Colin, that's a good way of doing it. I have just decided that my prologue isnt really a prologue because it starts in the future. So I guess it could be called, 'Now'. Does that work? S

I don't see why not. How about something a little more obscure, "Reflective" or "Snapshot"? The term "prologue" sounds so damn ugly.

In TMOL I started with something that could have been a prologue, but it developed into a series of snapshots at the end of each chapter. I was sorry that the US edition insisted on running them on from the main chapter, rather than letting them stand alone, as the UK edition was happy to do.

Though I get terribly annoyed by doctrinaire ideas like 'prologues are old fashioned,' there's no denying that sometimes having to think and work round such questions can make you come up with some solutions - like Colin's - that open the door to all sorts of other interesting things.

Emma

Dear Doctor

I have terrible trouble writing completely linear narratives, although I feel I ought to write in a straight line.

What do you suggest?

'Worried of Highams Park'

Well, my novel has a prologue and an epilogue, so there! I do'nt think they're old fashioned at all - just a part of a novel. They can be useful to kick things off and wrap things off, but I wouldn't use them all the time.

JB

Dear Doctor I have terrible trouble writing completely linear narratives, although I feel I ought to write in a straight line. What do you suggest? 'Worried of Highams Park'

Dear Worried of Highams Park

We all have this trouble from time to time, but there are a few writers who consider it to be entirely natural, and not something to be ashamed of. Please don't feel that you are in anyway inferior to the kind of writer who can develop a plot from beginning to end without having recourse to other centuries or universes.

With best wishes

Dr Parallel Narrative
Non-linear Novelists Support Association.

I think that the acid test is this: could the story work without the prologue? Is the information therein absolutely vital?

I've dropped every prologue I've ever written, because the answer turned out to be...no.

However, the editor that's taken me on has actually ASKED me to write one. She wants an action-packed opening to compensate for the rather emotionally draining first chapters.

The interesting thing is that adding the prologue at this stage can throw up problems too...

(I won't elaborate cos this is now a point of discussion with my editor)

Surely a reflection of the short term memory span of consumers

It's like asking to include a car chase in Pride and Prejudice

could the story work without the prologue? Is the information therein absolutely vital?

Yes, that's the killer question isn't it?

And your experience with this one is fascinating. It re-inforces my suspicion that the reason editors don't like them is because they're so often wrongly used, not because they're a bad idea per se.

Emma

They're probably only wrong if you don't get them right?

S

They're probably only wrong if you don't get them right?

Couldn't agree more.

Emma

Euhm, I hope not. I have one and even though I could do without it, I don't want to since it gives the story an extra hook from the beginning.

My prologue shows my main character shooting a man she clearly loves a lot. After this, the story begins and they are still happily married. The prologue sort of happens mid of the story and I kind of like how it puzzles the writer why she killed him.

Personally, I don't like the term 'hook'. I know that I'm the exception because everyone in the industry uses it but it bothers me. My opinion is that readers are not fish and can see the bait for what it is.
I'm not referring to any specific cases, just the general use of this term.

The alternative is reading the first two chapters of a book and thinking, "What the hell is this about?"

I always thought the term "hook" meant to make it clear what the reader is buying into, so they can choose if it's worth reading in the first place, but I don't see why a good hook can't be included in the jacket blurb so if the writer wants, the first chapters can be slow.

My young adult novel has a prologue, which I added later (after a few people suggested it) and I quite liked the result. My agent doesn't have a problem with it, and of the publishers we've subbed to so far, none have mentioned the prologue as a negative in their feedback.

Cath