I think a ruck can improve one's writing skills. Remembering some of the altercations in the past I was struck by the imaginative use of adjectives and the creative thought behind some of the remonstrations and/or rude bits.

It can exercise the mind when one has to think of insults that are masked by clever manipulation of words, and I have in mind such material from some of the very best writers on WW.

Anyway it was always nice to read the 'kiss-and-make-up' bits.

Len

Ian McEwan's novel Black Dogs has a 'Preface' which is a prologue by any other name. The choice of 'Preface' might be something to do with establishing the narrator as someone who likes to use 'Preface' rather than 'Prologue'! In Black Dogs, I would say McEwan uses it to establish the narrator and his relation to time and memory, and also to offer an overview of what's to come in thematic terms (up to a point). To be honest, if he'd just called it Chapter 1 or nothing at all, it would make no difference to me as a reader.

Prologues iz well dodgy, innit? The key issue is structure - and also how you want to handle time. I don't like 'em myself - but then I'm a bugger for starting at what I think is a key scene and then working backwards and forwards. Must learn to write in a straight line. But whatever you do, make sure you/re not using 'prologue' as a kind of cop-out from 'writing through'.

Jim

Hi again

So a preface in a non-fiction/academic book will explain how the author came to be acquainted with the chosen subject matter. This should discuss methodology, sources and the central theme of the book. The preface also establishes the credentials of the author. It should also establish the research made into the subject matter. It should be a formal text to ease and to introduce the reader to the subject matter.

A preface in a fiction book is a prologue. I think.

Sorry to labour this point but it's good to know these things.

Jen
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Jen - I'd say you were spot-on with that view.

Jim

Hello!!

Thank you everyone for helping out! I wouldn't have known without you fab people!

Jen
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