Writing Tips

Prologues

A/N: If you know you don't want a prologue in your book, you can skip this part. If you're considering or know that you want your story to have a prologue, then read on!

I'll say it, I love prologues. Almost all of my stories have one.

Most websites that offer writing tips will say to avoid prologues since most just confuse the reader, but I call bullcrap.

Most prologues are mysterious and vague. And some can be confusing, but your prologue can be intriguing if you write it correctly.

Well, there's no correct way to write a prologue, but you know what I mean.

What I do for most of my prologues is introduce the conflict, as is expected in expositions.

I also introduce a couple characters, two or three at the most. I've found that the best of prologues only introduce three characters or fewer throughout its duration.

Now onto the whole "they confuse readers" thing.

There's a difference between confusing people and intriguing people.

Confusing your readers is like having a scene in your prologue where your protagonist is having a somber inner monologue then suddenly having a clown come in randomly and sing Bohemian Rhapsody while doing the electric slide.

Intriguing your readers is like having a scene in your prologue where your protagonist starts dwelling on a distant memory, but don't give every last detail about that memory.

For example, say your protagonist is dwelling on the night their family was killed. You might want to write something like this...

I walked alone on a cold December night, hugging my heavy coat closer to my shivering body.

I listened to my feet crushing the freshly fallen snow, hoping to chase out the unwelcome cacophony beating on my eardrums.

I looked around me at all the city lights, the full moon, the stars, the fog curling from my chattering lips.

I tried my best to avoid blinking for as long as I could. For in that split second, a dreaded image burns behind my fleeting eyelids, causing tears to try and extinguish the flames.

I sighed, realizing that with that one extended exhale, I had just subtracted one breath from my total breath count.

I cursed myself.

I went out into this blizzard to forget that night, but I was only making the memories sharper.

Were you intrigued by that?

Gosh, I sure do hope so.

Anyway, I made the character's backstory vague and foggy, but I didn't leave you completely in the dark, since the character obviously resents the memories of "that night."

Phrases like "that night" can help contribute to the intrigue of your prologue, but be careful. If you use them too much, it'll get tired and worn out and your readers will probably put your book down and walk away.

There is also a thing as being too vague as well, so be wary of that, too.

Hopefully this helped you learn how to write a prologue and if it did, please let me know!