Starting today (1 April) and running until the end of the month (30 April), I will be working on my first draft of the fourth book in my series, for the April session of Camp NaNoWriMo. In addition to this, I will be working on preparing my 1st book for my Beta readers… a busy month ahead, including guests coming later this month.
All things considered, it should be a blast!
While I often picture assorted chapters out of order, as ideas bounce around my head, I can’t really write the chapters out of order. I think it’s something to do with trying to organize things without accidentally leaving something out because I thought I’d already mentioned it. As such, in writing my new draft, I started with the prologue.
I have seen quite a bit of discussion on both sides of the question “Should a given book have a prologue?” Some of the reasoning seems to amount to no book should ever have a prologue, ever. Others come down to prologues are okay in very specific circumstances, including things like if it takes place way before the main action (such as Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series), or if it is a point of view that isn’t used again.
My books have prologues, and they do occur prior to the main story, but not by centuries, or anything close (at least as far as prologues currently written. Future ones, who knows?). Sometimes the prologue POV appears later in the story; sometimes it doesn’t. In all cases, the prologue serves to set the stage for the story. I am reminded of the prologue to Romeo and Juliet. While my prologues do not reveal quite much information as the prologue for Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers, the prologues do serve as a way to reacquaint oneself with the story (at least in the case of all but the first book).
With the prologue written, I’m now ready to begin chapter one of my new book. This will likely be quite the adventure, and I’m looking forward to seeing where exactly this book leads.
What do you think about the inclusion of prologues in stories? What are some examples of prologues you have found on either side of the fence? I would love to hear your thoughts!
Until next time,
~ Theresa
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