Why prologues are important

Career Fiction. FREE Training. Book Outline Template. Author Help Center. Skip to content. Pin 2. Should you write a prologue, or should you throw the reader right into the story? Please select your book type Fiction Non-Fiction. Why are you writing a book I'm writing a book to grow my business I'm not interested in building a business.

I'm writing a book to make an impact. I want to write a quality fiction book that entertains people. Check your email for your book outline template. In the meantime, check out our Book Outline Challenge. Join The Challenge Today. Why should you write a prologue? If you can remove the prologue or a reader can skip it , and their understanding is not damaged, a prologue is not necessary.

If working the prologue content into your story is unnatural or confusing, you may need a prologue. Benefits and Costs Explained. Pre-Writing , Writing. Comments From The Community. What is Self-Publishing School? What do you think? It was one of the best prologues, I had ever read then which included everything in it, one could expect. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Skip to content. What is a Prologue? It is entirely different from Introduction, foreword, preface, and epilogue. Reasons Why Prologue is Important to Read Personally, I read all the prologues and will continue further because it makes me feel guilty about missing one of the chapters. Background of Story The prologue gives you a background check making it much more helpful for the readers to read—background of the characters, story, plot, etc.

Foreshadowing of Events Foreshadowing of events means that the author hints about the future or past events as to what may come in the story. Point of View Reading a point of view in the prologue of either the main character or any character important to the plot can help the readers understand some actions that may be difficult for the reader to realize. Sets the Tone for the Story A prologue gives away some of the critical points necessary for the reader to get engaged with the plot and get it hooked.

These tend to attract the readers and keep them curious throughout the end. When to Not Read a Prologue? Dump Information Authors sometimes use every kind of information in a prologue. Breaking your Pace of Reading Some of the readers prefer reading books at a fast pace.

Non-Relatable Prologue If a prologue feels like going away from the main story and is made for the sole purpose of engaging the readers is a wrong way to start for writers. How to Write a Prologue? Before writing a prologue, you must decide if your novel really needs a prologue. Is there something your audience must know before reading chapter 1? This kind of prologue is intriguing and engages the readers to involve in the story.

Drop Small Clues and Background Information Add some clues for the readers to create suspense and develop the curiosity to continue chapter 1. This kind of information is sufficient for a writer to avoid any tedious nature of the prologue.

Length of Prologue The most important thing to keep note of is the length of a prologue. It is mainly used in non-fiction novels. It is informally written which means it is read like a story.

It is written formally like an essay. The prologue gives us the background information, point of view or foreshadows the events. Introduction expresses the goals and purpose of writing the book by the author. It gives us a brief idea about the story. It gives us a brief idea of whom is it for or why should we read the particular book. The story starts from chapter one but the prologue helps us to understand the characters, plot, and why should we care about them.

Introduction unpacks the subject topic as a whole and then divides it in sub-sections to describe them. Not always necessarily in the same manner. Not to mention, the opening pages are a make-or-break moment. You have mere seconds to hook a reader or industry professional—who are also readers! Many, many writers use prologues as a means to provide tons of background information to a story rather than to slowly introduce these elements by weaving them into scenes throughout the book.

Take a closer look at your opening pages to see if you have several stretches of paragraphs or sections of text that do this. The more boring, the better! Prologues need to somehow propel or impact your main plot. If your prologue is filled with action, offers bite-sized pieces of background information, and weaves a compelling scene but is not relevant to your main plot, you probably need to re-think your strategy.

The modern reader often prefers shorter chapters—prologues included. If your prologue is longer than most of your chapters or if both your prologue and chapters are longer , it might be time to reevaluate the structure and pacing of your chapters.

World building is one of the things I love most about fantasy and science fiction. These delicious details are… well… delicious! Proceed with caution if the prologue is used strictly to set the tone and introduce world-building elements.

Often, these details can be weaved into your chapters without the need of a prologue. Not to mention, skilled writers have a way of proving the rules wrong. So, when should prologues be utilized? In other words: when are they an asset to your story? According to Brian A. Prologues should supply information that is—or will be—important to understanding the plot.

Fear not, writers. In fact, they come in handy in a number of scenarios:. Trying to decide whether or not you should keep or even write a prologue? Consider the following questions:. Writers often look upon outlines with fear and trembling. But when properly understood and correctly used, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer's arsenal. Click to continue. When writing about real people in historical fiction, what might the consequences be of taking certain artistic liberties?

Author Robert Lloyd discusses the ethics of literary revivification. Ambassador Philip Kaplan discusses how the characters came to him through the magic of the writing process in his debut novel, Night In Tehran. For the November PAD Chapbook Challenge, poets are tasked with writing a poem a day in the month of November before assembling a chapbook manuscript in the month of December. Today's prompt is to write a memory poem. When you've kept your readers up all hours of the night turning the pages, then you know you've got a winning thriller on your hands.