Why are prologues bad

Other books — not so much. So what about introductions Kristen? So I will believe instead that I committed none of the 6 sins of prologue writing. Until an editor-friend tells me otherwise. It does rather break most of the rules above, though. That prologue was effectively the end of the story last time this set of circumstances came around. It was utterly chilling and it gave you a sense of what was at stake.

Evil may not have triumphed entirely, but good was vanquished and the world destroyed. Will this time be any different? After 18 years, I am still anxious as hell to find out. What a prologue that is, for all intents and purposes, just a chapter. It really is just a normal chapter besides. I hate prologue! Guilty of a few of those Rules. Will give serious thought to moving the first part of ch. Sure nice to know what agents think.

But I surprises me when end readers say they hate them. I think sometimes what they are saying is they hate the kind of genres that use them or that they assume use them.

Especially certain kinds of fantasy. But Chris M. The same rules should apply — and really do. So many great serious fiction, and hard-boiled, police procedural and other realistic and more literary novels use prologues, and nobody notices.

A bit late to commenting here, but a topic that interests me. I have to say I have heard many, many agents say something along the same lines. It is helpful to see here specific reasons why a prologue might not work. On the other hand, as a big fan of thrillers Ludlum, Cussler, Rollins, etc , many of my favorite books have prologues. And often in thrillers, the primary purpose of the prologue IS in fact to portray something cool that is related to the story by not really critical to convey with a prologue.

As a reader, I enjoy these a lot. On submission for my first book, I simply left the prologue out. I had submitted the book to contests and about half of the critiques I received loved the prologue and half hated it. I decided to let it stay as is, since most of the feedback I received about it was positive.

But I do feel it meets two very important criteria: 1 I and many other readers of the genre enjoy similarly styled prologues; and 2 A lot of top-selling books in the genre do the same thing. Pillars of the Earth had a wonderful prologue.

It drew the reader in and set the framework for the rest of the very long novel. It is the infection of a little boy and death of my MCs father trying to save him. Then my MC at five deals with the death and leaves his home. Then chapter two begins when he is seventeen. Chapter one is referenced continuously through the book, so I feel it is necessary, but since it happens 12 years before my MCs journey begins, will it be considered an unnecessary prologue? These are great suggestions that new writers may take as gospel.

A dangerous avenue that needs a roadblock. Never say never. Your post is something writers should read before they write their prologue. What if the story starts off with an abrupt car accident? Get Published. Build My Platform.

Find a Fiction Agent. Find a Nonfiction Agent. Write My Query. Sell My Work. Business of Writing. Breaking In. Be Inspired. Writing Prompts. The Writer's Life. Writing Quotes. Vintage WD. From the Magazine. WD Competitions. Annual Competition. Self-Published Book. Self-Published Ebook. Popular Fiction. Personal Essay. Short Short Story.

From the Winners. Your Story. Write For Us. WD Podcasts. Meet the WD Team. Free Downloads. By Robert Lee Brewer. By Liz Keller Whitehurst. I'm writing two epilogues myself for my current book. One ties to the sequel of the series, and the other is a slice of life of my book's HEA couple that's a mailing list exclusive. Laurie McLean of Foreword Literary writes, Prologues are usually a lazy way to give back-story chunks to the reader and can be handled with more finesse throughout the story.

That's why you want to know as much about them as you possibly if you're going to try getting their attention. Most literary agents hate prologues. Because, at the risk of being repetitive, most literary agents hate prologues. Question: Wondering if my first chapter should be called the Preface. Chronologically speaking, it would be about the third chapter. Prefaces usually begin the overall story - perhaps by showing the inciting incident - when that incident, though important, doesn't involve the main character.

Make your narrative voice consistent on every page of your book! You don't always need both a prologue and an epilogue. You can have only a prologue or only an epilogue. Treat your prologue or epilogue like a very short story. Common Examples of Prologue Sometimes we provide a short prologue before launching into a story. You know Sandy, the one who once ran a major New York magazine but declared bankruptcy after publishing scandalous photos of Leonardo DiCaprio?

Are prologues really that bad? Asked by: Dr. Holden Leffler III. Does a prologue count as a chapter? Can there be two prologues? Is a prologue a good idea? What makes a good prologue? Can a prologue be long?