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Q&A Can the prologue be the backstory of your main character?

Prologues are something that need to be handled carefully - otherwise, you may wind up giving too much information about a character/world that the reader doesn't care about yet. If you have a lo...

posted 5y ago by Evil Sparrow‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

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#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-14T20:45:27Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/44601
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T11:42:29Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/44601
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T11:42:29Z (about 5 years ago)
Prologues are something that need to be handled carefully - otherwise, you may wind up giving too much information about a character/world that the reader doesn't care about yet.

If you have a lot of backstory and you feel like it's slowing down the plot later on, there's another approach you can try: **make the backstory part of your plot.** Instead of sneaking in a series of history lessons later on, start your story with your character's history _being made_.

Aim for more than just a prologue - take an important part of your character's life and make it into its own story arc. Show the events that led your characters to become the people they are today. How did they react to that situation? If it's done well, the reader can easily understand how your characters act now. (The other characters may still need the occasional explanation, but this should help keep the explanations from becoming a distraction.)

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-04-13T21:50:35Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 4