Prologue and Epilogues

[Stuart Dren]

I just realised we don't have one of these threads yet.

I think prologues briefly gained a reputation as being setting info dumps, which warded people off them for a time. I don't have anything against them, but also have not been compelled to use them just yet. There's a fair argument for "just cut it or make it the first chapter." However, In my opinion, they can serve well for signaling a cold open.

Epilogues aren't as contentious, I don't think, because they have nothing to do with putting one's best foot forward.

What are your thoughts? Use them all the time, never, or when it seem right? What kind of considerations should be made before an author uses them?

 

[CatrionaGrace]

I used a prologue in Book III. It contains subtle hint to the heart of the plot and consists of 364 words. It wouldn't make sense as a first chapter, mostly because the scene takes place in an earlier time than the rest of the book. It does make sense as a prologue.

I dislike the openings, either prologue or first chapter, that begin with an exciting scene only to have the book revert to the beginning and work forward toward the part the reader already knows about. That definitely comes under the heading "putting one's best foot forward." Always seems like cheating to me.

Book I has an epilog that ties up the final thread with a small, unexpected twist. It is also short.

Just finished a book that abruptly ends at a crucial point. Fast forward fifty years to the epilog where the main character embraces "tell don't show" and patly winds up the story in a conversation with her grandaughter. I like the book, but always felt like the writer reached her page limit and had to wind things up fast.

 

[Homer Potvin]

It's the same as show and tell, passive voice, flashbacks, dream sequences, opening with the weather, opening with getting out of bed, looking in the mirror to provide a description, italics for thought, boobs boobing boobily, non-standard dialogue tags, and ly-said adverbs. So many amateurs did it so badly so often that they had to slap a warning on it and make a top-10 podcast about "Shit you can't do."

I don't have a beef with either, so long as there's a reason why a prologue can't be chapter 1 and an epi can't be chapter 38. You're fine if there's a good reason. The time skip seems to be the most popular one.

 

[Stuart Dren]

I dislike the openings, either prologue or first chapter, that begin with an exciting scene only to have the book revert to the beginning and work forward toward the part the reader already knows about. That definitely comes under the heading "putting one's best foot forward." Always seems like cheating to me.

Yeah, jumping ahead does feel insecure. If it's action but without the needed context the reader still might not care. If it's intrigue, it becomes an immediate mystery box promise that will set high expectations and possibly come across as contrived for its own sake, e.g. I crashed my crocodile into the riverbank. My machine gun had jammed and the Cartel were just climbing out of their trikes. I was dead in the water. For some reason I picked this moment to think about how this all started two weeks ago when I spilled my matcha latte on the fax machine. It feels a bit sensationalist, like it's trying to make up for a core deficiency.

Prologues can be used to set up intrigue well, though. Some framing that came to mind, pardon how genre-y it sounds:

• The murder occurring or someone discovering the body in a whodunit.
• Creature discovery or victim discovery. I'm thinking ASoIF's prologue with the rangers, or Jurassic Park's business with the raptor, each of which made it into their film and show adaptions respectively.
• Instigation in a conflict at a nation's borders.

I'm imaging scenes that can set tone and demonstrate some part of the inciting incident when it wouldn't make sense for the main characters to yet have anything to do with it.

Just finished a book that abruptly ends at a crucial point. Fast forward fifty years to the epilog where the main character embraces "tell don't show" and patly winds up the story in a conversation with her grandaughter. I like the book, but always felt like the writer reached her page limit and had to wind things up fast.

What a shame. I guess there wasn't much in the middle that could be cut.

I used a prologue in Book III. It contains subtle hint to the heart of the plot and consists of 364 words. It wouldn't make sense as a first chapter, mostly because the scene takes place in an earlier time than the rest of the book. It does make sense as a prologue.

You're fine if there's a good reason. The time skip seems to be the most popular one.

Time seems to be a commonly accepted one, here. That makes sense as a clear use case.

...looking in the mirror to provide a description...

Even to this day it's so often done poorly that I'm itching to subvert it. "I look in the mirror. Oh right, I'm a vampire."

 

[defaux]

Good examples. I feel like a prologue serves to provide context to the main story, but is not necessarily a part of the main story itself (otherwise it would be a first chapter.)

The jump-forward jump-back to find out how we got here, to me, doesn't make it a prologue. If it happens inside the main story timeline, you're just telling the story out of sequence.

Epilogues are kind of similar in my mind. Something that happens after the main story is concluded, that isn't really a part of it, but maybe ties up some loose ends, maybe gives you a HEA or a What If continuation if there might be a sequel.

Structurally, I don't really care. As a reader, chapters are rather arbitrary and serve mainly as a convenient place to put a bookmark.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

I crashed my crocodile into the riverbank. My machine gun had jammed and the Cartel were just climbing out of their trikes. I was dead in the water. For some reason I picked this moment to think about how this all started two weeks ago when I spilled my matcha latte on the fax machine.

Do write this story. Please include every cliche known to writers. It will likely be very, very funny.

