Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Prologues. Hrm...

I'm looking at the first draft of a novel I haven't touched in a while, and it has a prologue. I can't decide whether to kill it (the normal advice) or let it live.

Might need to find some readers to advise on this one. I think it probably should go away, but I'm going to get some opinions first. Prologues are tricky...

1 comment:

  1. Prologues are tricky beasts. I would normally have said not to go with them at all but now I'm reconsidering because I have one of my own. It's short, about 1k, and sets the stage for further character interactions.

    I think the main things to consider are:

    A) why you need it to begin with and can the story function the same way without it.

    In my case it can, but I feel the prologue adds another layer of depth to the narrative.

    B) What purpose you want the prologue to serve and can you do it somewhere else in the novel.

    Though of course really you should just go with your gut. But even if you decide to kill it you should keep the words just in case you want to come back to it at any point.

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