I read a lot of novels that have prologues. I used to think they were essential parts of a story, believe it or not, they’re not. Some readers even skip them, and some editors look down upon them. The question is when are prologues necessary, and when should we avoid them?
Most agents hate prologues. Just make the first chapter relevant and well written.
Andrea Brown
What Is a Prologue?
A prologue is the first few pages of a novel, the one that comes before chapter one. The purpose of a prologue is to entice the curiosity of the reader about the intriguing plot.
When Do We Avoid Prologues?
If your aim is to add a bunch of dense background information of the story in the prologue, then you better not add one. The reader doesn’t like to face a lot of factual information from page one. It is better to spread it throughout the plot.
Avoid prologues that are banal and don’t add spice to the story. Prologues must be interesting, and they must lure the reader into flipping the next page.
Make sure that your prologues do not take over two pages. The longer they are, the more the reader will lose interest and skip them.
How Do We Incorporate Prologues?
There are many techniques to include a prologue in a novel, that is if you add one.
- Sometimes introducing a prologue is essential when you build a scene and create an atmosphere. You build up the reader’s imagination with how the setting of the novel must be. This works when you write a fantasy novel or a science-fiction.
- Prologues can start with an action scene, something that pumps the reader with an adrenaline rush. Nothing beats this old fashion way, because it always works.
- A prologue can also give a glimpse of a particular event that happened in the past or through history. It’s an exciting way to provide the reader with something to build upon.
- A prologue can dive into the protagonist’s mind and give the reader a better understanding of what that character thinks and operates. Here, it is also possible to alternate POVs.
- Prologues become engaging for me when they include a foreshadowing about a particular chapter that happens in the future. I like to ask questions and to anticipate how the story will uncover.
Now go back to your manuscript and review your prologue. See if keeping it or removing it will cause any difference. Editors advise to avoid prologues unless necessary, and no one knows your novel more than yourself.