Hi,
I have a question regarding prologues and chapter one. I have written a YA fantasy novel that has a prologue, but also a section before chapter one. My question is whether this section has a name? Is it 'allowed' to have a section after the prologue, before chapter one?
I'll give a brief explanation as to why I have done this and if anyone can give some suggestions that would be great. The prologue is set on another world and gives a brief, interesting scene of something that has happened months before the book starts, and is the reason the book takes place. The section before chapter one (which is fairly short, a few pages), then focuses on my main protagonist, again months before where the book starts in chapter one. It is an important event that makes the character who he is. Chapter one then starts in the present day, with the main protagonist, and on Earth.
I wondered whether I needed to just start chapter one with the scene after the prologue and put something like 'eleven months ago'. Would that be more acceptable?
Would appreciate any feedback!
Many thanks,
Rebecca
Hi all,
Thanks everyone for your replies. I think I've made a decision(!) after some stressful deliberation!
I think I'll weave the prologue into the book and make the 'second' prologue chapter one, as I think most of you have suggested.
I appreciate the help and comments. If anyone else wants to comment feel free :)
Many thanks,
Rebecca
Rebecca I think you found your own solution - make prologue 2 Chapter 1.
Don't complicate the beginning of your story. If a prologue is necessary then follow it with a chapter 1 whether it's your current one or you make your pre-chapter the start.
John has some very good points.
Harry Bingham in How to Write mentioned prologues. It appears they're not the hot favourite in the industry.
Bin the prologue.
As a lover of prologues that's quite hard for me to say. But I think it might be too much to have the two.
I have a similar situation. I decided on a prologue covering an event which took place 800 years before the main action but was relevant to the story. Problem was, I needed to introduce something else, also relevant and vaguely similar in context, which happened only 10 years before my action starts.
Since the latter was more important in terms of the story than the former I got rid of the prologue prologue. Maybe I'll write it as a short, to keep as a potential giveaway...or maybe not. It's frustrating because it was a nice action-filled piece with a twist at the end, but sometimes you have to cut stuff you really like for the greater good, to coin a phrase :(
If you really don't want to lose it, one of your -logues could be a Foreword.