Hatrack River Writers Workshop: A Question About Prologs

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Posted by luapc (Member # 2878) on :

In the novel I'm working on, I have a character who has an item that is critical to the plot, and is important throughout. The thing is that he acquired this item (stole it) six years previous to the main part of the story, but doesn't know anything about it. I was thinking of using a prolog for the scene where he acquires it, and was wondering what some of you think about prologs. Do you like them, or hate them? Do you think they work, or are they a cop-out?

There are several alternatives, among them not doing the prolog at at all, and weaving in the explaination of the item, but I'm afraid that would appear to be a Deus Ex Machina kind of device.

Another alternative would be to have the story start with this prolog as chapter one, but then there would be a jump to six years in the future, which I can't see working.

Do any of you have any suggestions on how to introduce an item like this into a story, or do you think I should just drop the idea of an item all together, and rework the plot not to use something like this?

Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :

I'll answer as a reader.

I'm not bugged by a six-year jump after the first chapter, and I don't read prologues.

Congratulations, you have a single data point.

Posted by Ray (Member # 2415) on :

The thing about prologues is that not everybody reads them. So when you put a prologue in a story, it has to stand apart while still being part of the story. It has to give information that's valuable to the story, but not necessary to know if the reader decides to start at chapter one.

It's really up to you on how you want to pass the information along. Not having read your story, it's hard for me to say if a prologue would be needed in your case or not.

Posted by Shendülféa (Member # 2964) on :

I read prologues, but I know that not everyone does, so I would say that you could stick it in there if you want, but realise that since not everyone reads them, any important info you put in it should be repeated somewhere later on in the story. I always think of prologues as bit of extra info: they help me to better understand the story if I read them, but they aren't completely necessary in order to enjoy and understand it.

Wow, I'm having a hard time wording things tonight. Maybe I should go to bed...

Posted by MightyCow (Member # 3384) on :

I never imagined that people wouldn't read a prologue. I can understand skipping author's notes, or a forward, but to me, the prologue is just part of the story.

I agree that I don't mind a 6 year jump after the first chapter, especially if I've got some idea that time has passed. Seems like a safe way to do it.

Posted by Leigh (Member # 2901) on :

I don't mind prologues or epilogues at all. I read them as it may or may not make the novels clearer for me to read.

But I also agree that not many people read them. Sometimes people skip right to the story and read for a while and are bamboozled as to why they're confused and what has happened, in my opinion, they're the ones at fault, not the author. But other stories may not really need to have a prologue, as the prologue information is contained within the actual novel.

I agree with Ray on his point about not having read you story, but your story may not really need a prologue at all. You could bring in your item into your story at any point in your story, as long as you have a built up plot as to why you have brought it in, it should be ok.

Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :

I think that the kind of prologues that people skip are the ones that go "And then at the dawn of time two great peoples blah, blah blah] and give you the entire history of the culture. My feeling on those is that if you need to give us that then you aren't doing an adequate job on characterization and world-building within the story.

On the other hand I've read a number of novels that start with, what Christine calls, Chapter 0. A song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay is a wonderful example of this. A single pivotal event happened twenty years before the rest of the story. It was not back story. It was part of the main story but all the intervening years were not necessary. So, he wrote a Chapter 0.

It sounds to me like you probably don't need either of those, unless you need to show us what the object can do. It sounds like all you need is the character to think at some point about how he'd been carrying the darn thing around for six years and still had no idea what it did. I think you probably will need to give some hints about what it is capable of, but even if you don't that single thought would indicate to most readers that you have a gun on the mantle.

Posted by Novice (Member # 3379) on :

I read prologues, and often like them. They are, as the word implies, an introduction or action that occurs before the main content and action. That being the case, your scenario is both justified for including a prologue, and possibly necessary. I know that prologues are out of vogue right now, but I agree with the earlier comment that it is not the author's fault when a reader skips content.

I love the idea of a Chapter Zero, on many levels. I hadn't seen that one before, and it provides you with a tempting alternative.

The only serious problem I see with prologues, in today's market, is that they are not good material for "partial" submissions. They usually are so far removed from the main story that an agent or editor has trouble judging the book when most of what they see in a partial is prologue. I think a lot of writers equate the word "prologue" with "detailed backstory" (otherwise known as "infodump"), and abuse the purpose of the device by writing something wordy, boring, filled with technical terms, and written from a POV that will never appear again in the book. These writers are the ones who have taught readers to skip prologues.

Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :

I am pretty anti-prologue, but they seem to be common for your standard high fantasy epic, so if that's what you're working on, you might as well put one in; your target audience is probably expecting one.

I've never really seen the point of dinking around with a prologue - just tell the main story without the throat-clearing and fake drama of most prologues. I've even seen a couple of short stories with prologues - what's up with that?

