Prologues are a controversial topic and many people don't believe that they are even necessary. Throughout this chapter I'm going to hopefully help you out in deciding whether your story should have a prologue and if it shouldn't. Even if you don't want a prologue, I still suggest you read this chapter because at the end you might decide that you do want one or for future reference.

Whenever I'm critiquing a prologue (because I'm a critic) I always look for at least one (preferably all) of three things:

a) Does it set the mood for the story to begin?

b) Does it raise questions and curiosity?

c) Is it distinctly different from the rest of the story? (Is it unique?)

Over the rest of the chapter, I'm going to be discussing how to achieve these three things if you have not already and then I'll top it off with some extra tips to help you on your way. Hopefully this is helpful!

Part One: Characteristics of a Prologue

It's really important to set the mood for the story ahead because it gives an idea of where the story is going to go. If your story is going to get dark and grim, but the start of your story isn't at first, having a dark prologue might be a good option. It's like a promise to your readers that even if your story is happy at first, things will change.

Prologues are the only chapter in your story that you don't have to focus on character development and moving the plot forward. Have fun with this! I've told countless people whose prologue's I've critiqued to think of it as poetry. By incorporating lots of vivid imagery and figurative language, the prologue can become quite magical. Make it artistic and make it your own.

This is probably the most important part of prologues. You need to get your readers pumped for your story and to do that, you need to pique their curiosity. Give them a million questions, but no answers. Set your prologue in an interesting situation that provides no explanation to the reader until they actually read your book. I can't tell you how to do this because only you can decide that, but I'll stress more on it in the next point. Another good option, though, would be to leave them with a cliff-hanger. Basically, as long as your readers are curious about what will happen next they'll stick with it.

Many times, writers forget that prologue's aren't mandatory and they put one in when it isn't needed. If you are reading your prologue and think to yourself that it could be chapter one, make it chapter one. Why? Because a lot of the time people skip prologues. A common reasoning is that the prologue isn't part of the story and if they skip it they'll still be able to keep up just fine.

So only use a prologue if it is distinctly different from the main story. How can you do this? Well, for one, many prologue's are told from the perspective of someone other than the protagonist. A common one is the antagonist, generally planning their grand scheme to overthrow the world or whatever it is. This is quite engaging because it sets up your readers for the conflict to occur.

One of my personal favourites is when the prologue is written in the future, so it takes place after the story has already unfolded, or near the climax. This way you can be really vague about what has happened but still leave the readers with this sense of foreboding, like something really bad is going to happen. Then, at the end of your story, you can come full circle so the readers finally connect the dots. I really love this.

And, of course, there's the dream prologue. Where your character just has a dream related to the plot. Is it effective? Not usually, but it can be if done well. All in all, there are no limits to how you can make your prologue unique. If there were, it wouldn't be "unique".

Make sure that the first sentence of your prologue still follows the guidelines of my last chapter, as well as the first sentence of your first chapter. They are both just as important as the other.

Keep it short. Like I said, people tend to skip prologue's, especially when they are long. When it is short and sweet it is at it's best. There is no use in dragging it on for longer than necessary.

Leave off on a cliff-hanger! I mentioned this earlier and while it is not necessary or even effective for every situation, most times it's a huge help, especially if your prologue is short.

Cut any introductions. They aren't needed until the story begins, especially with the risk of your prologue not being read.

Be artistic! I kind of already said this, but I might as well drill it into your brain. Prologues should be artsy! Add figurative language, describe things, make it beautiful!

If you are having your prologue from the future (as mentioned) be reminiscent, but don't explain anything. It works quite well.

Emotion is one of the greatest literary tools. Really, you should be using it in all of your chapters, but in the prologue, you can't do without. It is needed, especially negative emotions, like fear and sadness. The reason why? Because as readers we are dying to know how your protagonist ended up that way, or if the chapter is told from another perspective, how they did.

Be vague. This has been mentioned, but I want to write it out nice and clear for you. Don't spoil the story. Don't give background and absolutely do not answer the questions you've provided to your readers. Vagueness is the key to suspense and suspense is the key to a good read.

Those are all of my tips! I hope that you found my chapter helpful and you'll keep reading. Thanks so much!