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Prologues essential? or just a band-aid.

Avery Moore

Troubadour
Haven't read all the replies, so sorry if I'm repeating some of what other people have said.

It's fine whether people start with a Prologue or with Chapter 1, I have no preference. The main thing about prologues though is that they should somehow be separate from the rest of the story in some way. There needs to be something about your prologue that makes it different from the rest of the story. Say, for example, if they're set in a different time from rest of the story, or they're told from a view point of a different character, or the main story's written in first person while the prologue is written in third person.

The main point is, if Chapter 1 is just a continuation of the Prologue, then just make your Prologue your Chapter 1 instead.
 

ButlerianHeretic

Troubadour
Avery Moore totally agree. This is what makes GoT's prologue work for example, but also why I'd say Chapter 1 of Sorcerer's Stone should have been a prologue instead of Chapter 1, and it would have worked great as a prologue. In both cases they are from a POV that is different than the rest of the work, they are used to show instead of tell backstory about the world. And they also both present information that the other characters wouldn't be in a position to share the same way. GoT's prologue lets the reader in on a secret that the characters in the story don't know. None of the characters we follow in HP were old enough to communicate how the wizarding world celebrated Voldamort's death, or how Harry came to the Dursleys.

Also in both cases the prologues make sure the reader knows what the story is going to be about. GoT isn't just a mundane retelling of the Wars of the Roses in a made up setting, and someone who went in thinking that and was into that would probably be put off to find out that it is actually a fantasy story underneath everything. On the other hand someone who was all in for the fantasy might be wondering when we were going to get that promise paid off, or at least IIRC I felt that way. The prologue lets readers know that HP isn't really just the story of an abused and neglected boy. You can call your prologue "Chapter 1" to avoid the wrath of the anti-prologue crowd, but it will still be a prologue.
 

ShadeZ

Maester
I would like some opinions on prologues please. Who uses them? Do they make a story better or worse?

For those who don't use them, what are some techniques on how to incorporate the grand schemes and history throughout your stories without them?
The purpose of a prologue is to give the reader a basic knowledge of your world (usually the history of it as it pertains to the story) however if you can incorporate that so that the reader isnt confused by the first chapters events then a prologue could be rendered irrelevant.
 
I actually think that a prologue which is only used to share basic world knowledge is one which should be skipped. It's information which can (and should) be worked into the story itself.

A prologue should be a promise about your story. It should give the reader the tone of the story and the scope of the story they are going to read. The Game of Thrones prologue does this. It shows that there will be gruesome deaths, that magic is returning to the world and that there is more at stake than what the characters think. It paints the epic grim-dark picture for the rest of the series. It contrasts starkly with the first chapter, which is actually fairly mundain. Yes, there's the deserter dying and the direwolves are found, but without the prologue that would have the epic, momentous feel that it has.
 
My first chapter is a prologue to some extent. It is necessary to let the reader know why my protagonist is where he is.
I know most people are against using them but they are a very useful tool and should not be discarded just because the majority of authors don't like them.
 
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