Don’t you wish, sometimes, that you didn’t have to wade through the prologue of a book? Or, maybe you enjoy the plot grounding that the prologue provides. You like the back story and the feeling that you’re privy to something characters aren’t?
Just how important is a prologue? When should I use one and what are the times that I shouldn’t use one at all? What’s your opinion, Troy?
Since I’m going to assume that everyone knows what a prologue is (and I threw in a handy link in case you’re a non-writer/reader who doesn’t know), I’m going to dive right into the meat of the matter.
Most of the sources that I found when researching this entry give a detailed list of things not to do even when you are attempting to write one.
I’m not going to do that.
Instead, here are the things a prologue is supposed to do:
