Prologue of a Blog:

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!