Comments on Nathan Bransford, Author: Prologues

I hate when there are huge prologues, I usually en...

2010-07-18T19:13:29.758-07:00

I hate when there are huge prologues, I usually end up skipping them because I want to get to the actual story. I usually don't find this bad for me. What I like the most are the reall short ones, only a few paragraphs and no more than a page long. If the prologue is forever long, I'll skip it. I just don't like long ones!

I believe in prologues if they are well written an...

2010-05-31T15:05:22.166-07:00

I believe in prologues if they are well written and integral to the telling of the story. I've written four novels and only my current one has a prologue. I use it to blend two parts to the story: the first part where the character faces major familial issues that began long before the book begins, and the second part where the character's life is still in termoil but has reached an entirely different point of impact.

Chapter one by itself is very strong and compelling, but gives the impression of a book going one direction, when really, it is only the beginning of part one. With a book broken up like this one, I felt readers may develop a complete misunderstanding for what to expect. By tying things together through the prologue, I hope their expectations are suspended long enough for me to establish that each part of this story is essential to this character's development and growth.

But if someone chooses to skip past my prologue, I won't be offended. I expect prologue skippers also tend to read ahead to the last page of the book (impatient types, and all) at which point you'll gather the information I give in the prologue anyway.

And either way, you are still reading my story. :)

Guys, we get it - the word verification when posti...

2010-05-26T17:19:20.767-07:00

Guys, we get it - the word verification when posting a comment can sometimes sound funny.

Presently, mine says dontbesobloodyunoriginal.

This couldn't have been more timely as I have ...

2010-05-26T12:31:39.897-07:00

This couldn't have been more timely as I have a prologue dilemma. I intended the 1 1/2 page prologue to place the reader (this is a middle grade) in the narrative by suggesting that the story could be happening just next door. Now I'm considering dropping it. Nathan, you say to send it, but my concern is that the prologue might "kill" the agent's interest simply because he/she doesn't see it as I do. Thoughts?

I have been a fan of good prologues for years, and...

2010-05-26T10:57:59.843-07:00

I have been a fan of good prologues for years, and I've got at least one story that has one. I like them. It's a dandy way of giving the reader a precipitating event prior to the story's taking place, but one which absolutely affects the rest of the story and how it will unfold. I've got one in my (singular) published novel(which rights have now reverted to me...sigh) that absolutely riveted pretty much everyone that read it. So I figure I must have done something right. :-)

OTOH, the worst prologue I ever read was 43 PAGES LONG--no, I am not making this up, and it wasn't manuscript pages, it was BOOK pages. The event in the prologue actually occurs/unfolds about halfway through the story, and by that time, frankly, you don't care. It also contained a glaring, absolutely incomprehensible error (to anyone who'd done a scintilla of fact checking). If that had been the first time I'd ever encountered a prologue, I, too, would run screaming away from them!

JB

verification word: "gewcapel." That's got to be usable somewhere...

It depends. Often I don't like them, especiall...

2010-05-26T08:53:13.457-07:00

It depends. Often I don't like them, especially the ones that get me invested in a character who is killed off by the end of the prologue. Urgh, that's annoying! If they're short, to the point, get me interested in reading more or fill in some vital character history that would drag down the main story, then they work. Otherwise, I just zip to Chapter One. I used them in my earlier novels; now I simply begin the story.

No I do not like prologues. Capture me with Chapte...

2010-05-25T18:35:04.034-07:00

No I do not like prologues. Capture me with Chapter One. I want to go on the journey of the story - I don't want you tell me.

As an editor, I will consider prologues if they se...

2010-05-25T18:34:56.982-07:00

As an editor, I will consider prologues if they serve as signposts of something important to come that otherwise couldn't be melded into the text.

Like if there's a lake filled with alligators, there'd better be a "Swim at Your Own Risk" sign at the shore.

Otherwise, I tell writers there's a delete button. (or copy and paste for those softies).

I used to have a thing for prologues. My first thr...

2010-05-25T18:21:36.759-07:00

I used to have a thing for prologues. My first three books (in a series) all had prologues. My next four books (new series) do not. Maybe i got it out of my system.
I think I tended to use them to deliver backstory in scene, because I was working so hard to avoid flashbacks and narrative.

It's a facile way to do back history -- which ...

2010-05-25T16:59:17.465-07:00

It's a facile way to do back history -- which probably condemns it.
Elmore Leonard, who knows a thing or two about writing, includes Prologues in his list of things not to do.

Prologues annoy be because it's the story befo...

2010-05-25T16:44:47.316-07:00

Prologues annoy be because it's the story before the story. But when I wrote my recent novel, I added one half way through. Why? It was the one crucial event that gave the reason for everything else and released me from writing a bunch of boring backstory.

I made sure it mentioned at least one mc. I loathe prologues that don't and leave you hanging for chapters on end for some kind of connection.

My prologue is integral as a prelude. The story is not as salient without it, so it stays and the novel sold so I have to keep it now! But as a reformed prologue complainer, I'm eating my words and loving it.

Karen

Prologues have their place, but not every book nee...

2010-05-25T15:42:42.616-07:00

Prologues have their place, but not every book needs one. My big complaint is when the prologue is too long. I don't want to wait until tomorrow to get into the meat. A good prologue may take the place of the darned-almighty flashback that would come later on and put a big speed bump in the way of a smooth read.
A prologue can be good or bad. No fast rule.
My project is a trur crime. I had a published true-crime author look at my first several chapters, and he said I should use the first chapter as a prologue. I changed it, showed it to another household name true-crime writer who said not to use a prologue, nobody reads them. So there you are.