Posted by Rilnian (Member # 3506) on :

If you have ever read R.A. Salvatore's books, Regis the halfling has a necklace. That necklace was stolen years ago, and it changes the first book, majorly affects the second book, and is the entire plotline of the third book. I found I was not confused about how he aquired it, for it was explained in an easy small paragraph.

I would have felt...bothered...if it had been a dream sequence or a dialogue topic. Perhaps throwing it in while he uses it, or attempts to use it. Maybe story begins with him returning to where he stole it, secretly looking for what it was or how to use it. Then if he is caught, it can easily be explained.

Now if this hero is a meek, shy hero, one who is seen as a weakling, maybe he could use it as bragging rights in his local town/pub. It could show the story, and develop character. Use this to explain who this MC is. Give us a person!

Posted by LibbieMistretta (Member # 3496) on :

I read the first few sentences of a prologue. If it's interesting, I'll read it all. If it's not, I'll skip to the beginning of the story. So it depends!

Posted by mommiller (Member # 3285) on :

I read the prologues. Especially in a fantasy or a mystery novel, I think they are a good way to set the scene for what is to come later on. I also look carefully at any maps or floorplans that are included.

But what do I know...

In your case, I think it would work quite well with a six year lapse. Your premise sounds interesting and I look forward to reading it in F & F.

Good luck with it.

Posted by Ipana (Member # 3532) on :

For me, the prologue is what decides whether or not I will read the book at all. One of my favorite things to do is go to a book store and just read the prologue of several different books. If I like the prologue, the chances are that I will also enjoy reading the book.

If there is no prologue, I read the first part of the first chapter, depending on how long the chapter is, and sometimes the whole chapter. So if I were to pick up your book, it really wouldn't matter to me if there was a prologue or not, I would still get the basic idea.

Now that's just me, I know alot of people who don't read the prologue of books and for Terry Prachett fans reading 'Going Postal' that can be a very bad thing indeed! He has two prologues in that particular book which happen to be titled: "The Thousand Year Prologue" and "The Three Month Prologue". At least, I think it's three months. Both Prologues contain information that is not nessacarily vital to the story, but the book sure makes more scence if you read them!

So there's an idea for you.

Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :

I just reread the original post, and this is what I'd do: make the thieving scene chapter 1 and do the six-year jump. Since the main character doesn't understand the item when he steals it, I'd make the scene appear to be important in nothing but character development and pull a big AHA! on the reader later. In other words, I'd make the scene life-changing in a way that doesn't include the item.

But that's just me.

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

Prologs? If it's got dialog and characters, it's just another chapter, no matter what it's called. If it's dense with information and description (say, like Tolkien's prologue in "The Lord of the Rings,") it might still be worth a look if it sets up an interesting premise.

Posted by Ellepepper (Member # 3520) on :

Prologs, are useful, and some of the famous writers use them. I, personally read them. all a Prologue is is 'a dialog before' it is made for giving information that doesn't seem relevant at the time, but later becomes so. Or for additional character study before the scene actually starts. The first time I read I book I read all prologs and epilogues... the second time I may skip if I remember what was in them.

Posted by Tephirax (Member # 3534) on :

I'm another writer who is quite happy to use prologues, just like any literary tool, in the correct place.

As many of you have alluded to, a prologue needs to provide information which is both relevant and yet not required for understanding. It should add an extra layer onto later events, without being necessary for basic understanding.

I've recently used a prologue to provide a scene that adds extra flavour to later characterisation, then skipped thirteen years to the main plot. As everything else in the book runs chronologically, it would feel stylistically jarring to have every chapter-break except the first to be directly continuous.

As it is, for the sequel I have avoided employing a prologue, because there is no major time-leapage (for want of a better term) to spoil the flow.

Teph

Posted by Swimming Bird (Member # 2760) on :

The prologue to Eye of the World was better than the novel itself.

Also, to the OP, that plot sounds a lot like The Hobbit.

Posted by luapc (Member # 2878) on :

Thanks everyone for your replies. It seems some people read prologs, while others don't. Upon reading this thread, I have decided to change the story a bit and make the theft occur later in the MC's life, so that the theft of the item will be in Chapter 1, and the story will progress chronologicaly. It really won't hurt the plot or the story, so I think it might work best.

Thanks again for taking the time to comment on this.

Posted by Heresy (Member # 1629) on :

I know that luapc has gotten what was needed out of this thread, but I wanted to add one comment to this before it (maybe) gets dropped.

I have two rules about whether I'll read a prologue. One has already been mentioned, that if it's densely packed with information or is a "dawn of time" type, as Christine mentioned. Those I don't read. Ever. They've actually persuaded me on occasion to not buy a book. They bore me, and, in my experience from when I used to read them, give way more information than I wanted about the world, let alone the amount of information I needed about it. It's too much, and too dry. If it's that relevant, it should be possible to work it into the story as it comes up somehow, imnsho.