 

[DBwrites]

My prologue can be skipped, however to do so would be missing out on some massive hints later in the story.

Mine acts as a cold open. Something with action that leads into Chapter one and buys time for me to do some quieter setup before more energetic scenes come in. For this one it's the loss of a child, and Chapter one implies that the child we are following is the same one that was lost in the prologue. The reader ends up with insight from the prologue that the character does not yet know, and so they follow his journey to figure out where he came from.

I do think that prologues have a time and place, and they shouldn't be complete info dumps. They can be an incomplete story and hook a reader long enough for them to start having intrigue that's fed throughout the rest of the book.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

"Don't do prologues" is a piece of advice for new writers. It's not true, but if you're going to do a prologue, it has to be done well. For a start, it has to be short.

Sir Terry Pratchett, in Going Postal, does a prologue extremely well, splitting it into two distinct and atmospheric vignettes. The first scene is haunting, and establishes a deep, lingering sense of unfinished business and spirits trapped in time, heavily foreshadowing the ghostly, undead nature of the Post Office building that Moist von Lipwig is about to inherit. The second focuses on John Dearheart, who dies under mysterious circumstances. His death introduces the high-stakes corporate warfare and the dangerous technological monopoly that Moist must eventually challenge.

Because I had no idea what I was doing when I was writing my first book, it had not two but four prologues, and each one the size of a short chapter (i.e. 6-7 pages each). Even worse, they were about the antagonist, not the protagonist. They weren't info-dump-y, but needless to say, I ditched them and started again. This was when I first learned to outline a novel, and the first beat sheet I wrote, too. It made the novel far tighter and less indulgent (though I still kept one or two Darlings, which I'll probably have to shoot later).

 

[Mogador]

I crashed my crocodile into the riverbank. My machine gun had jammed and the Cartel were just climbing out of their trikes. I was dead in the water. For some reason I picked this moment to think about how this all started two weeks ago when I spilled my matcha latte on the fax machine

I unironically enjoy a bit of this nonsense. As a reader I *want* you to give me a two page crocodiles-and-cartels teaser before dumping me back with last week's fax machine. I'll love you for it.

That said I always understood that the best practice for the uncertain author is to have prologues do a spot tone setting and not be strictly necessary for the plot. Many Bond films are classic examples of this. You can often skip the bit before the gun barrel opening credits, but you wouldn't want to.

 

[JT Woody]

My prologues dont act as background info in the sense of info dumps. They are past events of an unnamed character that set the tone for the book and its current characters. They CAN be skipped, but i feel they add intrigue. Like "i wonder what this means?" type of thing, and provide clues to the plot/characters.

Epilogues, i have one... but im debating cutting it. I see epilogues as a "where are they now" type of scene. Serves no importance to the plot (in my opinion). But, i mean, everyone waits around for after credit scenes in movies just to see their favorite character do something random or funny or cute.

Epilogues in series tend to hint at the next book or introduce a new character to anticipate (after credit scene in Marvel movies).

I may use it in my NEXT series, though. But then.... shouldnt i just make it a CHAPTER?

I guess thats why i havent used them. If its important enough of a scene, just make it a chapter?

 

[Homer Potvin]

I guess thats why i havent used them. If its important enough of a scene, just make it a chapter?

I mean, if you can skip it, what's the point? I feel like the whole thing is a poop or get off the pot kind of thing.

 

[Stuart Dren]

"Don't do prologues" is a piece of advice for new writers. It's not true, but if you're going to do a prologue, it has to be done well. For a start, it has to be short.

Sir Terry Pratchett, in Going Postal, does a prologue extremely well, splitting it into two distinct and atmospheric vignettes. The first scene is haunting, and establishes a deep, lingering sense of unfinished business and spirits trapped in time, heavily foreshadowing the ghostly, undead nature of the Post Office building that Moist von Lipwig is about to inherit. The second focuses on John Dearheart, who dies under mysterious circumstances. His death introduces the high-stakes corporate warfare and the dangerous technological monopoly that Moist must eventually challenge.

Because I had no idea what I was doing when I was writing my first book, it had not two but four prologues, and each one the size of a short chapter (i.e. 6-7 pages each). Even worse, they were about the antagonist, not the protagonist. They weren't info-dump-y, but needless to say, I ditched them and started again. This was when I first learned to outline a novel, and the first beat sheet I wrote, too. It made the novel far tighter and less indulgent (though I still kept one or two Darlings, which I'll probably have to shoot later).

I briefly imagined turning a page and seeing "Prologue 2" in bold. You probably didn't number them, but it would be off-putting.

My prologues dont act as background info in the sense of info dumps. They are past events of an unnamed character that set the tone for the book and its current characters. They CAN be skipped, but i feel they add intrigue. Like "i wonder what this means?" type of thing, and provide clues to the plot/characters.

Epilogues, i have one... but im debating cutting it. I see epilogues as a "where are they now" type of scene. Serves no importance to the plot (in my opinion). But, i mean, everyone waits around for after credit scenes in movies just to see their favorite character do something random or funny or cute.

