Prologue: yea or nay?

[BlackKnightX]

I enjoy good written prologue. Well, that should be obvious, I guess. But good prologue, for me, is one that serves as a hook, an advertisement. I don't really care for the prologue that dumps the worldbuildings on the get go or provide the background details. If it can hook me, it's a good prologue.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

Personally I've never been wowed by a prologue because it either takes the wind out of the sails narratively speaking or seems clunky and out-of-place but I love polls so ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

my problems with prologues are thus: lotta cunts out here dont know how to use a prologue to save their life. A prologue is supposed to set up the events of the story or to tease readers and get them interested.

The problem is AUTHORS UP IN DIS BITCH JUST USE THEM AS FUCKING BAIT.

Example: Boruto.

Spoiler: Small rant about boruto

None of us gave a single fuck about anything but seeing that first fight in full glory. It was clickbait. They forced us to wade through the shit that is Boruto--though it did have good moments--first if we wanted to know what happened to Naruto and Sasuke and the village and why they were fighting. All well and good, but it was too much. too soon. Made us impatient...made us not care much about the journey especially because it wasnt well written. Maybe these scenes from the beginning were given in bits and pieces as the story went on, some glimpses into the future, we'd be more patient, but it wasnt.

Authors use prologues the same way these days. OR they give us fuck tons of spoilers at the start and we're left thinking, "why bother? i know what's going to happen already anyway."

Prologues need to grab interest, but not detail any events too far into the story or else readers either give a fuck about the story apart from that one scene from the prologue, or wont feel like reading because a lot of key events from far into the story were already revealed. Especially fates of any characters. Thats the worst.

Im fine with prologues, just not how its used these days. So i skip them.

 

[Ssthat]

I dont have a problem with prologues until they reveal too much of their story or are generally badly written

 

[J_Chemist]

I don't know how to write a prologue so I use it as a first chapter/book introduction with actual plot information.

Sleep on my 20k prologue and your ass is gonna be lost asf.

 

[BearlyAlive]

My current prologue is MC and Antagonist chilling at home dissing each other and making fun of isekai tropes before seemingly getting semi-isekaied. Nothing serious or epic, but it sets the tone of the story.

 

[Lomyril]

Depends on the story. Usually I'd advise against it, as what happened "before" the story started can be explained later with flashbacks or by characters talking with one another.

The only time I might be interested in a prologue is when it is a major change of scene. Like someone gets hit by a truck and reincarnated into a new world. Or they are walking home, then get kidnapped and wake up in a strange place with no knowledge of how they got there.

Another example would be if there is a major time skip. Like two children are playing in a park and then something happens to one of them that puts them in a coma for a few years.

Sometimes the time skip can be in reverse. Like how you might start with the end of the story. "So, this is how I died / ended up falling to my death". You set the scene then jump back in time to detail how things led up to that ending... which then turns out to not really be an ending but a plot twist.

 

[Placeholder]

> The only time I might be interested in a prologue is when it is a major change of scene. Like someone gets hit by a truck and reincarnated into a new world. Or they are walking home, then get kidnapped and wake up in a strange place with no knowledge of how they got there.

Eh. Better move to have the MC wandering around the new world/prison cell gnawing on the scenery, internally screaming "wtfwtf-isthatagoblin-wtf!"

You're writing for genre-savvy readers, who don't need the settup of dude-wakes-up-scratches-ass-showers-scratches-ass-gets-dressed-heads-to-work-surprise-Truck! That bit is just boring, and doesn't present the reader with anything new and stimulating.

 

[Kenjona]

I can't even remember if any of the novels I've edited have a prologue. I've rejected more than I can count for an infodumpy prologue, though.

My son would like to add:
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The Cat replies:

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