How to write a prologue

Published March 23, 2020 | By 21daychange

How to Write a Prologue: Crafting an Engaging Introduction to Your Novel

A prologue serves as a gateway into the world of a story, offering readers a sneak peek or context before diving into the main plot. While not every book requires a prologue, when used effectively, it can add richness, intrigue, and essential background to the narrative. Writers often use prologues to introduce key elements, such as world-building, foreshadowing, or significant backstory, without overwhelming the first chapter with exposition. However, crafting a compelling prologue requires striking the right balance between informative and engaging, ensuring it adds value to the story without detracting from the flow.

Key Takeaways:

Purpose-Driven Prologues: A prologue should serve a specific function, such as setting up the world, offering a critical background, or introducing a mystery that ties into the main plot. Writers must evaluate whether their story benefits from a prologue rather than using it as a default starting point.
Engagement is Key: The prologue’s opening must captivate readers immediately, often with an intriguing hook, mystery, or tension. Whether through evocative descriptions or pivotal events, an engaging prologue sets the tone and encourages readers to continue into the main story.
Conciseness and Relevance: Prologues should be brief, focused, and directly connected to the main plot. Overly long or irrelevant prologues risk losing the reader’s attention. Writers must avoid information dumps and ensure that the content adds value to the story’s development without overwhelming or confusing the audience.

Understanding the Function of a Prologue

A prologue has distinct purposes that serve the story in a way a first chapter might not. It is an entry point, giving readers valuable information, background, or mood-setting elements that help frame the narrative. To craft a compelling prologue, it’s essential to understand its different functions and how each can shape the reader’s perception of the story before fully immersing themselves in the plot.

World-Building:

Purpose: A prologue is a powerful tool for introducing readers to a new world, especially in genres like science fiction or historical fiction, where the setting might be unfamiliar or complex.
How to Use It: Authors can use the prologue to present a glimpse of a unique setting, culture, or system that readers need to understand before the main story begins. This allows the first chapter to focus more on character development or immediate action rather than overwhelming the reader with too many details at once.
Example: Imagine a prologue that describes a world where magic governs society, outlining the political and social structures that stem from this power. This would prepare readers for a story in which magic influences character choices and plot developments.

Foreshadowing:

Purpose: Prologue foreshadowing teases an event or mystery that will become significant later in the story. It’s an effective way to create suspense, drawing the reader in with curiosity about how this event ties into the larger plot.
How to Use It: Writers can craft a prologue that hints at a pivotal moment, such as a climactic battle, a mysterious disappearance, or a future revelation. By showing enough detail, readers become intrigued by how the story will lead to that point.
Example: A prologue could depict a scene from the distant future of the story, showing the protagonist in a desperate situation. This leaves the reader wondering how they arrived at that moment, encouraging them to read on to find out.

Backstory:

Purpose: A prologue’s critical function is to provide an essential backstory without bogging down the narrative. This is especially helpful if the story’s present timeline doesn’t allow for natural exposition of critical past events.
How to Use It: A prologue can reveal important history or character backgrounds that influence the main plot. However, it is essential to keep it brief and focused and avoid an overwhelming information dump that may slow down the reader’s engagement with the story.
Example: In a mystery novel, a prologue might recount an unsolved crime that occurred 20 years prior, setting up a plot in which the main characters eventually revisit the crime and try to solve it.

Setting the Tone or Mood:

Purpose: The prologue sets the emotional and atmospheric tone for the story, preparing readers for the book’s overall mood. This could range from ominous and dark in a thriller to whimsical and lighthearted in a children’s adventure story.
How to Use It: Writers can use descriptive language to evoke an intense mood, whether through the setting, dialogue, or action in the prologue. This tone should align with the rest of the book, subtly guiding the reader’s expectations.
Example: In a horror novel, a prologue might describe a creepy, abandoned house on a stormy night, filled with eerie sounds and shadows. This primes the reader for a suspenseful, unsettling journey throughout the novel.

