Do You Need That Prologue?

Photo by Aliis Sinisalu on Unsplash

I know, my first post could be a little controversial, especially in fantasy circles. I’m not coming in to institute a blanket ban on prologues. Both of us here at the Fearless Writers Guide have written them, and as we stated in our intro post, we’re not here to promote just one way to write because every writer and story is different!

So today we’re going to look at prologues in general, and a few tips to check if that prologue helps or hinders your story.

Prologues can be a handy tool to introduce something about the book, and sometimes they work really well. Some that have stuck with me are the repeating prologues in Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive where each book recounts the same event from different POVs and unearths more and more layers of complexity surrounding one character. Our perceptions are gradually changed as more world and antagonist information are also revealed. Now this is not the norm when it comes to prologues, and I don’t suggest trying it unless, or until, you’re regularly writing multi-book 400K-word epic fantasy series.

Another striking prologue is Darrow of Red Rising’s iconic “I would have lived in peace, but my enemies brought me war.” This is more of a brief prelude giving you a deeper, slightly different perspective on a future event in the book. We get a glimpse of the world and the upcoming stakes, but then Chapter 1 takes us into the past where the story really begins.

Prologues have some similarities to first chapters. It’s probably not much of a stretch to say that we all tend to fall into the trap of trying to set everything up, introducing as much of the world, the character, the upcoming conflict in just those first few thousand words. In an age where many editors and agents admit to skipping the first chapter, that can sting. An agent at a conference I attended last year admitted that she skips right to a submission’s chapter 3 since that’s usually where she finds the story “begins” and the author finds their rhythm. An article I recently read concluded that first chapters don’t need to set everything up or end on a cliffhanger to keep the reader turning pages, they need to be interesting.

And I’m going to argue that the same can be said for prologues.

In fantasy or sci-fi prologues can take a few different styles. Setting up a centuries’-old (or more recent) conflict, introducing the antagonist via a character or event that we very likely won’t see again, a short “two months earlier” (or X amount of time), something like Red Rising where we get a very voice-y and short introduction to the character or worldbuilding, an action sequence that ends on a cliffhanger but doesn’t necessarily lead into the first chapters.

I’m likely missing some examples, but here’s my hypothesis. 9/10 times, we might not actually need that prologue.

I know. Prologues often seem to hang out in the “darlings” category where writers refuse to kill them off. I ran an unofficial and very scientific poll of my readership/followers on Instagram, and while most voted that they will read the prologue, I did get quite a few “yes, but” responses.

For those who read prologues, they are likely to skim if it “seems boring”, or is “too info-dumpy”. Some admitted to disliking prologues if it contains a nameless character who’s clearly just there to set something up. There are many readers out there who see the heading “Prologue” and just auto-skip.

And since we never want to write anything that feels “skippable”, here’s some tips to assess if you really need that prologue.

1. It contains information—worldbuilding or character—that is nowhere else in the book. In that case, readers don’t need it for the story at large, so it can be cut. It might be the coolest piece of worldbuilding ever, but if we don’t need it to understand something important, then it goes. After 25 years of hardcore LOTR fandom, it wasn’t until last year that I actually read Tolkien’s “Concerning Hobbits” prologue and nothing about my core understanding and perception of LOTR changed.

2. It shows some action that only gets referenced in passing, or is relevant for one moment in the main story. It’s usually used to show the villain’s reach or just overall villainy and is usually to some “throwaway” character. Especially if this is a character we don’t see again or it feels like it’s “needed” to introduce the antagonist in some way, look ahead to the first chapters and see if you can more organically introduce some of this conflict into the main storyline. If you feel like you need to introduce the antagonist in some sort of action-centric moment in a prologue, then readers, and therefore protagonists, likely need to cross paths with the villain earlier than the first on-page meeting in the main story. This could either be an in-person confrontation, or seeing the aftermath of the villain’s “off page” machinations to drive the personal stakes up.

3. It references some ages-old information or conflict. Again, this can very likely be introduced throughout the first chapters, or even later in the book when it becomes more directly relevant to the plotline. Since we want to avoid info-dumping and having agents/editors/readers skip our first chapter, see if you can spread it out through the first several chapters/inciting incident as history, discovered pages, news of something or someone going missing, etc. This can be more compelling as a breadcrumb trail that’s scattered through the book.

4. It’s a backstory element for the main protagonist, or antagonist. This can be a really good device for giving some insight into the character and world while setting up the core of their arc, but here’s where you can determine if you need it as the prologue. Can you work that same information/scene in later as a flashback (use flashbacks sparingly), one character relaying the story to another character, or the unreliable/avoidant or stoic character finally letting us in on the truth?

If you have a prologue that you don’t feel like fits any of those examples, the same principle still applies! Can you provide the characters or the readers with that same information later on in the story?

I’m not against things like short preludes or some character introduction (example 4). Personally, those work better for me than a full chapter exposition or action that disappears as soon as we hit Chapter 1. Reading and writing are both subjective. However, one thing holds true. Prologues, like first chapters, need a hook, and they need to be interesting and relevant to the immediate plot.

Again, this is not a blanket ban on prologues. This is a nudge to carefully assess and see what we really need and where we can work that same information in later. We want to hook the reader and most of the time, that can be done in the first chapters without tacking on a prefix.

Prologues that work, and that readers will always come back to, leave us asking questions. Not because we’re confused, but because our brain is already trying to extrapolate answers and theories from the information we’ve been given.

Remember the prologue is the first introduction to the story, so it needs just as much attention and work as a first chapter. It needs to lay some foundational element for the main characters, the world, or the plot. It’s not just something cool to tack on at the start, it’s really where the story begins, and so it needs to matter.

Thanks for reading! Now, your turn! What are some favorite prologues you’ve read, or written?