Prologue?

[P.N. Swick]

So my story is about a young prince whose kingdom is ripped away from him as a teenager. No family members die or anything, their just exiled. When he goes back home he joins a group of rebels led by his families bodyguard. Now he must get back his throne. Should I include the prologue where it shows his capitol being ransacked and his family escaping. Yay or nay?

 

[Rikilamaro]

Is it relevant to the storyline in that you need the details of the attack in order for the reader to understand the story? If not, and you get away with mentioning his background in a basic history during the first chapter then a prologue isn't necessarily necessary.
Hope that helps.

 

[TWErvin2]

If the backstory can be worked (where needed) within the context of the story as it unfolds, that might be better.

You'll find some folks dislike prologues, and even skip them in novels they read. Others don't mind them.

If the prologue is a 'history lesson' it usually doesn't work. The reader has nothing to anchor the people, places and events to. Thus, their importance and relevance can be lost or overlooked. That's why it is often better to weave the relevant information into the plot throughout the story.

As you've stated it, a prologue could work. It could even be chapter 1, especially if not much time passed when the fellow joins the bodyguard in the struggle to regain the throne.

 

[P.N. Swick]

Thanks I think I'm gonna drop it, its just history, although it shows the escape form the city, it happened 5 years before the story starts. I just read "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy" by Orson Scott Card. It's an event story based on his principles. He said not to add a prologue, and it's too much emotion tied to a character they haven't met.

 

[Caged Maiden]

Sometimes it fits naturally and sometimes it's forced..... you would be the best judge of whether it was necessary, and you can always go back and change it later if you didn't like it or wanted to add it. Let your own happiness in your work be the deciding factor rather than what you read in blogs or whatever. I went nuts and butchered a book after I read blogs....

 

[thetraveler]

So my story is about a young prince whose kingdom is ripped away from him as a teenager. No family members die or anything, their just exiled. When he goes back home he joins a group of rebels led by his families bodyguard. Now he must get back his throne. Should I include the prologue where it shows his capitol being ransacked and his family escaping. Yay or nay?

My two cents: Prologues can be the business. However, as has been stated previously, if they are a history lesson, they usually don't work. That being said, if they contain an event related to the main plotline, but only set to join it at some arbitrary page number--say, 42--they tend to do better. Example would be the prologue of Eragon. It set up the world, the rules, etc. Gave you a sense of the over-arcing conflict. Got you interested, because--let's face it--demon-infested magicians blowing crap up with fire is awesome.

TL;DR If it's a history lesson, skip it. If it hooks the reader, sets up the conflict without giving too much away and happens fairly close to the start of the book, keep it.

 

[Ivan]

I usually tl;dr the prologue itself. Include brief snippets in the actual text, that is the way to go, keeps people wanting to know more.

 

[Phin Scardaw]

A prologue should introduce mystery, not exposition. A murder, or a cry in the night, or someone finding a dead body. Something that hooks you in the beginning, sets the tone, then leaves you hanging.

When I watch Peter Jackson's LotR films, which I greatly enjoy, I can't sit through the awful prologue because it gives away far too much, renders Sauron impotent as a fear-inspiring figure, and clearly exists only to educate audiences who are completely unaware of the story's basics, such as what the One Ring is and does. The only part of it I like is the very opening when Galadriel's voice-over speaks about the world changing and things being lost that shouldn't have been, and that's because it's effective story-telling. Tolkien didn't blow his wad at the outset, he let it all build naturally in his story. Readers don't learn about Sauron until Frodo learns about him. There's no reason why the film couldn't have done the same.

Any pertinent information about the history of your world can be revealed as the story progresses. There are numerous techniques for this, and a crafty writer should learn how to use them; your readers will appreciate it.