A prologue is only as good as its written. I thin...

2010-05-25T15:37:59.642-07:00

A prologue is only as good as its written. I think they have value at times, especially if you are introducing some critical backstory that would otherwise slow the story's pace. I certainly don't detest them enough to skip reading them as some have indicated they do.

I usually skip the prologue, author's notes an...

2010-05-25T15:26:21.332-07:00

I usually skip the prologue, author's notes and introduction and go right for the first chapter. You know what I'm thinking...the best story tellers start a story smack dab in the middle--then they have a choice of going forward or back or both.

I think if you write a prologue, it's best to ...

2010-05-25T14:10:23.476-07:00

I think if you write a prologue, it's best to keep in mind that half your readers may skip it.

I read them grudgingly, if at all.

Sebold's "prologue" in THE LOVELY BONES is a ten line, double-spaced paragraph that took five seconds to read, and it was beautiful, lyrical and oh-so-perfect.

How about starting the novel with a quotation? An...

2010-05-25T13:24:44.166-07:00

How about starting the novel with a quotation?

And then moving into a prologue?

And then commencing the novel proper with a dream sequence in which the protagonist wakes up, only to discover a moment later that this was itself a dream, and that the protagonist has really been dreaming about having a dream?

In chapter two why not reveal that the whole thing is just a story within a story anyhow, and that what we're really reading about is a person who is writing a novel?

Maybe we could toss in a vampire for good measure?

Or how about a zombie love triangle?

Or better yet - a story about a lawyer/detective who was once a zombie, but has now become a vampire, and is presently dating a werewolf?

I've got a better idea - why don't we all just slit our wrists and hang ourselves... it would be the fastest and the quickest way out.

The Goose.

In my soon to be published novel there is a prolog...

2010-05-25T12:39:43.847-07:00

In my soon to be published novel there is a prologue...the protagonist is motivated her entire life by events of her childhood however the story is actually of her choices in her adult life. So the prologue is one pivotal revelation in her life that reveals her motivation for her behavior. To write her entire childhood story would have made the book too long...at 100,000 it's already lengthy so...oh, and it's a literary romance, if that matters :) Some of it is brought out during the story but the editor thought it needed more so we went with prologue. I think it works.

Breeze

I alway skip the prologue (If the book I am readin...

2010-05-25T12:26:00.297-07:00

I alway skip the prologue (If the book I am reading has one). If the book was good, I will usually go back and read after I have finished. It's like I am trying to squeeze in that little extra love for the book I didn't want to end.
~2

I must admit, I am a prologue writer... but before...

2010-03-09T23:28:50.258-08:00

I must admit, I am a prologue writer... but before any of you "prologue haters" jump down my throat, just let me say this: I don't write a prolgue for my book unless I deem it absolutely nessesary. And if I use one, I do deem it nessesary.

For instance, in the MS I'm working on currently, the prolgue not only provides backstory (in a sense of action, btw... because I do HATE those prologues that are just aimless thoughts without meaning) but it also has important facts that will be tied into a sequal. I did try to take the prologue out and include the info later, but it didn't work... seriously. And the info was too important to the story to leave it out. So there you go.

But in another book, I do use a frame method, where my MC is several hundred years old (no, not a vampire or anything like that... and not an elf either. *lol*) and she is thinking back on her much younger years. For this particular story, though, it is a very relevent and important fact that the whole story is basically a memory for her... sort of like "Water for Elephants".

I do enjoy reading prologues on occasion... the Prologue to "Eregon" was certainly a hook for me... but it really depends on the writing more than anything else.

So that's my outlook on the subject anyways.

I read this prologue before and it was so good tha...

2009-05-31T21:43:14.688-07:00

I read this prologue before and it was so good that it made me want to start reading right away! but if its like a quote before a chapter, I would skip it. I know they take a lot of time choosing the right one, but i'm more interested in the actual story. i think prologues are used to get the setting up maybe let a bit of the future leak out to the reader

Leis, I'm with you (hate prologues) and love your ...

2009-04-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

Leis, I'm with you (hate prologues) and love your sense of humor ("In case I was being too subtle: I hate Prologues.") That said, I just wrote a novel and then added a prologue. It sets up so many things in only one page. I hated the prologues in the Twilight series but those books made me think, "I write better than this," and so I wrote a 94,000-work novel in 4 months. With a prologue...

Leis, I'm with you (hate prologues) and love your ...

2009-04-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

Leis, I'm with you (hate prologues) and love your sense of humor ("In case I was being too subtle: I hate Prologues.") I hated the prologues in the Twilight series but those books made me think, "I write better than this," and so I wrote a 94,000-work novel in 4 months. With a prologue...

I GROAN every time I see PROLOGUE, groan and wince...

2009-04-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

I GROAN every time I see PROLOGUE, groan and wince, argh! Why, oh, why?

(In case I was being too subtle: I hate Prologues.)

I believe prologues are good, when they're not jus...

2009-04-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

I believe prologues are good, when they're not just used as information dumps. Science fiction and fantasy novels are the most at fault for this: writers think they can explain the entire world in a prologue and it only serves to confuse the reader.

The concept of the prologue has always been an iff...

2009-04-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

The concept of the prologue has always been an iffy one for me. A prologue can make or break a book. I'd much rather keep the reader interested in why this character is the way s/he is. What happened to his mom? To his brother? Why is she so rebellious, anyway?

I choose not to include a prologue in my works. They take too much away and many find it too much effort to read it.