tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post5502301710424365253..comments2024-03-14T18:09:09.667-05:00Comments on Do Some Damage: Under ConstructionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-69855102790296352502016-05-19T18:45:19.820-05:002016-05-19T18:45:19.820-05:00G'day Holly;
I haven't used a prologue but...G'day Holly;<br />I haven't used a prologue but don't mind reading them and in some instances (though not often)they added enjoyment to the story that I could not see being done another way.<br />Yes,I started "The Great Liquor War" about 3/4 through and then went back (after about 1500 words)to explain how my protagonist got there and why.<br />As for those who write a clean first draft, where are they? Are you sure they're human?<br />Dave<br />www.dmmcgowan.blogspot.ca D.M. McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05008773391981989236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-16711697913469091132016-05-18T23:23:55.374-05:002016-05-18T23:23:55.374-05:00Holly,
Great topic! I usually hate prologues. They...Holly,<br />Great topic! I usually hate prologues. They're usually disconnected to the story. That said, I used one for The Mindreading Murders. It's a big event that resonants with the rest of the story. The first chapter is Five Years Later. The book is written in the first person except for the prologue. I felt third person was okay because it's an event that happens on TV and I let the reader feel like they're watching the TV show. Plus there's a question that's set up that's answered 4 chapters later. Though I don't usually like prologues I guess if they're vital to the story, they can work.<br /> - Stephen BuehlerStephen Buehlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03153352677424095494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-91238020005211459722016-05-18T12:43:03.026-05:002016-05-18T12:43:03.026-05:00No Present tense! No Prologues! No Flashbacks! Onl...No Present tense! No Prologues! No Flashbacks! Only use Third person limited!<br />All are "the way" and plenty of great books new and old ignore those rules.<br /><br />If it needs a prologue write a prologue.<br />A good prologue with an inciting incident that intrigues us is fine. We want to find out why the Nameless woman locked the crossfit trainer in a cage with all those starved monkeys!Thomas Pluckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17008022962076648740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-40623052396618268152016-05-18T12:20:11.449-05:002016-05-18T12:20:11.449-05:00Good questions raised here Holly.
When asked &quo...Good questions raised here Holly.<br /><br />When asked "how do you feel about prologues? As a writer, do you use them?" you will not be surprised to hear me mumble, 'fuck rules. All 's fair if it works.' That's me, I really don't believe in limiting our tool boxes.<br /><br />As for revising, I am struck by massive fear of never finding a story, so when I finally have a complete draft the relief caries me through the hard stuff. Finishing a first draft, messy or not is huge. Time to pop a cork. Good editors point out things I knew but pretended I didn't. Yes I knew that character was a plot device instead of a living breathing person, but I tried not to look at it to hard. My ego hates having flaws pointed out, my writer self loves it. It is a chance to make it better.Josh Stallingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09913654176433125233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-72379172271572305402016-05-18T11:42:49.861-05:002016-05-18T11:42:49.861-05:00Rick, your comment needs to be a blog post unto it...Rick, your comment needs to be a blog post unto itself! :-)<br /><br />But you've actually clarified a few things for me. I think the real issue here is that a prologue just isn't right for this book (first person narrative). At least not in any incarnation I can think of.<br /><br />I printed out pages yesterday and re-read everything. This helped clarify how I can go forward. There's lots of work ahead but that's the way it should be. I'm really just complaining about things that every author struggles with. But sometimes it helps to say these things out loud.Holly Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08910436592791818527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-37651893093747331822016-05-18T09:33:50.352-05:002016-05-18T09:33:50.352-05:00What the hell is a prologue but words that are par...What the hell is a prologue but words that are part of the story? Why would anyone on earth care what they're called?<br /><br />Use a prologue, don't use a prologue, just tell your story.<br /><br />Now, I don't particularly care for disconnected prose, and by that I mean an opening that seemingly has no connection with the rest of the book until some unknown time later in the book. But if the prologue or chapter one or introduction or splash of text on a page leads into the next page, I say just do it.<br /><br />I do not and never will understand "prologue haters," or people that derogate books merely because there is such a thing called a prologue at the beginning. Frankly, some stories cry out for a prologue, especially if the action happens outside the main characters' view.<br /><br />It almost seems that if you don't like prologues you don't like the third person viewpoint. I'm saying it just doesn't matter.<br /><br />Unless you care about detailing the murder itself, maybe you can start out your book with the person just already dead. The action then could be the discovery and the "what to do with it now" part that leads you into your plot.<br /><br />In short, which this post is not, I think the prologue prejudice is BS. Concerns for how to structure your novel are not, though. Jump into the story. Find a clever reveal. Most of my violence happens offscreen anyway, except for heightened points in the story like the climax.<br /><br />It's silly if people don't like a book because of the presence of a prologue, it is simply more text, a way to launch into your novel. The bigger concern should be whether the action is taking place offscreen (which would make me wonder if you couldn't just do away with it, because it is the beginning), and also, nothing bad should happen to a character until you make a reader feel something for the character, OR if their passing has an immediate effect on other characters that the reader cares about.<br /><br />That's my seventeenn cents. Prologue bashing is silly. Concern for how you structure your book, prologue or no, is not.<br /><br />(For the record, I haven't used a prologue in my four books, but if I thought it best, I wouldn't hesitate.)Rick Ollermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02068917523381664001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-22087453709719936132016-05-18T08:00:45.760-05:002016-05-18T08:00:45.760-05:00I don't mind a brief prologue. They can serve ...I don't mind a brief prologue. They can serve well as the novelistic equivalent of a movies "establishing shot" to set the time and place, or some salient feature of a character. They shouldn't be asked to do too much work. Get in, show one or two things so you don;t need to tell them later, and get out.Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-30703247350398411152016-05-18T07:26:56.891-05:002016-05-18T07:26:56.891-05:00As a reader - and reviewer - I am very dubious abo...As a reader - and reviewer - I am very dubious about prologues. For the most part, they seem like a lazy way to solve a more inherent structural problem. One recent example where it did work - Karin Salvalaggio's Burnt River works for a number of reasons: 1. it is brief, 2. it is not marked as a prologue, 3. (and most importantly) where is fits into the overall story is left ambiguous for a significant time.<br /><br />It sounds like you are working through your problems, Holly. And it sounds like you know that a prologue is probably not the best solution. <br /><br />Unfortunately, sometimes the backstory is not necessary and as hard as it is to cut those precious words, if they no longer "fit," sometimes that has to be done. <br /><br />Good luck! Kristopherhttp://www.bolobooks.comnoreply@blogger.com