I am one of those people who often write prologues, and then I end up editing them out. I am also one of those people who hate reading them, unless they are done really well.
Epic fantasy novels often have amazing prologues. Young Adult novels – I could probably pass on. A damn good thriller often has a damn good prologue…
And after reading Kristen Lamb’s blog this morning – I agree with her on almost every point – so I thought that I would repost her blog to serve as a good reminder to all of us writers. There are 7 deadly sins with prologues, and there is damn good reasoning behind them. Take heed… pay attention.
To prologue or not to prologue? That is the question. The problem with the prologue is it has kind of gotten a bad rap over the years, especially with agents. They generally hate them. Why? In my opinion, it is because far too many writers don’t use prologues properly and that, in itself, has created its own problem. Because of the steady misuse of prologues, most readers skip them. Thus, the question of whether or not the prologue is even considered the beginning of your novel can become a gray area if the reader just thumbs pages until she sees Chapter One.
So without further ado…
The 7 Deadly Sins of Prologues
Sin #1 If your prologue is really just a vehicle for massive information dump…
In my critique group, one of the first tasks each member must do is they must write detailed backgrounds of all characters. I make…
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Leigh K. Hunt 