On Prologues

A prologue, stated most plainly, is a chapter of your novel that comes before the start of your story. It is important to distinguish between “before the start” and “at the start”. Many authors will simply label what should be the first chapter, a prologue. Simply having a time-skip after the chapter does not mean that it is necessarily happening “before” the story. Just like a time-skip in the middle doesn’t turn the story into two.

A prologue, typically, is disconnected from the actual plot of the story being told. That doesn’t mean the information provided there cannot come into play later, but there should be no causal relationship between the happenings of the prologue and the plot of the book itself. Many prologues don’t even involve any of the main or supporting cast.

For example, a prologue might include the telling of a creation myth. It may then serve to explain the actions of some characters throughout the story, as they may act under the assumption that said story is fact. As another example, the prologue may recount a shootout between police and criminal, where a civilian gets killed. This may lead into a murder mystery and explain the actions of a detective haunted by the memory; even if the case being solved in the story bears no connection to that shooting.

This brings us to the purpose of prologues. A prologue, does one of three things. It sets the tone, it sets the scene, or it provides necessary information, which cannot otherwise be provided without disrupting the narrative. In both of the examples above, the prologue does the latter. It gives context to the reader, in order to explain why certain things in the main plot of the novel are happening. Many times, this can be done within the narrative itself, but sometimes shoehorning in those details piecemeal can slow the pacing too much, impact suspension of disbelief, or there just isn’t an opportunity to convey it without obtuse exposition.

Setting the tone can be extremely useful if there is a change of tone throughout the novel. For example, in a slow-burn suspense story, everything may start out okay, simply following a day in the life of a seemingly random individual. It may not be until a few chapters into the book that signs of trouble become more apparent, and this person is actually being stalked by a dangerous serial killer. A reader picking up a book and finding the first three chapters are just about some guy named Dale going to work, when they found the book in the thriller/suspense section of the bookstore, may be disappointed or even discouraged enough to stop reading as it is not meeting their expectations. To remedy this, including a prologue which recounts a previous murder enacted by this serial killer, will let the reader know up front that there is something darker coming, without having to insert overt and obnoxious foreshadowing into the story itself.

Using a prologue to set the scene can prove useful with faster paced stories, or stories that begin in media res. Taking the time to describe the setting can distract or interrupt suspension of disbelief. For example, in a story following the life of a fighter in a post-apocalyptic gladiatorial arena, including a prologue that conveys a short scene in said arena, demonstrating its layout, capabilities and general atmosphere can allow the early chapters to flow better, because the reader already has an understanding as to these things as the protagonist navigates the battlefield, monsters are released and enemies fall victim to traps. When the crowd is somber instead of raucous, that’s not a surprise.

Finally, a prologue is very often used to share information with the reader, which cannot otherwise be conveyed early in the story. This could be information which the protagonist, or point of view characters are unaware of, foundational information about the world, or a part of a character’s past which informs their actions in the present. It might establish the existence of magic within the world, in a story where a protagonist unaware of magic later discovers it. It may tell the story of a faction’s formation, so the reader knows to trust or be wary of it when it shows up in the story. It may be to establish the backstory of the protagonist if the way they act would otherwise seem particularly odd.

It should be noted that many prologues serve more than one of these purposes. In some of these examples, the “problem” that the prologue solves may actually be a desired tool within your story. For example, having a somber crowd in a gladiatorial arena will probably lead to generating intrigue. If your story explores the complexities of this society and how things have gotten to where they are now, you may prefer not to include any context for them beforehand. Similarly, you may wish to allow the reader to take part in the confusion and disorientation the protagonist is feeling being plunged into this area without an understanding of why. The reader having a full, or even partial, understanding of the area’s layout and capabilities can easily prevent them from being able to understand the protagonist at that moment.

The final section will go over this in more detail, by discussing why you may or may not want to include a prologue in your novel.

More often than not, a narrative flows better when understanding of the story and its setting grow naturally as you read it. This makes the prologue a tool you should exercise only when it is actually necessary to do so. It may seem like a good idea to establish that this is a world full of magic, so readers aren’t shocked by in when it shows up in the story. But if the world is full of magic, it’s probably going to show up right away, so included a prologue just to share that is likely redundant.

The primary reason to include a prologue is the lack of necessary context. You may be telling a story set in a post-apocalyptic world, but the entire first half of the story takes place in a settlement shielded from that reality. This still doesn’t mean a prologue necessary, however. Simply having someone, somewhere in the first chapter, make reference to “outside the walls” or “when the world ended” could easily convey more than enough information to the reader. If, instead, this society is under a dystopian regime where information about the outside world is broadly unavailable, having a scene in prologue where someone on the outside has travelled long and far, approaches the gate of this place, and is summarily executed rather than granted entrance, it can provide significant suspense when there is suddenly no sign of anything wrong at the start of the story.

As has been alluded to throughout the article thus far, intention really matters here. In the last example, you may still not want to include a prologue, even under that dystopian rule, as the mystery of what lies beyond the walls may be a driving force for the protagonist. The reader knowing the answer already could easily lead to them being less able to identify with the protagonist in their struggle of not understanding the world they live in.

Additionally, in many cases, tone or certain pieces of information (like the existence of magic) may simply be unnecessary to clarify. For example, the audience you’re writing for matters. In the example of providing tone earlier in the article, avid suspense readers may not require the prologue, as they may be more familiar with the genre and trust that the tone will change. So if you’re writing suspense for suspense readers, including a prologue to set tone is likely unnecessary. It may be necessary for other reasons, but not for tone. However, if you’re writing with an intended audience in mind which not be so familiar with the tropes of the genre, including one may prove to be a boon.

As a final note, a simply want to acknowledge that while it can often seem desirably to include additional components to your book like a prologue, epilogue, forward, etc. as these can make it feel like your book is more “real” or “professional”, the most important thing to consider is what actually serves the story best. The reality is that most stories don’t need a prologue. That information is best conveyed elsewhere, and almost all the examples I provided above are somewhat contrived; if explored further, they would likely be found not needing a prologue. Now that you understand when a prologue can prove useful, keep it in mind for when a story might need one, but don’t seek out reasons to use more technical elements of a novel simply for the sake of using them.