Deciding if Your Story Needs a Prologue

Before deciding to include a prologue, evaluating its necessity for your story is essential. Not all books require one, and adding a prologue without a clear purpose can detract from the overall narrative. Writers should consider the genre they’re writing in, the function a prologue might serve, and the length and relevance of the content they plan to include. By carefully weighing these factors, authors can determine whether a prologue will enhance the reader’s experience or if it’s best to jump straight into the first chapter.

Consideration of Genre

Purpose: Certain genres, particularly those that involve elaborate world-building or historical settings, benefit from prologues because they allow for explaining complex or unfamiliar elements without bogging down the first chapter.
Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Historical Fiction:
- These genres often introduce readers to entirely new worlds, systems of magic, or historical contexts. A prologue can help establish crucial details about the political structures, mythologies, or settings integral to the main storyline.
- For example, a fantasy novel may start with a prologue describing a legendary battle that shaped the current world. This sets the stage for the story while leaving room in the first chapter for character introductions.
Romance and Contemporary Fiction:
- In these genres, a prologue may only be as necessary if the story requires a flashback, a significant background event, or a pivotal moment affecting the characters’ lives.
- For example, a romance novel might use a prologue to briefly show the protagonist’s painful breakup that influences their hesitation to pursue love in the main story.

Genre	Common Use of Prologues	Examples
Fantasy	World-building, the introduction of myth or history	A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
Science Fiction	Explanation of futuristic or otherworldly settings	Dune by Frank Herbert
Historical Fiction	Introduction to historical context or events	The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Romance	Flashbacks or pivotal emotional events	The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
Contemporary Fiction	It is rarely necessary unless a pivotal background is needed	The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Length and Necessity

Assessing Necessity:
- Before including a prologue, evaluate whether its information is crucial for the reader to understand the main plot. If the story can proceed smoothly without additional context, it may be better to omit the prologue altogether.
- Writers should avoid using a prologue as a dumping ground for exposition. Instead, it should enhance the reader’s understanding without giving away too much or delaying the main action. Prologues that offer just enough information to intrigue readers and give them context tend to work best.
Length:
- The prologue should be brief and to the point. Ideally, it should be no more than five pages or 1,500 words. A lengthy prologue can fatigue the reader, especially if it drags on with unnecessary details.
- The length should be dictated by its function. If the prologue serves a simple purpose, like introducing a minor historical event or foreshadowing a future conflict, keep it short and focused. If it’s setting up an entire world, aim to be concise but ensure it conveys enough for readers to understand the story’s background.

Factor	Recommendation	Explanation
Necessity	Include only if crucial to the story’s understanding	Avoid unnecessary exposition or information that can be revealed later in the book.
Length	Keep under five pages (approx. 1,500 words max)	Prolonged prologues can disengage readers, causing them to lose interest.
Relevance	Ensure direct connection to the main plot	The prologue should have a meaningful link to the primary storyline.

Key Elements of a Strong Prologue

A well-crafted prologue can be a powerful tool for setting the tone, introducing essential elements, and engaging the reader immediately. However, it’s important to focus on critical elements that make a prologue relevant and impactful. Here, we discuss the fundamental aspects of an intense prologue that captivates the reader’s attention while serving the larger narrative.

Focus on a Key Event

Purpose: One of the most effective ways to use a prologue is to highlight an event that occurs outside the main timeline of the story but is pivotal in shaping the events that follow. This can be a moment from the distant past, a glimpse into the future, or even an alternate perspective on the story’s world.
How to Execute: Choose an event that creates intrigue or adds a critical backstory. For example, the prologue might depict a historical battle, the discovery of a powerful artifact, or a mysterious disappearance—events that directly affect the story’s main characters but occur before the first chapter begins.
Example: In a fantasy novel, the prologue could describe an ancient prophecy that will shape the protagonist’s destiny, hinting at the larger narrative without giving away key plot points.

