ScipioSmith
Sage
Roll your eyes, it's another post on prologues!
I have an idea for a prologue for my current WIP, which takes place a few months (I don't know exactly how long, but all the characters aren't much younger than they are in chapter 1) prior to the start of the story proper and sees our Hero, a gladiator, putting a man to death for spreading seditious and heretical notions. On the one hand, I like the idea because it demonstrates some of the flaws in the protagonist and his world better than chapter 1, where the protagonists more straight up heroic qualities are on display and, since the first six chapters are exclusively in his POV, the world is presented through his rose tinted contacts.
On the other hand, I'm less than certain about it because it doesn't really have anything to do with the main thrust of the story- although you could argue it foreshadows many of the issues of the protagonists character arc- and when you get down to it its about the execution of a dissident and a lot of people aren't going to get onside with the executioner in that scenario.
What do people think, does it sound like a good idea or not?
I have an idea for a prologue for my current WIP, which takes place a few months (I don't know exactly how long, but all the characters aren't much younger than they are in chapter 1) prior to the start of the story proper and sees our Hero, a gladiator, putting a man to death for spreading seditious and heretical notions. On the one hand, I like the idea because it demonstrates some of the flaws in the protagonist and his world better than chapter 1, where the protagonists more straight up heroic qualities are on display and, since the first six chapters are exclusively in his POV, the world is presented through his rose tinted contacts.
On the other hand, I'm less than certain about it because it doesn't really have anything to do with the main thrust of the story- although you could argue it foreshadows many of the issues of the protagonists character arc- and when you get down to it its about the execution of a dissident and a lot of people aren't going to get onside with the executioner in that scenario.
What do people think, does it sound like a good idea or not?