Epilogues in series tend to hint at the next book or introduce a new character to anticipate (after credit scene in Marvel movies).

I may use it in my NEXT series, though. But then.... shouldnt i just make it a CHAPTER?

I guess thats why i havent used them. If its important enough of a scene, just make it a chapter?

Epilogue as a tonal exit can feel nice.

As far as importance, I suppose it raises the question: important to what? Tonal and illustrative goals seem to be examples of what they're good for, rather than get-your-shit-in-gear plot advancement.

 

[Luxuria]

To be honest, as a writer, I usually skip a prologue, but add a simple quote or something to set the tone. Epilogues are not fun either, because why can't it just be its own chapter with a time skip?

As a reader, I skip any proluge I come across. Because it's usually boring and not connected to the main story. All the stuff that happens in it, I am going to learn anyway. So why waste time reading it? Epilogues are something I don't like as a reader either, because it's either going to be, "they got married, had some kids and the world was fine." Or "Luke Skywalker fell off a cliff and was never seen again, but Han and Leia were happy and fine. Until their son went crazy and their daughter went looking for Luke, because the reader must believe the end is not the end."

 

[Stuart Dren]

To be honest, as a writer, I usually skip a prologue, but add a simple quote or something to set the tone. Epilogues are not fun either, because why can't it just be its own chapter with a time skip?

As a reader, I skip any proluge I come across. Because it's usually boring and not connected to the main story. All the stuff that happens in it, I am going to learn anyway. So why waste time reading it? Epilogues are something I don't like as a reader either, because it's either going to be, "they got married, had some kids and the world was fine." Or "Luke Skywalker fell off a cliff and was never seen again, but Han and Leia were happy and fine. Until their son went crazy and their daughter went looking for Luke, because the reader must believe the end is not the end."

Well I respect the decisiveness.

Yeah I suppose for epilogues, given they're after the denouement, they are essentially labelled as not required reading. I still read them, though. It was nice that my last thought of Grant and Sattler and the other survivors was them being stuck at a cushy resort while some details were sorted.

If a prologue is actually uninteresting, then I would be more inclined to skip the whole book rather than just the prologue, especially if it's a writer I'm not familiar with (same as I would with an uninteresting first chapter). It doesn't inspire confidence.

 

[Banespawn]

I guess thats why i havent used them. If its important enough of a scene, just make it a chapter?

To be honest, as a writer, I usually skip a prologue, but add a simple quote or something to set the tone. Epilogues are not fun either, because why can't it just be its own chapter with a time skip?

The reason to use an epilogue rather than just making it a chapter, IMO, is because it represents a significant shift away from the main story. It's a signal to the reader that it's something related but separate. It helps to set the reader's expectations.

My novel Blood Oath (book 1 of a trilogy) will include an epilogue. The epilogue will be written from the POV of a minor character to show what happens to him and some other characters after the story. They won't be included in books 2 and 3, so this is a way to wrap up their individual story lines and provide a bonus payoff for the reader. It also serves as a setup for another story later, after the trilogy is done. I don't have more than a basic idea of what that story will be, but the minor character I'm using as the POV of the epilogue will be at the center of it.

Could I label it as a chapter rather than an epilogue? Sure, but I don't think it makes much sense to do so. Epilogues exist for a purpose. There's no reason not to use them if they make sense for the story, and this epilogue makes sense for this story.

 

[big soft moose]

Originally pro and epilogues were a dramatic device for plays, one to set the scene and one to wrap things up. Translated to books it doesn’t really matter whether they are called that or called the first and last chapters

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Translated to books it doesn’t really matter whether they are called that or called the first and last chapters

Prologue/epilogue in books serve the same purpose as in plays: they're dramatic devices used to signal entrance into another reality. Prologue allows the reader to slid into the mood and scene of the book before the main event begins. Epilog signals the end of the experience and takes the reader back out. Literary formalities aren't appropriate for every book, but they're effective when used properly.

 

[big soft moose]

Sure but you can do the same with first chapter and last chapter

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Not really. Prologues and epilogues are foundational literary devices that affect the narrative while remaining just outside of it. First and last chapters are part of the narrative and lack the formal signaling of prologue/epilogue.

There's no right or wrong here. Prologue/epilogue and first/last chapters just different ways of presenting a story. Why limit structuring options? One choice doesn't fit all situations.

The prologue in Days of Sun and Shadow would have made an awkward first chapter. Chapter One in The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree would've been a poor prologue. Incidentally, I ended that book with an epilog, though I didn't begin it with a prologue.

There's another argument: should a writer only use one side of the prologue/epilogue frame?

Present me with the rules of writing and I'll suggest ways to break even those I approve of.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

The book begins on the first page, whether that's page 1 or page (i) within chapter 1 or a prologue. I don't ever recall placing merit on whether or not the author starts with chapters, prologues, named titles, book 1, little pictures of cute forest animals or anything else. Neither do I ever recall reaching the end of those introductory passages and thinking "that was terrible, I can't wait to see what comes next." Whatever it is, done well works, done poorly, don't.