Many authors feel the pressure to avoid prologues, simply because there is such an air of taboo about it. I've been told numerous times using a prologue is seen as a no-no by agents simply because it is seen as a lazy form of introducing a novel.
I neither disagree or agree with this. I have written novels in which I have not used a prologue and others in which I have. My current novel Nowhere to Run has a prologue.
I've read countless novels - in particularly crime - that use Prologues. In Crime and Mystery novels, it can set the scene for the novel. You can use the prologue to write from the killer's point of view or in my case in Nowhere to Run, it is to establish the killer's first victim and set up why the main character, Stephanie Carovella, is returning to Los Angeles.
When I first heard about agents disliking prologues, I did contemplate taking it out and just turning the prologue into the beginning of the first chapter. I even removed the dreaded word prologue and cut and paste it into the first chapter.
It didn't work. Here's why. Firstly, my Prologue is maybe a page and a half long and it is set the day before my first chapter. The first chapter, itself, starts with my main character sitting on a plane heading towards LAX. To link them together it would be messy.
Now you're probably thinking well why not take it out then. That's not possible for me. The main reason my main character is heading back to Los Angeles is because her best friend - the killer's first victim - was murdered. It sets the novel up. It draws readers into the story and more importantly, it works for my novel. If it did not, I'd definitely remove it or change it up somehow.
When deciding whether or not you are going to write a prologue or not, the important thing to consider is whether or not it's really needed. Is it a backstory that your readers will not really take in, or is setting the scene? Ask yourself if you can turn it into Chapter one instead of the Prologue. If your answer is yes, then make the much needed changes and get rid of the pesky prologue. If you answer no, then keep it as it is.
If you're still unsure on whether or not you want to use a prologue or not? Then think on the following:
* Is the Prologue really necessary? Or is it just boring drivel, which will make the reader flips through straight to Chapter One.
* Is there a purpose to the Prologue or is it just there to create atmosphere without having much to do with the story itself?
If you can't answer yes to the questions above, ditch the prologue. If you emphatically answer yes, then keep it in.
- And just in case you're wondering which authors use prologues to kick off their novels a list:
- Patricia Cornwell
- James Patterson
- Ian Rankin
- Mary Higgins Clark
- Lincoln Child
It really is a hard decision you're right about agents hating prologues, I have heard the same thing about them believing its a lazy way a writer starts a novel, I never did get that and yet most YA/adult books I read have prologues. I made the decision not to use prologues if that may get me a instant no, so I saved the prologue in a outtakes file, in case one day if my dream comes true and I get agent/pubbed. I have also heard writers taking it out and then asked to include (this is why saving it helps)
ReplyDeleteThat's an option I will look into. I may decide to use it as part of the first chapter and where the 'real chapter' begins write two days later at the beginning or something to that effect. I just think it sucks that it has become such a big deal when so many people use them. Ugh!
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