Week 42: Prologue or No Prologue?
If last week’s topic was about Epilogues then this week must be prologues. Indeed, it is, and here we go again. It’s Friday. T.G.I.F. Friday equals Marketing for Romance writers 52-Week Blog Challenge.
This should be simple to write. I’ve only written two books with a prologue. After revising one of them some years later, I removed the prologue and revised Chapter One to update the beginning to fit what was happening right now. That book is Howdy, Ma’am so anyone with an original copy has the prologue.
In that book, the prologue was a recommendation from my editor. I agreed. It fit the criteria for using a Prologue. What had happened, had taken place earlier than where Chapter One originally had started.
I’m including links for different sites I’m familiar with to explain the criteria for a prologue:
- When to Use a Prologue Writer’s Digest.
- Pros and Cons of Prologues from The Editor’s Blog.
My time-travel was my first book with a prologue. It makes sense after all since Chapter One started in the present time. The prologue took place in 1882.
When I was young, I didn’t read the prologue in books because I didn’t understand why they were there. All I wanted to do was get into the story. Once I understood them, I haven’t skipped one since.
Have you ever skipped reading a prologue?
It’s weird this topic comes up now because I had an “episodic hero intrusion” the other night who thinks my current WIP should open with a prologue in his POV. Unfortunately, I don’t want to write this book with a prologue. Soooo…
I’m the boss here. If I have to tie him to his ranch signpost to make him sweat a little, I damn well will. However, it won’t be easy at four in the morning when he comes out to play in my head. I like to write hero focused romance, which means I can agree about beginning in his POV, but it will be in chapter one, not a prologue. Nope, not for this upcoming book.
To wrap it up: I don’t use prologues now and don’t know if I ever will again. I do read prologues and don’t mind when they begin stories.
What’s your take on Prologues?
To me, it’s not the same answer as the epilogue post. It seems like a prologue doesn’t have the option if the story calls for one unless you want to do a lot of rewriting or write it into your Chapter One. IMO. 🙂
Thanks for reading. You know what’s next…
Visit my fellow author participants for Week 42 and Marketing for Romance Writers 52-Week Blog Challenge. If interested in my take on “Epilogues,” click HERE.
I appreciate you stopping by.
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel 
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