The Art Of The Prologue

[Leif Notae]

Prologues break down to this. You use a prologue if your protag is a weak character/cannot carry the opening. Star Wars was perfect "prologue" because Darth Vader was strong enough to open the story. It gave a sense of foreboding and set the plate for when a final confrontation would happen.

All other prologues outside of a villain/antagonist showing up and setting the mood for your protagonist to exist in are wrong. An abysmal failure and, in some cases, only an excuse for the author to talk to themselves.

Either you have Chapter one with your hero strong and resolute, or you have a prologue with your villain strong and resolute, and then your protagonist weak and limping into the story.

Kill your prologues.

 

[Ireth]

Prologues break down to this. You use a prologue if your protag is a weak character/cannot carry the opening. Star Wars was perfect "prologue" because Darth Vader was strong enough to open the story. It gave a sense of foreboding and set the plate for when a final confrontation would happen.

All other prologues outside of a villain/antagonist showing up and setting the mood for your protagonist to exist in are wrong. An abysmal failure and, in some cases, only an excuse for the author to talk to themselves.

Either you have Chapter one with your hero strong and resolute, or you have a prologue with your villain strong and resolute, and then your protagonist weak and limping into the story.

Kill your prologues.

Sound logic, Leif, especially when one thinks of novel queries and sample chapters that often go with them. All of the agents I've seen want only chapter one and beyond, not a prologue. So your hero still has to be able to pull his own weight in the beginning, it just comes after the prologue your readers will see. But hopefully your query will pick up the slack of a weaker opening and do the work of enticing the agent to accept your work.

 

[Phietadix]

Am I the Only one who Lkes Prologues that are Info Dumps?

 

[Steerpike]

Here's a problem I've been facing recently. You have so much you want to tell readers about your characters, not all of it is relevant to the current story but it's still interesting. How do you decide what to tell in chunks or bits and what you let readers know by letting them watch the character act?

If it is not relevant to the story, I'd consider cutting it no matter how interesting you find it.

 

[wordwalker]

Prologues break down to this. You use a prologue if your protag is a weak character/cannot carry the opening.
...
Either you have Chapter one with your hero strong and resolute, or you have a prologue with your villain strong and resolute, and then your protagonist weak and limping into the story.

Kill your prologues.

Huh.

This makes sense, with the caveat that it refers to how strong the character is at the start, and including the depth of their current awareness of the plot. So if the MC has a journey ahead that will make him a hero (or antihero or whatever), but right now he's just a promising lad with the seed of greatness, a prologue might be best but there's no reason to throw the word "weak" at him. Or prologues apply if the MC is already dynamic but you want to show a part of the plot before he works his way into knowing how much is going on.

(And yes, since good writing is where to put the spotlight, a character with even a glimmer of promise can carry a scene if you focus on that. That doesn't mean you have to use him first thing if the story has something to say elsewhere-- just that if he's already fully engaged with it it's a waste to hold back. We're talking about story elegance, not the only kind of effectiveness.)

 

[Leif Notae]

Huh.

This makes sense, with the caveat that it refers to how strong the character is at the start, and including the depth of their current awareness of the plot. So if the MC has a journey ahead that will make him a hero (or antihero or whatever), but right now he's just a promising lad with the seed of greatness, a prologue might be best but there's no reason to throw the word "weak" at him. Or prologues apply if the MC is already dynamic but you want to show a part of the plot before he works his way into knowing how much is going on.

Weak is the word for it because they cannot maintain the opening on their backs. A hero's journey style quest will always start off slow, so the prologue is meant to disguise their weakness and inability to hold a reader's attention for the first 3-10 pages. It isn't an insult to the protag, it is a fact.

There were two ways Star Wars could have gone: Darth Vader opening, or Luke being a bad ass clone killer. Since it is a hero's journey story, then it HAD to be Darth Vader. Now, if VII was made when Hamill was in his 40's, it would have started off with Luke being a bad ass clone killer. It is the start of his journey as a strong character that can carry an opening.

So the terminology isn't your character is a bad character, they don't have a strong back... Hence, they are "weak".

 

[wordwalker]

Weak is the word for it because they cannot maintain the opening on their backs. A hero's journey style quest will always start off slow, so the prologue is meant to disguise their weakness and inability to hold a reader's attention for the first 3-10 pages. It isn't an insult to the protag, it is a fact.

There were two ways Star Wars could have gone: Darth Vader opening, or Luke being a bad ass clone killer. Since it is a hero's journey story, then it HAD to be Darth Vader. Now, if VII was made when Hamill was in his 40's, it would have started off with Luke being a bad ass clone killer. It is the start of his journey as a strong character that can carry an opening.

So the terminology isn't your character is a bad character, they don't have a strong back... Hence, they are "weak".

Ah. That's what I hoped you meant, and it isn't often someone says "weak protagonist" in a tolerant way.

Perfect example, by the way. We watch Star Wars for the concept of a Hero's Journey and for the other characters, not because we think Mark Hamil can match Harrison Ford-- a lot of stories are paced that way, and that pacing's a good reason to go prologue. (Or, like I said, if the MC's strong but not yet strongly tied to where the story has to start.)

Nice.