What is the point of a prologue, anyway? As a child, I would
often skip the prologue as I confused it with an introduction. To me,
introductions were simply people writing about what I was about to read. What
use was that to me when I could simply read it for myself (I wouldn't develop
an appreciation for commentary on a creative work until I was much
older). The prologue is an invention unique to the form of written
storytelling. It's that extra piece of information that, while not essential to
the telling of the story, informs much of the events of the story being told.
It wasn't until I re-read Dragons of Autumn Twilight for the
third time that I paused to read the prologue, and my mind blossomed at the joy
that was the subtle foreshadowing of the events to come. It was through this
book that I first began to appreciate the uses of a prologue.
I have found, in my experience as a consumer of written
creativity, that the best prologues retain three key elements:
First, they must not be essential to the plot of the story
being told.
Depending on your philosophical bent, it is either a failure
of the prologue or a failure of the storyteller if you cannot skip the prologue
and still have all the necessary information to enjoy and appreciate the story.
I personally prefer to call it a failure of the prologue as it is an easier
thing to remedy, even though it is probably more accurate to blame the
storyteller. The prologue is like an appetizer, many times it's unnecessary to
having a complete meal; however, the experience of the meal is enhanced by its
inclusion.
Second, they must, in some subtle way, set the stage for the
story being told.
While the prologue cannot be essential, it is just as much
of a failure for the prologue to be completely irrelevant. If the prologue
tells the story of a female spider that kills her lover in mid-coitus, and then
uses his corpse to feed her young before dying from the effort, yet the story
is about a group of teenagers who hang out at a mall. You are left with a
feeling of "why did I read that"? (Which is a feeling you could just
have easily have gotten without reading the prologue.) However, if the prologue
tells that same story at the head of a novel about a woman (abused by her
lover) who finally plots to murder him knowing that it will ultimately
destroy her but will lead to a better future for her children, then the
prologue serves as an allegory from nature that reflects (albeit with slight
variations in motivation) the overall arc of the main character. As a bonus,
the prologue in this example can also serve as an effective foreshadow of the
protagonist's final
fate.
Finally, they must be fun in a compelling way.
Not unlike the two-minute teaser to an hour-long drama, the
prologue is often the "short-attention span" tester for whether or
not someone will devote their precious, valuable time to fully engaging with
this particular creative work. If the prologue doesn't hook you, you aren't
likely to keep reading the book. For example, if the prologue to a book
like The Hobbit, was simply a five page description of a shorter
than usual old man listing a bunch of odd names and places that he visited when
he was young, you'd set the book down immediately and never look back (unless
you enjoy reading lists written by the elderly). By doing so, you'd miss out on
reading a story about a quiet homebody, who gets drafted by a wizard to help
some boisterous and rowdy dwarves go fight a dragon, and ends up having the
time of his life. However, if instead, the prologue involved a spritely fellow
secretly following a curmudgeonly man and changing all his
"Keep Out" signs to welcome mats touting free food, free ale, and a
place to rest your mud soaked dwarven boots. A scene ending with a satisfied
curmudgeon musing about how, "No one will ever bother him
now". Then you might want to keep reading, just to see what
kind of mischief occurs when the curmudgeon gets all manner of unwanted guests.
So you see how important this small quirk of written stories
can be to the overall effectiveness of that story's telling. In that way, I've
provided this prologue to my reinvigorated blog. I've attempted this several
times before, with limited success. Usually it is because my own failings
prevent me from achieving the goal of writing something creative and
useful on a daily basis. All I can promise is that I've learned from
my previous missteps (which you can still find here), and that I hope to bring
you something every day that is creative, fun, and entertaining in a compelling
enough way that you will always come back for more. Additionally, I promise
that this will not contain any stories about teenagers hanging out in a mall.
However, time will tell as to whether or not my prologue will fit my own
criteria for success; because the most important gauge of a successful prologue
is that a great story follows it.
Thank you for joining me for the ride!
