Flash Forwards and Prologues

[Rorick]

The MS I'm working on had a Flash Forward Prologue. The idea was actually just for me to start with. Something specific to work towards as a tool in my plotting. It was a point in the story I would be revisiting.

Then I decided it worked quite well, so I kept it. It was straight into some action, gave a pretty good account of what my protagonist was about and asked a slew of question straight off the bat. I was happy.

Then, once I finished the zero draft, I was less happy. Mainly because it kind of gave away a little chunk of plot that actually detracted from the moments leading up to the event, and also because I'd changed the scene and everything that inspired it. So instead of reworking it, I cut it.

My second draft is currently out with a bunch of beta readers and feedback thus far indicates a slow opening. Which I agree with. I could go back to this prologue/flash forward idea and do a better job. What I'm actually more likely to do is cut the first chapter and a half and then backfill those bits of plot as and when I need to.

Using the prologue as a flash forward, to drop the reader right into the action and ask them a few questions, seems like a way of getting them to pay attention to specific details. I'm struggling to think of an example of this though in the real world.

Thoughts?

 

[wordwalker]

I've always thought of a prologue as a way to isolate one element of the story to make the first impression.

Prologues that don't work are usually ones that try to cover a couple of things (here's life in the castle years before the attack...) or that choose the wrong focus or don't handle it with the precision it deserves. That and, too many so-so writers use prologues out of tradition and give them a bad name, but it's still a powerful technique done right.

 

[Steerpike]

Getting to the points made about grabbing interest, I feel that if you need a prologue to grab a reader's interest, then something is wrong with your Chapter 1.

 

[Rorick]

I've now come to the same conclusion Steerpike, on the whole.