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+---- Thread: Storywriting: Prologue or No Prologue? (/thread-244.html)
Storywriting: Prologue or No Prologue? - Zabuza825 - 12-17-2016
So, I'm in the process of trying to write a story (hoping it'll eventually become a novel/novella) but I'm at the start and I've already found myself divided.
I've written down a few paragraphs of what should be the beginning, which as it stands right now is simply a prologue. But that got me thinking - should I do a prologue at all? Is a story better told with a short prologue, or by just jumping straight into it?
Please vote in the poll (if you want) and let my know why/why not here.
RE: Storywriting: Prologue or No Prologue? - Hadash - 12-17-2016
If a short story is good enough, it doesn't need a non-fiction prologue.
RE: Storywriting: Prologue or No Prologue? - Zabuza825 - 12-17-2016
(12-17-2016, 02:18 PM)Hadash Wrote: If a short story is good enough, it doesn't need a non-fiction prologue.
We're talking about a prologue, not a foreward/preface. To quote Wikipedia, a prologue is "an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ties into the main one, and other miscellaneous information". In my case it's the first (a short story that ties into the rest of the novella and establishes some context and gives some background details).
RE: Storywriting: Prologue or No Prologue? - Jamzor the Jaxxor - 12-17-2016
I think prologues are fine if they are needed.
RE: Storywriting: Prologue or No Prologue? - Sal - 12-17-2016
Honestly, I generally skip prologues. Sometimes, after I've finished the novel, I'll go back and read the prologue to see if it adds anything I might not have gotten before now that I have all the information I need to make sense of a prologue, but I'm not usually a fan of them.
Of course, hence the vote, it's all personal preference. And my personal preference is that I like being thrown into the middle of a story without an introduction telling me why things are the way they are; it's more immersive, and I feel like I'm an observer from the setting, not a time-travelling god or maybe an outside historian far removed from what's happening to our main characters. I find it easier to suspend disbelief when I haven't been told by the author that "things A, B and C led us to where we are today" because it seems that the story has been less constructed and more like it happened organically (if that makes sense). I also like stories that imply things better than ones that spell it out for me; it leaves more room for interpretation and speculation, and generally makes me think more about the motivations of certain characters/factions. If I know beforehand that the author intended for Empire X to be evil and that Squadron A rose out of the ashes as a shining bastion of hope from the prologue, then I'm going to have my interpretation colored due to that. If I don't hear the prologue and only get what the characters themselves think, who's to say that Empire X were really the bad guys and Squadron A isn't a terrorist cell?
No-go on the prologue.
**Another edit, because heck you, that's why!! - Past events can be worked into the story without the need for a prologue (flashback, stream of consciousness, hinting through dialogue, etc.) and this is my preference, but it also depends on the author's style and the general tone of the story. Additionally, I'm not outright opposed to a more unique use of a prologue - thinking less "this is what happened a few years back that led us to now" and more "this statement/event is a thing, which you will understand by the time you've finished the last chapter".
RE: Storywriting: Prologue or No Prologue? - Ayzek - 12-18-2016
I'd say you've overthinking it. Or maybe thinking about it wrong? I mean...whether or not it has a prologue doesn't matter much ultimately--the (average? not-Sal?) reader will read what you write (in order, hopefully) if they're interested. I suppose you could try to write a really interesting prologue, though if you want to use the prologue as a hook. But if you don't, that's fine too. I don't even remember if a particular book/novel/novella/longish story I've read had a prologue or not. I'm sure they all had a chapter 1 though.
Much like Sal, though, I personally prefer just getting into the story, and be introduced to the situation as it develops--with references to past events and other context explained, if necessary, fluidly. Of course, if the events of the prologue are unrelated to the events of the first chapter, or otherwise aren't something that /could/ fluidly be included/revealed in the main story, it may be a good idea to include it. "More lore" is cool.
So...um, yeah. If the prologue adds to the thing or explains something the main story can't or shouldn't: sure, include it. If you're just thinking about including one because you feel you need to have one...then you probably shouldn't, because you really don't.
Edit: Not voting cause I don't really agree with either option.
RE: Storywriting: Prologue or No Prologue? - Raz - 12-22-2016
Me and Ayz are of much the same opinion so I'll say my vote is what his is.
RE: Storywriting: Prologue or No Prologue? - Flo - 12-23-2016
I think it depends on the story. This isn't something you can make a hard and fast rule for. If you feel the story requires setting the stage, set the stage. Shakespeare did it, and you can to. That being said, there's a million ways to write a story, and most dont involve a prologue. You as the writer get the freedom to put the words that you want on the page. So think about your story, and try to imagine how you want it to start. Some stories benefit from little knowledge of the setting, characters, etc. But I can definitely think of others that benefit from explaining a few things.
Two houses, both alike in dignity, etc. etc.
RE: Storywriting: Prologue or No Prologue? - Sal - 12-31-2016
Just popping back in to let you know you missed a great opportunity to title this thread "Prologue or Nologue".
RE: Storywriting: Prologue or No Prologue? - STRATCOM - 03-21-2017
Esteemed foreign author, native Vestian authors have compiled a bestselling guide to fiction writing that you may find useful. An excerpt is below:
Quote:Chapter 3
On Exposition
When beginning a story, do not succumb as other authors do to the dreaded 'info-dump.' While you may think it useful to get all of your worldbuilding and backstory out in one slogging page or chapter, your reader will not appreciate having to sit through the opening credits before coming across anything interesting to read. Many will put down the book outright and seek Fuel Duty or something else more stimulating than reading your info-dump.
Instead, your thought should be action, action, action! - every step of the way. Readers will not sit through a description of the beautiful post-modern architecture you have dreamed up for the book, but they will be enthralled to read about it when the position of windows and support beams determines whether your sniper protagonist lives or dies. They will find your description of your homebrewed culture to give them the same taste in their mouth as mandatory history class readings, but once a cultural quirk becomes a diplomatic misunderstanding becomes a potential war brewing, they will be exceptionally interested at the very same words!
Keep in mind that your readers are not dullards - they have some capability to infer, or they would hardly be reading fiction books. Use this to your advantage by letting the exposition lightly shade the action instead of drown it. If your story starts off in the aftermath of a war, it is not necessary to give bullet points of the causes, cultures, major battles, and location of the treaty table. It will be quite sufficient to toss the reader a line or two about the war as your protagonist runs through the mined DMZ to escape the degenerate robber-baron democracy, clutching his well-worn copy of On Pure Total Meritocracy.
Even from the single previous sentence you already have a good idea of who the war was between (a robber-baron democracy and a Pure Total Meritocracy), why they fought (ideological differences), and the kind of war they fought (a stalemate bloody enough to create a DMZ with mines.)
Follow the 90-10 rule when it comes to showing and telling exposition: 10% of the exposition you thought you would need will do 90% of the job for the reader and the story. The vast majority of your worldbuilding will sit on your own journals and notebooks until it becomes immediately relevant to a story - and that's ok. The 10% will do the job, and for those readers who enjoy to dig and get background perspective (including you, or you would not be writing detailed worldbuilding!) your exposition will make sufficient allusion that they can begin to tie the threads together and theorize in interesting ways.
Already from cutting down your exposition, you're building excitement for your next book.