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Not all books have this, not all books need this, yet almost all writers include it.
Pardon me, I was trying to be a little poetic.
Prologue isn't exactly an indispensable part of your book.
Whether you write it or not, totally depends on YOU and your STORY. Sometimes, we need to give a little sneak peek which gives slightly more information than the summary.
Prologue comes before the first chapter of your book. It can be in the form of an introduction, it can give a glimpse into the future of the story, it can be a poem, a prophecy, or just about anything.
Prologues are something that are generally looked down upon. A lot of literary critics feel wary of your book if it has a prologue. One reason for that is- boredom. Prologues, if not written well, can become extremely dry and uncatchy. Since the first few chapters of your books either make or break the interest of the reader, a well-written prologue is a necessity.
A lot of authors use prologues to just dump information on the reader. Information is complex if it's all in one place, instead of being distributed steadily through several chapters.
Yet, I follow one thing when I write. Write without fear. If you feel you need to include something in your book, do it. Nothing should stop you.
If you've changed your mind about writing a prologue you can very well skip the rest of this update and if you still wish to write one, follow my lead.
What should a prologue be like:
1. It should be catchy
Remember not to dump all the information in one place. Include only what us required. Try to make it interesting and unique but do not add too much mystery. You need to remember that this would be the first thing your reader would be introduced to.
2. Keep it brief
The smaller the prologue the better. Try to reduce to just one page. 1200 words max. If it's much shorter than that? Great!
3. Don't name it as 'Prologue'
Like I mentioned earlier, people have this dislike for Prologues, so they tend to skip them. Don't label it as 'Chapter One' either, because that would be like cheating your readers. You can label you Prologue with a date or maybe a location that fits the theme the best.
4. Ask yourself this question
If you cut out your prologue, would anything change? Take your time to think about it. If your answer is No, then skip it. Yes! I've come back here again. XD
And if you are still hell bent on writing a Prologue...Please Continue to read
Types of Prologues:
1. History: This type of prologue mentions an incident that took place before your story began. You would go in the past and give information which is necessary to take the book forward. The readers would relate to it later in the book.
2. Future: An action packed prologue can be give a glimpse into the future. An introduction of what might happen sometime in the book. For eg: You can have scene where your character is running for her life but four years later to chapter one.
I have read innumerable books that have Prologues and also those that don't.
According, to my reading experience, the books in following genres generally have Prologues:
Mystery, Historical, Fantasy, Romance, Werewolf.
The following genres don't:
Humor, teen fiction, Chick flicks, Random.
But I must remind you once again, a Prologue is completely your wish and your story's demand.
Types of Prologues:
1. Past
Involve certain past incidents, memories or flashbacks that have already taken place but hold very important for the story or the character. Mystery and Historical books generally have these.
2. About to happen
Not a very common type of Prologue but a lot of books have these. These prologues tell us what is about to happen, somewhat like the book's summary. The same plot is then repeated the coming chapters. It has a very big advantage- acts as a bait. It can keep the readers hooked.
3. Unrelated
This type of Prologue is not related to the main storyline or the main character. Such prologues generally tell the story of the villain. These can be skipped by the readers. This is generally written from viewpoint that is never repeated.
4. A flashback
This type of Prologue is the ending of the novel, which makes the novel sort of a memory or a flashback.
Now, If you want to put up a Prologue, remember the following:
1. Keep it short.
2. Make it perfect. Yes! Perfect. Edit and Re-edit till you think that one cannot skip it.
3. DO NOT dump all the information on the reader.
4. Don't make it boring.
5. Try not to introduce a main character.
6. Better to write in Third Person POV.
That's it!
Your doubts here------>
Did I forget something? ------>
Random tip:
Putting it on paper helps you in fixing it- Pixar Studios.
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Hi, guys. I hope you're liking the updates so far and these are giving you an idea of writing a book for wattpad or any other platform.
Comment here or DM me to suggest ideas topic you'd want me to research on and I'll mention you when I upload them.
