When to include a prologue, and when to start with chapter one
One question I hear a few times each year in my annual novel-writing class is, “Should my novel have a prologue?”
So let’s take a minute to discuss the function of a prologue, when you might want to include one in your novel, and when you’re better off skipping the prologue and beginning with chapter one.
What is a prologue?
A prologue is simply a chapter that comes before Chapter One. While there is no rule about prologues, there may be preferences among acquisitions editors and readers. Some editors dislike them, but some don’t have an opinion one way or the other.
That said, a good prologue won’t derail your book. What will prevent a book from getting read by an editor is a slow or dull beginning — whether that beginning is framed as a prologue or as a first chapter. If the prologue is interesting and well-written, most editors will read on to Chapter One.
What is the purpose of a prologue?
So what is the purpose of a prologue? A prologue can:
- set the tone for the book. You might use it, for example, if you want the tone to be more contemplative, more energetic, or more lyrical than the first chapter is.
- present the novel’s theme
- leap forward or backward in time
- introduce a plot point we’ll come back to later
One novel in which the prologue beautifully sets the tone is The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Nifennegger. This is a love story about two people whose love is continually interrupted by the husband’s travels through time, which he cannot control. In the prologue, each of the two protagonists, Clare and Henry, speaks briefly in the first person. Clare explains what it’s like to be the one waiting for a time traveler, and Henry explains what it’s like to never know when, and where, you will be from one moment to the next. In the prologue, Nifennegger quickly establishes the premise and brilliantly makes the reader believe in Henry’s time travel. We head into the story with a sense of who the protagonists are and what they are up against.
In my own books, I sometimes end up adding a prologue in the eleventh hour, as I wrestle with questions of tone and pace. The first chapter of Golden State is a scene of intense action as the protagonist makes her way across town on foot in the midst of riots. As I was putting the finishing touches on the novel, I added a one-page prologue to set a more quiet tone and to introduce the novel’s theme of disruption and separation. The book is about two kinds of separation: the protagonist’s divorce (personal) and California’s secession (public). I use the prologue to show the protagonist as a young woman newly arrived in California, when she sees a gap in the earth left by an earthquake. Because the novel alternates between moments of quiet reflection and tense action scenes, I wanted to establish this intimacy between the protagonist and the reader on the first page.
The reverse can also work. In a novel of psychological suspense, you might want to thrust the reader into an action-packed prologue before stepping back into a quieter narrative to set up the character and situation.
The Marriage Pact, for example, progresses in a mostly linear way from the moment of a wedding to the protagonist’s involvement in a secret marriage society, followed by escalating danger as the secret society becomes increasingly controlling, threatening the newlyweds’ marriage, not to mention their lives. The novel begins with three-page prologue that presents a frightening, action-packed scene from later in the book. Then, chapter one steps back in time to show how the protagonist’s wedding, a moment of promise when all seems well and right.
Why did I choose to write it this way instead of simply following a linear timeline from page one? I wanted the reader to get to know the protagonist in a quiet, peaceful setting, to understand the relationship he has built with his new wife — chapter one. But I also wanted it to be clear from the beginning that this novel was going to get dark, which is where the prologue comes in. In a thriller, a prologue can be a powerful hook, a way to let the reader know that the thrills are coming, and they can just sit back and enjoy the ride. Following the prologue, the first chapter can unfold at a more leisurely place.
A prologue can also be used to manage time and/or provide a framework. A prologue is often used in crime novels to show the original crime, before the narration shifts in time and place either to the investigation, or to the current state of affairs for the victim, the perpetrator, or the investigator. A good example of a crime prologue can be found in The Fifth Woman, by Henning Menkell. In the prologue, we witness a brutal crime, as well as a letter received by someone connected to the crime the same year, 1993. Chapter One takes us to Sweden in 1994.
In my most recent novel, The Wonder Test, which centers on the disappearance of teenagers from an affluent California suburb, I used the prologue to show the protagonist, FBI Agent Lina Connerly, beginning her investigation of the crime. This allowed me to unfold the crime backwards, as it were, with Lina questioning a witness before we actually know what crime has occurred. Then, in chapter one, we get to know Lina’s background—why she has come to this small California town, what she has left behind. This is another way that a prologue can be used to manipulate narrative time.
The blog Mrs. Peaboddy Investigates has a terrific post on prologues in crime novels,
So why would one use a prologue instead of simply a first chapter? Often, the author chooses to include a prologue in order to avoid confusion. A prologue by its very nature is set apart. If you are thinking about writing a prologue for your novel, ask yourself if it can just as effectively be presented as the first chapter. What is gained by writing it as a prologue?
So should your novel have a prologue?
What a prologue should never do is be used as an information dump: who lives where and when, who’s related to whom, etc. It also shouldn’t be used just to show off the writer’s literary chops by indulging in pretty sentences that don’t do anything for the story or theme. It can be used for stylistic purposes, but be sure that there’s something there beyond beautiful writing. And keep in mind that it’s usually best to keep a prologue brief. The Canterbury Tales may
In this piece for BookRiot, Nikki VanRy argues for the prologue as seduction, a way to pull readers into a book with compelling language.
In newer fiction, a good prologue is one that introduces the tone and style of the story. A great prologue, however, is all about setting the stage, baiting the tease, opening up the mystery, allowing the reader to come in slowly and–once they’re there–hooking them.
So if your prologue is a great hook — in terms of style, action, mystery, or any combination of the three — go for it!
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Michelle Richmond is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels, including most recently The Wonder Test. She helps writers complete their first novels at Fiction Master Class. You can get Michelle’s stories on writing and travel delivered to your inbox when you subscribe to The Wandering Writer.