Prologue: Blessing or Curse?

Hey, readers, welcome back to our humble little internet abode! Sorry this week's blog post is a little late. I was up today binging When They See Us on Netflix and damn. I highly recommend you guys to watch it. It was absolutely spectacular! But anyway, enough about me, let's get into the entire reason why you clicked on this post in the first place. The age-old legend: prologues.

Now, I've seen lots of talk about prologues circulating in the writing community for a long time. What are they, really? Do I have to use one? Aren't they irrelevant? Well, all those questions are completely 100% valid and I think it's due to the fact that over the years, so many writers have begun utilizing a prologue without even knowing what it should be used for. Then, that perpetuates a cycle of just unnecessary prologues 'till we all eventually just forget their true meaning and significance. However, the truth is, a prologue can be a powerful tool in a writer's arsenal. That's why it's important that we all now how and when to use it. Let's figure that out right now!

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What is a Prologue?

Well, if you do a quick Google, the internet will tell you that a prologue is a part that comes at the beginning of a play, story, or long poem, often giving information about events that happened before the time when the play, story, or poem begins or a preliminary discourse; a preface or introductory part of a discourse, poem, or novel and they're not wrong. Pretty accurate definitions, actually. However in layman's terms, a prologue is simply a part of a work that takes place before the time of the main events of the plot and provides crucial information to the overall story.

So, with that being said, a prologue is not a chapter. Please do not write Chapter one as your prologue. The prologue needs to be separate from the main events in the actual story but still contributes meaningfully to it. It's a little hard to explain but I'll be giving you some examples of an effective prologue later in this post.

When Should I Use A Prologue?

In reality, there are too many case of unnecessary prologues. For that exact reason, when using a prologue you must do it well. So, as the writer, it's your responsibility to examine your story and decide if you need a prologue. And be honest with yourself. Is your plot complex enough to require a prologue? Could you achieve the same desired effect and give the readers the same knowledge within a normal chapter? Will the prologue contribute greatly to the telling of your story?

It does not matter what genre you write, it could be fantasy or contemporary, a prologue is not a must for you. You and only you can decide if your story needs it. If it doesn't, scrap it. There's literally no shame in not having a prologue (hi, I don't have one). It doesn't make your work less than, trust me.

How To Write An Effective Prologue

Alright so, let's say you've decided you actually need a prologue to help flesh out your story. Great. Now what? Well now, you have to do it well. Prologues have a bad rep, my friend. Prove to your readers that you've mastered the art of the prologue. Here are a few ways you might want to use your prologue.

1. Foreshadowing- I see this one done quite often. You can pretty simply have your prologue be a foreshadowing to the primary conflict or an event that will be present in your story. So a death, a character flaw, a discovery, anything important that will come up later in the story may be worth hinting at in the prologue. But if the main purpose of your prologue is to foreshadow, you might not want to need to make it very long. Depending on what kind of writer you are that could be a good or bad thing.

2. Introduce Something That Will Be Important Later- This could be a character or a place and although this way is a little less potent, depending on the significance of the character/place, it could still be done very well. So, for example, your fantasy novel is all about finding the city in the clouds, perhaps in the prologue you could take us back to the only person who's seen the city in the sky (allegedly) and how they came across it. Then later in the story our main characters find and interrogate them. Wow, I'm good at this story stuff. I should be a writer or something.

3. Start The Conflict- I'll use another example here. If your book is about an epidemic maybe you can start the prologue with the outbreak of the disease and have story itself focus on the cure of the disease. Makes sense right? So this way is great if you know you have a plot centered on one overarching, intricate conflict. I've seen this way done pretty well for sequels to just quickly go over where the previous book left off but it's flexible enough to be done in a standalone as well!

There are plenty others but I think we get the gist. It's important to give your prologue almost a different identity than the rest of your story. If your book is the journey, the prologue needs to be the preparation. If your book is the growth, the prologue needs to be the planting. If your book is the meal, the prologue is the purchasing of the groceries. Okay, now I'm just hungry, but you guys get the point!

Conclusion

To finish off, prologues can be very effective. But first as a writer you must decide if you need one, then ensure that you pull it off well. If you guys have any further questions about prologues feel free to drop a comment below and ask. I'll be sure to respond and if you have any other writing related topics you want me to touch on, drop those down below as well! Also, if you guys liked this blog post don't forget to click that little heart icon to make me smile!.

Lastly, don't forget to follow me on Twitter and Instagram where I occasionally rant, share music and poetry and discuss the pains of being a creator. Oh, also, I share sneak peeks of my novel and new blog posts at times too, if you're interested in that. Anyway, that's a wrap, readers! Go write some excellent prologues (or don't) and I'll see you again next week!