A prologue?

Question

How important is a prologue? Is it really necessary to have a prologue in your story/novel or not?

I'm writing a story actually but then the prologue part got stretched into 4 to 5 pages already and I don't think that can be called prologue already 'cuz prologues are short right?

Answer 1

Actually, I've seen some prologues ten or more pages long, so their not really something that has to be short. As you already know, a prologue is there to give the reader a bit of a background. It's up to the author if they want to have a prologue or not.

Answer 2

Very few authors use prologues. It isnt necessary at all unless you want to establish something that happened prior to the beginning of the novel. For instance, if a pirate ship went down in 1700 with a million gold coins on them and your book begins with a couple in 2007 scuba diving in Bermuda on their honeymoon and finding the ship, you could write a prologue about a big storm in 1700 and the ship sinking. Otherwise, you can just jump right into the story. A prologue can be as long or short as you need it to be. You can also use an epilogue if you feel one is needed. That could be a bit of information you want to tell about something that happens a year later - like our honeymooners lose all their money gambling in Las Vegas. If you feel a 5 page prologue is needed, do it. One of my books has a 14 page prologue, but it is absolutely necessary to establish the story. It is up to you. Pax - C

Answer 3

There is no set limit to how long a prologue should be. In many novels the prologue has as much weight as any chapter of the manuscript.

godd luck.

Answer 4

Many novels are better off without them. Ask yourself how important the prologue is to your story, in particular.

Answer 5

You don't necessarily need a prologue, but it can be a good device to use if you are doing a flashback or action in another place that you want to use as background but can't readily work into your general plot structure.