For anyone who doesn't know...prologues are bad. Evil, really. Most agents will tell you this. They'll tell you not to have a prologue unless the story absolutely needs it.
I'm considering a prologue....
My story starts off with a man and his family; the man is leaving for business and he hints that he knows something that he shouldn't. Something that could save the world. Something that could get him killed. My main character is the one who kills him in the first chapter. She's an assassin and she's been paid to take him out. We don't learn what he knew for a very long time.
I know this is a strong opening, but part of me wonders if the readers would like to start off knowing what this guy knows, which I can add to a prologue.
What do you think?
Anonymous2012-02-19T12:22:49Z
Favorite Answer
They wouldn't bother to read the story if you solved the riddle in a prologue!
Most of the time you have to try it first. Write it out and see how well it works. Without knowing the details it is pretty hard to give you and answer.
The reason most editors and agents hate prologues is because people use them as an info dump. It also breaks the flow of the action.
I had a prologue for my most recent novel, but I ended up turning it into chapter one after a rewrite. It just fit into the story better. So you can always write it and decide what to do with it later. Maybe you will cut it, or maybe you will incorporate it into the story as a flashback. There are so many options, just try it out and you will find your way.
Sometimes prologues are necessary, and sometimes they are even good. I loved the prologue for the first book of the Wheel of Time. I don't think I would have read the rest of the book, or the series at all, without it.
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