Writing the Words

 

Marina's bookshelf: read

The Princess Saves Herself in this One
it was amazing
Beautifully written, interesting, and thoughtful. I read this book in one sitting and absolutely loved it. Lovelace's poetry has been on my to-read list for a long time, and I was not disappointed.
The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers
really liked it
Henry VIII was interesting and a great read, but very long. Of course, I knew that going in - but there were parts (particularly the parts being told by his fool) that I found very slow to get through. The book only gets better as it goe...
The Bell Jar
really liked it
The Bell Jar has been on my radar for so long now. I've always loved Plath's poetry, and I was so grateful when this book was gifted to me by a friend. I found the writing to be stunning. The metaphors and images that Plath uses to expla...
Cities I've Never Lived In: Stories
it was ok
It was hard to rate "Cities I've Never Lived In" out of five stars. There were some stories that I loved, but they were few and far between. For the most part, I found myself mildly interested in the stories, and they were short enough t...
Helen of Troy
liked it
Helen of Troy was beautifully written, as to be expected. I found Helen to be a wonderful main character, and following her perspective was refreshing, interesting, and enjoyable. Unlike most works I've read by Margaret George, I found...

goodreads.com
Helpful and supportive articles for writers.

Many writers feel the need to explain themselves before they start telling the story. A prologue could be used to explain the world you are in. A prologue could explain the tragic parent’s death, or the prophecy that will predict the hero’s return. The thing about prologues is that they are completely unnecessary, distracting to the reader, and, no one cares (yet).

The characters are new to the reader, and the world is too big to just explain to them. If I told you that the man you just walked past on the street had a mother who died of cancer when he was three, and that he grew up in beautiful meadow land in southern Europe where everyone knew each other and his father owned three cows and a sheep. You just don’t care about him, and you’ll nod and be polite, and say “that’s so sad” about his mom, and “aw, a sheep? That’s cute. Sounds like a lovely place” but you don’t care, because you don’t know him.

When You Need to Explain the World

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             It’s so easy to get excited about the world you built. You want to share the map, and you want your reader to know about the mountain tribes in the north, and also the fishing villages on the island off the east coast. While it’s great that you know so much about the world your characters live in, and while this information might help your readers to understand the story more, the chance are that it is more likely to overwhelm them.

             A good way to decide if this sort of prologue is necessary is to ask yourself: Can the reader understand what is going on without this prologue? Can I sprinkle this information in throughout the story in a more effective way? If you are only writing your prologue to pat your world building skills on the back, you don’t need that prologue.

Explaining a Character

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Using a prologue to explain someone’s backstory is a waste of your time. First, you have to consider that people will skip the prologue. Second, everyone has a story. Real people, the people you interact with every day, they have a story from before you met them and they have a story after you leave them. When you meet someone new, you slowly learn about their history. They’ll tell you stories about their past overtime as they begin to trust you, and similarly, you will slowly begin to care more about their stories. Your readers need to develop this with your characters the same way. Let them care first, and then you can fill them in on why the character is a certain way.

To be clear, when I say “care”, I don’t mean they have to like a character. However, even unlikable characters can be interesting and complex and well written, and they will have a past as well.

An “Interesting” / “Attention Grabbing” Scene OR a Flashforward

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If you are adding a prologue in order to create interest in the story, simply start somewhere more interesting. There is no rule saying you have to start your story at the beginning! Start at a part that will drag your reader in. You also have to consider that readers are very likely to skip the prologue, so you have to hook them in chapter one as well!

Keep in mind, a prologue can  be a good addition to your story. If you want a prologue, go for it! A great prologue is one that is an introduction to the story. Before you decide to keep the prologue in the book, try removing it. Think: “Does the story still work without the prologue?” if the answer is yes, then you don’t need it.

Tip: That tip works with first chapters too.

Good luck and happy writing,
Marina Montenegro

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