To Prologue, or Not to Prologue...

That is the Question

After hearing so much conflicting advice on whether to use a prologue and when to use one, I decided to do my own study on the use of prologues.

1. I went to my keeper shelf and selected ten futuristic romance books. To do this study effectively, you should select books from the same genre you write.

2. After I carried the books to my favorite chair, I spent the evening reading prologues and first chapters.

3. After finishing all ten books, I read over my notes and typed them up. Below you will find my conclusions along with information about how the most effective prologue I found was written.

A prologue is used to give the minimum amount of backstory needed to set the reader up to understand vital-to-the-story history that will effect the hero and heroine in important ways once the story begins.

Some prologues were written from an omniscient viewpoint, but the most effective prologue was written just like a chapter of the book in third person, past tense and from the hero's point-of-view.

Ex.: HEART'S SURRENDER by Kathleen Morgan

This prologue showed an important, vital-to-understanding-the-hero event. From the hero's point-of-view, we see the hero's home planet just after the heroine's people attack and wipe out most of the hero's people. We see his losses, the burnt remains of his home, family and people. Since later the hero must capture and unwillingly mate with the daughter of the officer who ordered the attack in order to ensure the survival of his people, it is very important information for the reader to understand and sympathize with.

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Copyright © 2007 Diane Dishman