamed to admit that my second novel Town of Winter had just such a prologue. But I tried to refresh the memory of the audience.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Unfortunately, it is not available anywhere unless there's a novellization I haven't found, but the old TV series Doctor Who did a cute prologue in one of its earliest stories - the episode featured a new cast, with none of the series regulars showing up at all, with a new main character, who dies at the end of the episode. The episode was "Mission to the Unknown" the prologue to "The Dalek's Masterplan"