Introduce a Mystery or Conflict

Purpose: An intense prologue should introduce a sense of tension or uncertainty. By presenting a mystery or conflict early on, the reader becomes eager to understand how it ties into the broader story, creating anticipation.
How to Execute: This can be done through a cryptic conversation between characters, the discovery of a body, or an impending disaster. The key is to raise questions in the reader’s mind that will be answered throughout the book. The mystery or conflict introduced should be significant enough to create a narrative thread that keeps the reader hooked.
Example: A thriller could open with a prologue where a character stumbles upon a hidden crime scene. The reader doesn’t know how this crime connects to the main plot, but the mystery creates immediate suspense.

Connect to the Main Plot

Purpose: For a prologue to work effectively, it must have a clear connection to the story’s main plot. Whether through thematic ties, character backstories, or setting up future events, there must be a direct link between the prologue and the main narrative to prevent it from feeling disjointed or irrelevant.
How to Execute: Ensure the prologue doesn’t feel like a stand-alone story. There should be enough context in the prologue that, when the reader progresses through the book, they understand its relevance. The best prologues set up threads that later tie seamlessly into the main storyline, making the overall plot more cohesive.
Example: In a mystery novel, the prologue could describe a heist that took place years before the events of the book. As the protagonist investigates a new crime, they uncover that it’s linked to the unsolved heist from the prologue, bringing the two timelines together.

Engaging Hook

Purpose: The first few sentences of the prologue are critical for grabbing the reader’s attention. An engaging hook draws readers in and makes them want to continue reading. A good hook makes an instant impact, whether it’s an arresting image, a startling statement, or immediate action.
How to Execute: Start with something unexpected—a shocking line, a vivid description, or an action-packed moment. The hook should immediately set the tone and establish the prologue’s purpose. It’s the difference between a reader deciding to turn the page or losing interest.
Example: A dystopian novel might open with, “The world ended on a Tuesday.” This stark, simple line creates an immediate sense of intrigue and pulls the reader into a narrative about what happened and why.

Writing Style and Voice

When crafting a prologue, the writing style and voice should be carefully considered to ensure it serves as a seamless introduction to the main body of the novel. While the prologue can vary in tone or point of view from the rest of the book, it is essential to maintain a sense of cohesion to avoid jarring the reader. The style and voice of the prologue need to create intrigue while aligning with the novel’s overall narrative and structure.

Matching the Main Story’s Style

Purpose: A prologue should preview the novel’s tone, language, and style. If the prologue feels entirely different from the rest of the book, it can disconnect the reader when transitioning into the first chapter.
How to Execute: Whether the novel is written in a formal, poetic style or a more casual, conversational tone, the prologue should mirror that style. This ensures the reader gets a consistent feel for the book. Writers should consider sentence structure, pacing, and vocabulary so the prologue doesn’t feel stylistically isolated.
Example: If the novel is a literary thriller with intricate, descriptive prose, the prologue should similarly reflect this through rich descriptions and a slower buildup of suspense.

Aspect of Writing Style	Prologue Consideration	Main Story Consideration
Tone	Should reflect the overall emotional atmosphere of the novel	A consistent tone helps maintain reader engagement throughout
Language Complexity	Match the vocabulary and sentence complexity used in the novel	Avoid overly simplifying or overcomplicating the language
Pacing	Should indicate the novel’s pacing (fast or slow)	Pacing should transition smoothly from the prologue to Chapter 1

Using a Different Point of View

Purpose: Some authors choose to differentiate the prologue by writing it from a different point of view (POV) or placing it in a different period. This can effectively give the reader a perspective that won’t be the focus of the main narrative but still impacts the story.
How to Execute: When using a different POV in the prologue, make sure it has a clear purpose, such as providing background that the protagonist wouldn’t know or introducing a subplot that eventually connects to the main story. This strategy can create suspense or curiosity about how this perspective will tie into the narrative. However, the switch in POV should still feel connected in style to the rest of the book.
Example: A mystery novel might open with a prologue from the victim’s perspective just before death. The rest of the story could switch to the detective’s perspective as they investigate the crime.