The second is length. I really hate long prologues. Part of me says that, if there's that much happening, surely it could get put in with the rest of the stories. The rest of me wants to ask the writer if it's all really *that* necessary. Besides, I find that long prologues tend to be a bunch of little bits strung together in a sometimes untidy fashion (Jordan's prologues on later books in WOT, for example). However, I will definitely read short prologues, as they're generally to the point and only include the relevant stuff. Often, I even find them a like a good appetizer: They whet my appetite for the book itself.

Just my 2 cents on it.

Posted by pantros (Member # 3237) on :

If how he got the item makes for an interesting story, tell it either as a prologue or as the first chapter.

If how he got the item is not a story worth of a chapter, just start in the 6 years later present and mention how he got it when the item first comes up.

Posted by Jammrock (Member # 3293) on :

People don't read prologs? How in the world could anyone understand any of the later WoT books if you didn't read the 95-page prolog?

Being a prolog, and epilog, reader I include them in my stories too, but now I have some doubts reading other people's opinions. Now I don't really know what I would do.

Maybe you could title your prolog: Chapter 0 (or the Prolog you really need to read)

In any event, if you call something a prolog, it needs to stay short. I can't stand huge prologs. Put no more in the prolog than is absolutely necessary, keep the writing short, concise and to the point. If the prolog is short and well written, you have a better chance of people reading it. If you can't keep it short and to the point, call it chapter 1 and rework the way the story/prolog is told to fit in with the general scheme of the book.

[This message has been edited by Jammrock (edited July 03, 2006).]

Posted by pooka (Member # 1738) on :

The only reason I can imagine that someone would skip a prologue is if they don't know the difference between that and an introduction or foreword or acknowledgement. Though I suppose it might be different in the fantasy genre, judging from LOTR. But I figured if someone didn't like being bludgeoned with that kind of detail, they wouldn't be reading fantasy.

Posted by Mig (Member # 3318) on :

I see two problems with using a prolog:
It's hard to get the reader to care about, or grasp the significance of, the point in the prolog before its relevance tot he plot is made evident in the main story. I think it is better to convey the info that would go in a prolog at he point of he story where the reader needs the information. For example, Tolkien doesn't start the Lord of the Rings with a prolog outlining the history of the ring, he has Gandalf tell Frodo the history when the reader, and Frodo, needs to know it.
The second problem, at least from my expereince, is that I tend to forget what happened in the prolog, in those few books 'i read with one, when the prolog's info gets referenced later on. I usually have o go back and skim through the prolog.

Posted by pooka (Member # 1738) on :

But isn't there a prologue explaining what a hobbit is? I guess I can understand people skipping prologues, since I roll my eyes and forcefully ignore any kind of map included with a book.

Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :

pooka:

quote:
The only reason I can imagine that someone would skip a prologue is if they don't know the difference between that and an introduction or foreword or acknowledgement.

Perhaps the person is impatient and would rather read the story.

More often than not, a prologue is of the "from the dawn of time" type that's already been sufficiently ripped to shreds on this thread, or a "look at my cool milieu/ideas/characters/events!" prologue full of miscellaneous junk the author thought was nifty but couldn't or didn't cram into the story. Anything in the latter type is almost always as dry and boring as any of the former.

I was sort of exaggerating on my original reply, but not much. I only read a prologue if the first few words (I don't even give it a sentence) lead me to believe it'll be entertaining enough to be worth my time.

Posted by Doc Brown (Member # 1118) on :

This discussion contains many truths. It is true that prologs (or prologues) can be important. It is also true that many readers skip them. I'll add that prologs can be well-written and interesting, but many are dull and boring. No wonder readers have learned to skip them.

OSC usually advises against prologs. Yet Speaker for the Dead, one of the finest books I've ever read, has a prolog. And it's a good one.

Posted by wbriggs (Member # 2267) on :

The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, by Maria von Trapp (yes, the Sound of Music lady), starts with "The Chapter Before the First." She said she called it that because she always skips introductions and forewords and she really wanted the reader to read this one. And it was worth it.

In OSC's writing class this spring, he advised 2 of us to do something like prologs.

One: a very limited penetration account of a terrorist setting a bomb. The book then begins some 10 years before, so we know we're going to find out how someone becomes a terrorist.

Two: a single paragraph detailing the SF event that begins the story. (None of the characters know what happened until days later, but the reader gets to find out at once.)

Posted by Louiseoneal (Member # 3494) on :

I'll read any prologue, but my favorite kind are shorter than half a page, with Chapter 1 written two spaces under the prologue's end!