Prologue help!

[Breaker]

I don't usually employ a prologue or epilogue - in fact, I'm not sure I've ever written either of those words in a story. However, I'm beginning to feel that one of my present projects (Drink With Me (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?23953-Drink-With-Me)/shameless plug) needs both. I know there are several of you on here who regularly use these devices, so I'd like to pick your brains. What do you usually think about in writing a prologue, and is there anything specific you always (or almost always) include? All advice on this topic will be much appreciated.

[Vigil]

I use prologues regularly and more or less its about hooking the reader and wetting their pallette more then anything else. The content and how much you choose to reveal of the overall plot isn't necessarily as important as retaining your reader's interest. For example, in Bad Star, I had written a prologue that was from a different perspective and was about a journal that Liam would spend the next 4-5 posts trying to get. The content of the journal didn't really end up being as important as I had originally intended it to be, but I used it with heavy foreshadowing and focused on painting a scene that at least made the prologue standalone and provided the reader with a lot of questions that they wanted to answer.

That's probably one of the better things you can do with a prologue. Force the reader to start asking questions. Get them to take a personal investment in what you've written because more often then not they'll commit to reading all of it to make sure that they understand whats going on and clear up any questions they might have. Its a technique and a lucrative one worth your time if you're successful with it.

As for epilogues..

They're a different animal entirely. I've used and seen them as a way to tie up loose ends, provide answers to some lingering questions and maybe pose some other ones at the end to provoke the reader's curiosity even more. They're a really good tool for supplementing your overall conclusion, and what you choose to write about it should be relevant to the preceding events that led up to it. Unlike a prologue, the success of an epilogue depends entirely on satisfying a reader by saying, "Alright.. I knew that was fast and there was a lot going on, but I'm going to throw you a bone." Give them some of the closure that they want, don't be abstract with it, and always look at the whole picture when your writing the epilogue and think about what you left out and would like to include answers for to avoid plotholes.

Again its a technique, and can be successful depending on how you do it. But whatever you do, I'd really recommend being clear and concise with your epilogue and avoid being ambiguous unless its intended. There few things I hate more then reading a solid book and then the epilogue which is the linchpin of the entire ordeal ends up being flimsy. Prologues are great to experiment with different techniques to make a good first impression, but your epilogue is your lasting impression on the reader and is arguably more substantial in the work's overall quality.

[Breaker]

That's quite helpful man, thanks.

Anyone else got some advice to weigh in?

[Christoph]

http://g.images.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/15254374.jpg

Eheheh...

Generally, I see prologues as a way to both hook the reader and present information that wouldn't normally come up while following the main character(s), and/or to introduce characters that will become important later on. For instance, in my solo Red-Stained Night, I use a lengthy prologue to set the overarching tone for the story and to introduce the plot from the 'antagonist' side while also introducing an important character. A prologue is a good way to introduce an important character without the reader thinking said character is the 'main' character. In closing, always have a specific goal in mind when writing a prologue. It needs to serve a specific purpose that simply starting at the normal beginning would not.

I generally agree with Vigil regarding epilogues, though I think your reason for using them should run similar to your reason for using a prologue. It needs to express something that the 'regular' story otherwise wouldn't, whether it being at a different location or time, or from the perspective of a different character. They can be great ways to show the reader the far-reaching implications of the main characters' actions.

[Austere]

A prologue or epilogue, to me, are not necessary for every story. If there is information that your reader could not possibly know from the narrative of the story, a prologue is the easiest way to introduce that information. More than anything, I think a reader looks for a taste of what's to come. This doesn't necessarily have to be foreshadowing of your entire story, but I think it should provide something of interest. In a lot of novels, especially those told in first-person, you'll find that it's some sort of dialogue in the aftermath of the novel or something to that effect (ex. an interview with the main character, someone talking about the main character, etc).

As for an epilogue, I see those mostly used in cases (novels, generally speaking) where there are multiple points of view and you want to really sum up the ending from more of a neutral standpoint. Or perhaps the end of your chapters were the main character's POV and the epilogue takes the opposing POV. I also see them more in a series than a standalone piece of work. If you plan to continue the story into another thread, an epilogue might be a really good idea, it can give the readers of your new thread an easy way to get the necessary information without having to read through all your posts to get it.

There are definitely no clearly defined rules, but this seems to be how I see them most often used. I put this as short and simply as I could. Hope it helps you decide if you even need either!