Prologue POV	Potential Usage	Main Story POV
First Person	Offering an intimate, direct account of a pivotal character	Third-person omniscient or limited for broader story coverage
Third-Person Omniscient	Providing critical details from a god-like narrator’s perspective	First-person for a personal narrative
Secondary Character POV	Insight into events from a character who won’t reappear often	Protagonist’s POV for the majority of the story

Creating Distinction Without Disruption

Purpose: While the prologue can differ in specific ways—such as POV or timeframe—it shouldn’t feel completely disconnected from the rest of the book. The prologue must set the stage for the main story while maintaining a sense of continuity so readers don’t feel as though they’re jumping from one story to another.
How to Execute: To achieve this balance, make sure that even if the prologue has a different voice or perspective, it still hints at themes, conflicts, or tones that will be central to the main plot. The prologue should stand with its narrative rather than introduce or complement the broader story.
Example: In a fantasy novel, the prologue might describe a prophecy or historical event in a more poetic, formal tone. As the novel transitions to the main character’s perspective, the tone might shift to a more modern or informal style, but the reader should still feel that both sections belong to the same world and story.

Prologue Characteristics	How to Maintain Continuity	Main Story Transition
Different Period	Tie back to the present through a critical event or theme	Refer back to prologue events, creating cohesion
Different Character	Ensure the character’s actions or role influences the main plot	Show connections between the prologue and the protagonist’s journey
Unique Tone	Gradually shift the tone to match the main story’s style	Maintain thematic continuity even if the tone shifts

Common Mistakes to Avoid

While prologues can be a great addition to a novel, they can also derail the story if not used effectively. Here are some common mistakes that writers should avoid when crafting a prologue:

Info Dumping

Problem: Overloading the reader with excessive information or history in the prologue can overwhelm them and detract from the story. While providing all the background details upfront is tempting, doing so can feel like an info dump, making the prologue feel more like a history textbook than a narrative.
How to Avoid: Instead of cramming all world-building, character backstory, or exposition into the prologue, selectively include only the most critical elements. The goal is to pique the reader’s interest, not to drown them in unnecessary details. Save some of the information for gradual revelation throughout the main story.
Example: If your story involves a complex magical system, only introduce the fundamental aspects immediately relevant to the plot. Other details can be sprinkled in later.

Being Too Vague

Problem: While mystery is a valuable tool in a prologue, being too vague can make the reader understand. If the prologue is so cryptic that the reader can’t understand its purpose or relevance, they might lose interest.
How to Avoid: The prologue should introduce enough clarity to engage the reader. Provide enough context so that the reader has a framework to understand the events while still leaving room for mystery. The balance between intrigue and understanding is vital.
Example: If the prologue teases a future conflict, ensure that readers at least know who is involved or why the conflict matters, even if the whole story isn’t revealed yet.

Lack of Connection to the Main Story

Problem: A prologue that feels like an isolated scene with no direct relevance to the main plot can create a disconnect for the reader. If the prologue feels unrelated or its purpose doesn’t become apparent until much later in the book, readers might wonder why it’s included.
How to Avoid: Ensure that the events, themes, or characters introduced in the prologue are linked to the main plot. This can be achieved through thematic parallels, foreshadowing, or providing crucial context to influence the story.
Example: If your prologue involves a historical event, ensure it’s referenced or has consequences in the main storyline so the reader understands its importance.

Over-Length

Problem: A prologue that drags on for too long can disengage readers before the main story starts. A lengthy prologue can feel like a barrier to entry, significantly if it delays the introduction of the primary characters or plot.
How to Avoid: Keep the prologue concise—ideally under five pages unless the genre or narrative complexity justifies a more extended introduction. Make every word count, ensuring the prologue is tight, focused, and impactful.
Example: Fantasy novels with intricate world-building sometimes require longer prologues, but ensure that each prologue section serves a specific purpose and doesn’t ramble.

