Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Defining a Prologue

+0
−0

I came across prologues of several novels, and I noticed that they all were different from each other. Some had a short excerpt picked somewhere from the novel, a few included some private notes from the author, while others had an introductory part by the narrator of the story (in either first person or third person).

All these variations are stretching the definition of a prologue (at least for me). So I need a clear explanation:

  • What is a prologue?
  • Why does an author need one? Is it is really important?
  • What is the proper way of writing a prologue? (Which way is the original method?)
  • Can one violate the original methods to write a prologue?

Thanks in advance

History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/12674. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

3 answers

You are accessing this answer with a direct link, so it's being shown above all other answers regardless of its score. You can return to the normal view.

+0
−0

A prologue is pro, before, the logos, word. It's text before the main body of the text.

Whether a work needs a prologue is entirely up to the author. There is no right or wrong way to write one. There is no right or wrong content. It can serve as an introduction, a teaser, a flashback, background material, a recap, or anything else the author thinks might be useful or interesting.

Since there are no rules, there's nothing to violate. It's purely Your Mileage May Vary.

History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

0 comment threads

+1
−0

Usually a prologue is outside the main flow of the story in some way:

  • Tease with an out-of-sequence scene. The prologue might tease us by previewing a pivotal scene that will occur later in the main storyline. Often this is a snippet of the climax.
  • Give context through a different viewpoint. A prologue might put the story into a wider context by offering a viewpoint that does not otherwise occur in the main storyline. Perhaps the viewpoint of a character who does not otherwise have a viewpoint scene (or appear directly in the story at all). Or a viewpoint from a different timeframe, either before or after the main story.
  • Dramatic irony. A prologue might tease us by giving information that the hero will lot learn until much later in the story. Thrillers, for example, often feature prologues from the bad guys' viewpoint, giving us readers information about the scope and dastardliness of the bad guys' plans.
History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/12677. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

+0
−0

I agree with Lauren's answer: A prologue is anything before the main body of a text, and can be whatever the author wants it to be. What matters is that it reads well.

However, in my experience, an introduction, preface, or forward is usually written in the writer's or editor's voice; prologues are usually (but not always) part of the novel's story.

All of these sections - along with acknowledgements, copyright page, title page, table of contents - can be referred to collectively as front matter.

History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

0 comment threads

Sign up to answer this question »