A sensitive subject

By Gayle Carline
Author of Non-Intellectual Flotsam and Jetsam*

*(I recently received a 3-star review of my mystery FREEZER BURN that described it as a "story told in a non-intellectual style." I'm okay with that.)

Gentle Readers/Writers,

I've just returned from a weekend writer's conference where many ideas were cussed and discussed, from the actual work required of writing to the actual work required of being a published writer. One issue kept coming up in the craft-centric workshops. It is an issue that makes most agents and editors quake with fear, and most writers scratch their heads in confusion.

I'm talking about prologues.

Many writers think nothing of including a prologue, usually to expose a backstory or set up the plot or characters. To a person, every editor and agent blurted, "Don't do it." They would not be moved.

As a reader, I'm okay with a short prologue, and by short I mean no more than a page. I'll take a page and a half, but not two pages. A lot of prologues are in italics and too much italicized text makes me cranky. If you have to tell me that much history, perhaps you're writing the wrong book.

My first mystery (you know, the non-intellectual one?) began life with a prologue. It also had several one-page chapters because I thought if Stephen King could do it, so could I. Maybe when I've got Stephen King's reputation, I can do whatever I want, but my editor thought a debut novel should not be so pretentious. The prologue became the first chapter. The one-pagers were blended in with the longer chapters.

What do you think? To prologue or not to prologue, that IS the question. Do they bug you, or do you sometimes see a need for them?

BTW, here is the prologue/first chapter from FREEZER BURN. Told in a non-intellectual style... (sorry, but that review seems to tickle my sarcasm bone)

* * * * *

Such exquisite hands. What a pity to waste them.

Long, tapered fingers balanced the size of the palms perfectly. Half moons shone in the nails, which were strong and rounded, and extended the line of the hand. The porcelain skin blushed the slightest pink, although it seemed to be fading quickly.

The shadow knelt in the darkness, eyes glowing.

I'd better use the electric knife. No, the hacksaw.

Under the sliver of moonlight, deft hands opened the toolkit and went to work.

To Prologue or not to Prologue

By Andrew E. Kaufman, author of Psychological Thrillers 

I like prologues—actually, I love them. As a writer, I use them to set a mood or tone—a layer of emotional subtext, if you will—before the actual story begins, which I don’t feel I could have otherwise achieved.  

In my upcoming release, Darkness & Shadows, the prologue is steeped in surrealism and tragedy. Patrick, my protagonist, is having an imaginary conversation with the only woman he's ever loved as she burns to death inside a building. The fire and death have actually happened, but the prologue is a product of his subconscious desire to find answers he can’t find in the tangible world. I felt there was no better way to portray this than through the use of a prologue. Sure, I could have allowed his internal dialogue throughout the book to convey his thoughts and feelings—and to a large

extent, it does—but by adding this additional element, I think (or at least I hope) that I was able to dig deeper on a more visceral level, leaving the reader inside Patrick’s mind in a way that will resonate by the time they reach the first chapter. I don’t know if I could have done this as well without it.

My last book, The Lion, the Lamb, the Hunted, didn’t have a prologue. As much as I love them, and as much as I wanted to have one, I found it just didn’t work for the story, so I left it out. I’ve often read books with prologues and found myself wondering why the authors bothered, because they didn’t add anything to the story that wasn’t already there. They made the mistake of slapping the word “Prologue” across the top of the page for what is essentially just a first chapter.

When I read a brilliant prologue I get chills that tell me I have to move on to the first chapter. When I read a bad one, I get a different kind of chill that makes me want to put the book down and never come back to it.

Some people, authors and writers alike, don’t like prologues. I’ve even heard a few say they dislike them so much that they won’t even read them and often skip to the first chapter of a book. So as an author, for all the reasons above, and probably many more, it’s an important decision whether to include one, and even more, how to write it. I know that if not done right, it can make or break the rest of my book. I can’t control whether my readers will look at it, but I can make sure it’s as relevant and effective as possible just in case they do.

What’s your take on prologues? Do you like writing them? Do you like reading them?