Examples of Effective Prologues

Here are some examples of prologues from popular books that successfully set the stage for the main narrative, demonstrating how to balance intrigue, context, and relevance:

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Why It Works: The prologue of Game of Thrones introduces the world of Westeros and the dangers lurking beyond the Wall, setting up a vital aspect of the series: the supernatural threat of the White Walkers. The prologue is engaging and tense, immediately introducing readers to the vast, dangerous world while maintaining a clear connection to the plot.
Connection to the Main Story: The events in the prologue foreshadow one of the series’ main conflicts—the looming threat from the North—and create a sense of foreboding that runs through the rest of the book. The prologue provides a glimpse into the more significant dangers without revealing too much, keeping readers intrigued.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Why It Works: The prologue of The Da Vinci Code opens with a murder inside the Louvre, instantly creating intrigue and suspense. It sets up the central mystery that will drive the entire novel: the search for the secret hidden within Da Vinci’s works. The prologue is action-packed and filled with questions that will slowly unravel throughout the book.
Connection to the Main Story: The murder in the prologue directly ties into the novel’s plot, setting the protagonist, Robert Langdon, on his quest to solve the mystery. The prologue introduces the reader to the critical conflict while establishing the novel’s intellectual puzzles and high-stakes suspense tone.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Why It Works: The Name of the Wind prologue is short and poetic, setting the tone for the novel. It doesn’t give away much about the plot but instead creates a mood of melancholy and mystery. This approach works because it subtly hints at the story’s themes while drawing the reader into a world of storytelling and legend.
Connection to the Main Story: The prologue sets the tone for the entire series, focusing on language, myth, and the idea of stories within stories. Though it doesn’t delve deeply into the plot, it introduces the reader to the introspective and reflective nature of the main character, Kvothe, and establishes the narrative’s lyrical quality.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Why It Works: The prologue to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone begins with Harry’s mysterious delivery to the Dursleys’ doorstep, hinting at the larger magical world. It immediately raises questions about Harry’s past and the significance of his lightning-shaped scar.
Connection to the Main Story: This opening ties directly into Harry’s destiny and the mystery of his parent’s death, both central to the plot. By introducing these key elements, the prologue-like opening draws readers into the world of magic and sets up the conflicts explored throughout the series.

FAQs

How long should a prologue be?

A prologue should be concise, typically at most five pages. The goal is to intrigue the reader, not overwhelm them with too much information.

Can I write the prologue from a different character’s point of view?

Many authors use a different POV for the prologue to introduce a significant event or perspective that contrasts with the main story.

Is it necessary to have a prologue in my book?

No, a prologue is not required. It should only be included if it serves a specific purpose, such as world-building, foreshadowing, or providing an essential backstory.

What is the difference between a prologue and a first chapter?

A prologue is an introductory section that sets the stage for the story. It often focuses on background information or events outside the main plot’s timeline. The first chapter starts the main story.

How do I make sure my prologue gives only a little away?

Focus on introducing intrigue and setting up questions for the reader rather than providing complete answers. The prologue should create curiosity without revealing major plot twists.

Conclusion

A well-executed prologue can be a captivating entry point into your novel, providing readers with valuable context, intrigue, and anticipation. By focusing on critical events, introducing mystery, and ensuring a direct connection to the main plot, writers can craft a prologue that enhances the narrative rather than detracting from it. Avoid common mistakes like info dumping and over-length while paying close attention to style and voice to ensure the prologue flows seamlessly into the main story. Drawing inspiration from successful examples in literature can guide authors in creating prologues that hook readers and elevate their storytelling. Ultimately, the prologue should serve the greater purpose of enriching the reader’s experience, setting the stage for the journey ahead.