My first scene is having an identity crisis. She’s a mess. Is she Chapter one? Or is she a Prologue? She’s tried on both and is still all over the place. I’ve got to help a girl out.
So, I went back to my notes from a session at Thrillerfest by Steve Berry. Surely, such a successful thriller writer, who has utilized a Prologue many times, would have something to offer. And indeed, he did.
Mr. Berry had 3 specific circumstances necessary to using a Prologue:
It needs to be 1) short, 2) concise, and 3) the reader can’t skip it or will be lost.
Next, I checked my email. By wonderful happenstance, I got an email from the Florida Writers Association with the subject line: To Prologue or Not to Prologue. Thank you, universe (and Louise Titchener, the article’s author).
Ms. Titchener highlights one of the benefits of a Prologue – readers understand them and know what to do with them. To take advantage of that benefit, she states a Prologue should:
4) promise a later explanation and 5) hooks the readers’ interest.
Of course, I also perused the internet. Yikes. Girl’s not alone. There about 3 million articles on the pitfalls and benefits of prologues. Many support the 5 previous points raised by both Mr. Berry and Ms. Titchener.
A Writers Digest article points out the possible benefits and pitfalls of this choice. But, it comes down to this – ask of the scene:
6) is the information included best presented in a Prologue, or could it be spread throughout the rest of the story with the same impact; and
7) does the character’s POV reoccur later in the story, and if so, wouldn’t it make a better first chapter?
Gently, I approached the scene with my gathered information. I still had no clear-cut answer for the scene, because after all, there are none in writing. But, bravely, going with gut instincts, the scene took on a new identity. Deep breath and hesitation be damned, that girl is back to Chapter 1.
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