Inside Scoop

[16] Prologues and Epilogues

What are your thoughts on prologues and epilogues?

Leigh19: They are a must!

Prologues are what I find to be the key factor to luring readers. You need to have a beginning that teases and makes your reader beg for more. If the prologues are boring and filled with babbling than readers might not be willing to give it a fair shot. They have to have the right amount of everything  to make it appealing. If there's too much in a prologue than there's no point in reading the story because the element of surprise was just taken away.(Like a movie trailer)

What I like about Epilogues is that it's fantastic for tying up loose ends in a story and giving it a proper ending that gives it a more realistic approach (by realistic I don't mean the story becomes more real but showing that the story carries on even after the end ) I find it actively describes the fates of the characters in the story and shows that the end of the story  isn't the actual end.  I haven't used a lot of epilogues but in every story to date there's a prologue and I find it easier to deliver a prologue and a lot trickier to have an epilogue because to lure your readers in when they haven't read the story is easy enough but to give them an ultimately satisfying conclusion is more work  but also more rewarding when done right.

Vicky_nfs: Powerful

Prologues and epilogues are very interesting things. They’re quite important seeing as they are the first and last things you’ll read of a story.

A prologue, being the first part you’ll read of a story, simply has to have a bit of mystery in it. Not only does it have to make you wonder what it’s all about, it should also make you feel interested in what the story will be about. I prefer prologues that portray a strong emotion (perhaps by a death, experiencing what it’s like to be chased,…) and keep you wondering how someone got there or what will happen next. Those prologues ‘wake’ something up in a reader that will make them want to know more about the characters, events, …

A prologue isn’t always necessary, a book can do fine without it, but most of the times it gives a story just that little extra - especially when a story is very slow paced at the beginning, because of the prologue you’ll know ‘good’ things will follow further on in the story and that will/might keep the reader interested and motivated to continue reading.

Epilogues, well, what to say about those? They’re also very important to a story because most of the times it’s the epilogue and the end that will make you like or dislike a book. Of course there’s more to a book than just the beginning and end, but it simply is like that, beginnings and endings have a bigger impact than what happens in the book (in most of the cases). There is such a thing as primacy effect and recency  effect, meaning that people will most likely remember more of the first information they’re given and the last (more recent) information. So yes, I guess it’s safe to say that they, the prologue and epilogue, are both very powerful when it comes to the impression a book leaves with its readers.

Epilogues, in my opinion, are important when there isn’t going to be a sequel to a story. It’s part of the human nature to be curious and think ahead, so an epilogue satisfies that thirst of wanting to know what will happen next.

Then again, like stated before, whether to use prologues and/or an epilogue is completely up to the author’s preferences and the story itself as well. Sometimes a story ‘needs’ them, whereas other stories are better off without them. And when you use prologues and epilogues, I’d suggest making them as good and amazing as you possibly can, for they will definitely influence your readers’ opinions about the story.

Emmiie: Very Helpful

In my opinion, prologues are very insightful. They are what hook your readers. Often, it’s the prologue of a story that decides whether or not I’m going to continue reading. A prologue can show you many things, like the writers writing style, for instance.

In all honestly, I find prologues/epilogues are a challenge, because they need to be short, insightful, but most importantly…they must be gripping. Truthfully, they aren’t always needed, but I think they are advised (especially if you plan for the story to be quite lengthy or to turn it into a series of novels). The purpose of a prologue is to capture the interest of your readers, or you could even use your prologue to give a bit of background information.

On the other hand, you don’t want to drag out your story or add things in that aren’t really needed. So if you are adding a prologue just for the sake of having a prologue, then you more than likely don’t need one. A prologue should have some sort of purpose behind it, whether it’s to hook your readers, give additional details, a background story, or an introduction into your story.

You could even take a snipplet from a later part of your story (for example, I sometimes…mainly for sequels, use the end of the first chapter as my prologue).

If you are struggling to write a prologue, don’t worry, you’re not alone. I often find teasers/prologues harder than writing the actual story. It’s certainly challenging to take such a small piece of writing and make it gripping. My advice is to start at a high point. Make something interesting be happening, like a chase scene, for example. Describe what the character is feeling, and more than often the reader will want to read on just to find out what the character is running from—or who/what is chasing them. And if you can add a twist into that, well, more power to you.

Epilogues are pretty much the same, but more so used to wrap up a story, or to give insight into what happens after your story. The same goes for these, they’re nice to have, but not always necessary.