I am wondering when background and context material needs to be put into its own space as a prologue, and when it can stay as part of chapter one? Is it to do with the amount of material, or the nature of it? I have often felt impatient when starting a book that has a prologue. I usually appreciate the information but feel like 'please just let me get straight into the story!' Could the role of a prologue really be to help the writer establish a disciplined focus or parameters for their story? In which case it would not need to be published with the story. Unless it's for the sake of those readers who like to be closer to the writer, looking over their shoulder at their notes...?
Thanks Wayne. That's an interesting perspective about the prologue being for the author's benefit in helping them establish the focus or parameters of their story. I hadn't thought of it like that before, but I can see how that could help.
I like Beth Hill's comment about an information dump still being an info dump whether it's in a prologue or in the main body of the book. I guess the trick is to balance the amount of information at the time. Does the reader need to know everything now or can there be more of a slow reveal? 'Showing not telling' is also important.
I think information in a prologue works well when a key event happened before the start of your story and that information is important in understanding later events. For example, a prologue shows a young boy witnessing his father's murder and then the main story starts with that boy now a police officer.
However, if you're reading a prologue and as you say, 'please just let me get straight into the story', then the prologue is probably either unnecessary or boring or both.
Thanks for you comments Wayne. Great food for thought.
I am wondering when background and context material needs to be put into its own space as a prologue, and when it can stay as part of chapter one? Is it to do with the amount of material, or the nature of it? I have often felt impatient when starting a book that has a prologue. I usually appreciate the information but feel like 'please just let me get straight into the story!' Could the role of a prologue really be to help the writer establish a disciplined focus or parameters for their story? In which case it would not need to be published with the story. Unless it's for the sake of those readers who like to be closer to the writer, looking over their shoulder at their notes...?
Thanks Wayne. That's an interesting perspective about the prologue being for the author's benefit in helping them establish the focus or parameters of their story. I hadn't thought of it like that before, but I can see how that could help.
I like Beth Hill's comment about an information dump still being an info dump whether it's in a prologue or in the main body of the book. I guess the trick is to balance the amount of information at the time. Does the reader need to know everything now or can there be more of a slow reveal? 'Showing not telling' is also important.
I think information in a prologue works well when a key event happened before the start of your story and that information is important in understanding later events. For example, a prologue shows a young boy witnessing his father's murder and then the main story starts with that boy now a police officer.
However, if you're reading a prologue and as you say, 'please just let me get straight into the story', then the prologue is probably either unnecessary or boring or both.
Thanks for you comments Wayne. Great food for thought.