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Our writing goal as we begin our novels is to Hook the Reader. Thus: to prologue or not to prologue, that is the question. And if you ask enough writing teachers, other writers or read books on writing, you'll more than likely get a plethora of advice. And too much of it will say, No, No prologues, agents hate them.
Really?
I have no proof to contest that except I would ask, why is it that we have read and continue to read prologues? I'm an avid reader. I read every night for a few to several hours (kills my sleep often, too.) I read lots and lots of books - and I see lots of prologues. Example? I just finished The Kitchen House - yes, prologue. Before that, Water For Elephants - yes, prologue. How about James Patterson's Blink? Yes, prologue. Octavia Butler's Kindred? S.J. Bolton's Sacrifice? Meltzer's The Inner Circle? Yes, prologues all.
But Murder in the Marias, The Help, any of Michael Connell's books? No, no prologues. And Lawrence Block? Not a chance. I can't imagine Block using prologues, but maybe he has and I'll have to eat humble pie since admittedly I haven't read everything he's written. But I am rather seriously committed to his Matt Scudder books. No prologues there either.
The point is, using prologues seems to be up to the writer. If agents hate them it certainly isn't preventing them from shopping the books they like to their publishers. When, then, would a prologue be appropriate or useful?
Some writers use the prologue for an introduction that is shocking, or frightening, or maybe someone dies or is murdered but the reader is not told who the victim is. These types of prologues are usually scenes without sequels and are used to hook the reader. They don't even have to include the protagonist but it's probably a good idea if they at least relate to the story about to be told.
Often a writer, usually a new writer, wants to set the stage, give the background of the story or the character so 'the reader can relate.' This, according to comments by publishers and agents when discussing their slush piles, generally gets out of hand and results in a long-winded, boring epistle that would not only turn a reader off but she probably would not have purchased the book in the first place if that is what greeted her as she thumbed it in a bookstore. Or read the online sample offered for an e-book.
Information about the character, if it's pertinent, should be woven into the story itself by use of dialogue or flashback. Any backstory the writer wants or needs to put up front as a prologue should be relatively brief, a few pages. A good example of this type of prologue was used all the way back to Victorian fiction. Willie Collins, a friend of Charles Dickens, uses a short prologue to give the Indian background in his detective novel, The Moonstone.
Many books, frequently murder/crime novels, set up something in the prologue that grabs the readers, but is not mentioned again until later in the book. Or in some cases, the end of the book is a repeat of the beginning but it has a conclusion that in some way satisfies the questions raised at the start. It is a challenge to write beginnings and endings in this manner, but in the hands of an accomplished writer it has been done and will continue to be. In the 1987 movie, No Way Out. Kevin Costner is stamping around a room with two thugs watching him, ranting about some unknown person who won't come out from behind a closed door. Then words come on the screen: Six Months Earlier. The story begins and works its way forward until it comes to a startling conclusion in the same room when the unknown person opens the door and steps out. Similar usages of the prologue have been used in many novels and movies.
Whichever type of prologue or whatever reason for using one, it must engage the reader, make her want to read more. If it doesn't, rewrite or throw it out. When you feel you have the prologue just right, put it aside for a few weeks. Don't bother asking your friends or even casual acquaintances. They do not want to hurt your feelings and will generally either praise it or say something vague. In either case you are not likely to get real help from them. Go back later then and do your best to read it as if you were a book browser, deciding whether or not to buy. Consider its merits and if you belong to a critique or writer's group, this is the time to take it to them, read it aloud and be open to any advice they have. Then remind yourself that this is the draft, you'll be rewriting one or more times.
Beginnings often change by the time we reach the end of our novels. You'll most likely rewrite that prologue a time or two. Remind yourself: it is your beginning, maybe the most important part of your entire book because if it doesn't capture the potential buyer, it won't really matter what the rest of the book says. Keep your goal in mind: hook the reader.
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