Prologue?

[DianthasProphecy]

For those of you who have written a prologue for your novel, I have a few questions.

First a brief explanation:
My novel is based around a sorceress who was imprisoned in a statue after stealing witches souls to convert to power for herself. A group of witches got together and combined their magic to imprison her. Her lover, a sorceror himself, cannot free her on his own, and has searched for years for a way to free her. Enter the Seer Diantha, she prophesized about the birth of a Seer from a witch's bloodline, with the power to free her. Blah Blah Blah. The series will take place in a different world altogether.

My question, should I do a prologue to tell the story of the Sorceress' imprisonment and Diantha's Prophecy?

Should I also describe the world they live in?

And the biggie: I'm having trouble figuring out how to put it all together for a prologue...I keep thinking and I'll start writing and decide I don't like it. Then I erase it and start over. Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

Help? This is the first time I've really dedicated myself to a plot, and I love it. (there's more to it than that, I'm still hashing it out.)

Jess

 

[The Realm Wanderer]

Hmm, you could do the prologue that way but that all depends whether you want there to be a mystery to the book. If you explain the sorcereress' imprisonment, then a lot of the fun and mystery has already been taken from the plot, however this is not alwayss the case. Instead you could just write out the prophecy as the prologue and leave it very vague. This way is sure to demand questions from your readers and will likely force them to carry on reading.
It really is up to you. There is no set way to write a prologue. Just be sure it includes a mystery or a tragedy haha.
As for starting over, I do the same thing constantly. I'm never satisfied. The only thing I can suggest is do a hell of a lot of planning (though this doesn't work for 50% of writers) and just keep writing words until you hit a predefined milestone. Once hitting that, you never know. You may just like where the story has been taken

 

[DianthasProphecy]

I do like the idea of just using the prophecy as the prologue, and leaving it vague. I've read quite a few books like that and it really did make me want to keep on reading. hmmm...
Now to think of how to write a prophecy....lord, where's a prophet when I need one?

 

[The Realm Wanderer]

Glad I helped. And well I don't mean to brag, but yeah I'm something of a prophet myself...never heard of me? I'm the god damn Realm Wanderer! lol

 

[DianthasProphecy]

lol, Honored to meet you Oh Great Realm Wanderer!
*Bows Humbly*

he he. Yeah, thinking of how to put what I need to put into prophet types words will be hard I think. It will take many a backspaces to be happy with a prophecy.

 

[The Realm Wanderer]

The pleasure is mine Mrs. Diantha.
Prophecies are a little difficult to write. They're similar to thought-provoking poems really.
As for the backspace, I hit that key so often it's wearing protective padding.

 

[DianthasProphecy]

Now poetry, I can do. I've written more poetry than anything else. I have folders full of it.
Thanks for all your help by the way! My husband tries to help me with my ideas and frustrations with this novel, but considering he doesn't read, at all, sometimes his ideas are just silly. He knows it too. It's nice to have a forum full of people with similar interests to bounce ideas off of. This already seems like a great place.

 

[Fnord]

I've always thought the best prologues were those that foreshadowed events that wouldn't be revisited until a little later in the story. The prologue should be the "hook" that snares the reader and makes them eager to dive into the book. I used to use prologues as an introduction to the story/world/prophecy/whatever and when I looked back at them, it didn't have that "wow factor" that drew you into the book. When I found the novel I had written in 8th grade, I realized that while the writing itself was amateur, the prologue very much was a "hook". Since the story itself started in a humble pastoral village and wasn't especially noteworthy, without the prologue there is nothing to inform the reader that something interesting or sinister is actually going to be taking place. I dropped terms for places and people in the prologue too which were peppered in the regular story later until the events and conflict in the prologue was fully revisited.

Think hooks!

 

[The Realm Wanderer]

Let's hear some of your poetry then. And no problem for the help, that is of course why I recently joined the forum. For assistance and to help those others that require it

 

[DianthasProphecy]

I will be glad to share some of my poetry, It's nearly 5pm here, and my little one goes to bed around 6, so I'll be able to dig it up after he's down for the night.

 

[The Realm Wanderer]

Okay, great. It's just gone 11pm here in the England. But I'm pretty much nocturnal

 

[DianthasProphecy]

lol. I am too. My husband goes out of state again tomorrow, so he'll be in bed early, and I'll be left to write in peace...Having a one year old, the only time I can write is at night...

 

[The Realm Wanderer]

A lot of writers work during the night. It's more peaceful, less distractions and for me, it just feels better :/