Prologue

Definition

A prologue in a publishing sense, is an introductory section that comes before the actual written story or book. It precedes the main story; the prologue typically provides background context for the main plot and establishes the overall tone. The purpose of prologues is varied it can be made to create suspense, provide a different point of view, or to give a backstory or context. It provides a promise to the reader of what to expect in the following pages. Whether that's a direct statement, or an indirect and relative story of script of information similar to the text. It is essentially 'the story before the story'.

Prologue Placement

Although prologues are typically placed at the very beginning of a book, before the story is told, they can be important in other sections as well. They are typically placed before chapter one; however, if a story has more than one part, there may be a second prologue in the middle of the story, or before the extension of the story is to occur. This may create a distinction and help guide the reader through the plot line as it hints a new section is occurring.

Prologues That Work and Why

Jane Friedman is a publishing industry expert, author, and educator, with over twenty years of experience. She owns a blog in which she published a piece called "Prologues That Work and Why" by author Maryka Biaggio. In this piece she explains how many industry professionals caution against using prologues, but if it is done right, it may only add to the novel, and not take away from it. Prologues that work as a catalyst serve to reveal an event that may have happened before the timeline of the story, making it necessary to have added before the beginning of the novel. Prologues that work to give background knowledge may be the hardest to be done correctly; rather than providing lengths of information that may not interest the reader, these must provide only added knowledge that is relevant to the story, and can be used to help follow the plot line. Prologues that introduce a character are very common, and may be helpful for novels that are written in a first-person perspective.