# Prologues!



## Staff Deployment (Jan 4, 2013)

Opinions on prologues, GO!

I just wrote one. It's about 2500 words long. It'd fill up 8-10 pages.
The prologue introduces the main character, and a bit of her story, with a focus on the relationship between her and this one-armed dude. It ends mid-sentence, with a plane crashing into a mountain and the protagonist falling through the sky.

The first chapter continues that sentence: she hits the ground. Anyone who skips the prologue will have also literally skipped _the first half of the first sentence._ Only then does the story start.

I avoided using the prologue as an infodump. In fact it's only marginally even related to the events of the story, beyond focusing on the same central character. I guess it's like a primer on her personality and behaviour. Like the whole "stabbing people in the face" business.

Right. Anyway. Prologues.


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## Kyle R (Jan 4, 2013)

As a young reader I always skipped the Prologue when I saw it. I assumed it wasn't part of the story so I didn't bother reading it.

So for that reason now, I avoid writing prologues.

Or, if I do write one, I'll just be sneaky and title it "Chapter One". 

(Yours sounds great, by the way. :encouragement


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## Deleted member 49710 (Jan 4, 2013)

Staff Deployment said:
			
		

> The prologue introduces the main character, and a bit of her story


My WIP has a prologue with a similar function. Introduces the MC, sets a mood, shows an important event in her life prior to the main story, though its full significance is not clear for a long time. More like an opening sequence than an infodump, or an introduction. Like how movies and TV shows have teasers before they show the title sequence. 

When I've shown it to people, reactions have been pretty mixed. This is partly because it's in 2nd person and some people don't like that. But maybe it's just not as good as I think. I plan to re-evaluate for the hundredth time in a month or so.

So SD, probably I'd like yours.


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## Nee (Jan 4, 2013)

The thing about prologues is, there is no reason that you cannot include whatever information you have in there within narrative arc of the story.


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## Ilasir Maroa (Jan 4, 2013)

Considering your specific prologue, I don't see the point of not just putting it in Chapter 1.


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## Staff Deployment (Jan 4, 2013)

KyleColorado said:


> I'll just be sneaky and title it "Chapter One".



I think that is an absolutely deplorable method of cheating and I won't stand for it until the moment I do it myself which will be in about five minutes.


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## Kitana (Jan 4, 2013)

You know I had this very same question recently. My current project that has absorbed my attention also contains a Prologue(between the two main characters of the story). Long story short I came to the conclusion that if it fit the story, and added progress then being a general info dump or excerpt from later scenes then it was basically OK. But it also basically came down to preference in writing it seemed. I'm still currently deciding on if I should keep it as a Prologue for the story or just keep it out of the main story as practice/reference material.


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## Staff Deployment (Jan 4, 2013)

lasm said:


> When I've shown it to people, reactions have been pretty mixed. This is partly because it's in 2nd person and some people don't like that.



Ha ha, we're in the same boat. Mine's got second person too.



Kitana said:


> I'm still currently deciding on if I should keep it as a Prologue for the story or just keep it out of the main story as practice/reference material.



While back I wrote a huge 7000-word document detailing the entire backstory, and though I tried to implement parts of it into the book it never really meshed well.

I still have the document, though, and I refer to it a lot so that I can work in bits and pieces of information through the span of the story. I think that's probably the best use for it.

Hope this helps.

EDIT:

I barely caught it in time.

[spoiler2=oh boy]View attachment 3894

(i like the number 400)[/spoiler2]


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## Ethan (Jan 4, 2013)

I think it very much depends on the reason for it! If the prologue is necessary information to set the scene for the narrative I would use it. A bit like relating an incident to a friend, who doesn't really know the people you are talking about, or why they would react in given ways. I see a prologue as a background to the story you are about to tell.Of course you can filter it in through the story but, Sometimes it's better if the reader knows what you know straight off and can understand the characters motivation immediately.


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## Burlesk (Jan 4, 2013)

Nee said:


> The thing about prologues is, there is no reason that you cannot include whatever information you have in there within narrative arc of the story.



Really? I'd say it's impossible to make that judgement without being familiar with the novel in question. There may be a very good reason why that can't be done, because whatever the novel is, you couldn't "include whatever information you have in there within narrative arc of the story" without _writing the story in a different way, _which might flatly contradict the intentions of the author. Why would anyone want to do that?

In short: the only good reason for _not_ doing a prologue is if it doesn't suit that particular novel as conceived by the author.

Prologues are neither inherently good nor inherently bad. Sometimes a prologue is needed; sometimes one would be completely unsuitable; sometimes a prologue isn't necessary but works anyway. It's a matter of artistic judgement, not good versus bad practice.


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## Jamie (Jan 4, 2013)

I'm not even sure how anyone decides early in the process that their story will require a prologue. Personally, I would just write the story as chapters and then look at it later to decide if you need to separate one as a prologue.

I guess what I'm saying is, if a prologue is the very first thing you've written in your story then it isn't a prologue. It's chapter one. Only later on can you see if it makes more sense as a prologue.

But, as with anything, it's a matter of personal taste, isn't it.


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## Jeko (Jan 4, 2013)

Why does everyone talk about prologues so much? I think the epilogues are all feeling a bit lonely.


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## Terry D (Jan 4, 2013)

In my first novel I used a prologue to introduce characters, location, and an item which were central to the book's climax, but which would not enter the narrative until the last 1/3 of the book.  It functions as a hook, and, by calling it a prologue, I tried to avoid confusing the reader when the characters introduced in chapter one were not the same ones in the prologue.


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## Staff Deployment (Jan 4, 2013)

Cadence said:


> Why does everyone talk about prologues so much? I think the epilogues are all feeling a bit lonely.



Ooooh, I've got one of those too.

The main body of the text takes place on the island, and the pro/epilogues take place entirely in the main character's head spoiler alert. The epilogue was much more fun to write (or it was, until I added dirt-bikes, onions, and the word "tits" to the prologue).

I'm considering just making the 'logues very oddly book-ended chapters, or some equivalent therein. I messed with it a little bit earlier today and it's difficult to reconcile the different style between 'logue and main text body but it's getting there.


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## Ethan (Jan 4, 2013)

Cadence said:


> Why does everyone talk about prologues so much? I think the epilogues are all feeling a bit lonely.



Think about the poor Monologue, he's out there alone! (No relation to Kylie)


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## shadowwalker (Jan 4, 2013)

My opinion of prologues? Some are well-written and definitely enhance the reader's experience; others are poorly written and unnecessary. So basically, they're just like the rest of the book.

I have stronger opinions about people who say never use them - and even more so when hearing people advise writers to rename them Chapter One.


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## Deleted member 49710 (Jan 4, 2013)

Cadence said:


> Why does everyone talk about prologues so much? I think the epilogues are all feeling a bit lonely.


Because if you get all the way to the epilogue, you must have liked the rest of the book. Nothing dangerous about them since it's too late to decide against reading or buying.

Not too late for throwing the book at the wall though, I suppose.


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## Gamer_2k4 (Jan 4, 2013)

Cadence said:


> Why does everyone talk about prologues so much? I think the epilogues are all feeling a bit lonely.



I've got an epilogue but no prologue.  I believe that prologues are either redundant or just unnecessary, ESPECIALLY the "fast-forward hook" style.

Epilogues, on the other hand, are nice additions to the end of a story.  Whenever I see the world "Epilogue" at the top of a page, I know I can sigh and bask in the nearly-completed story.  Everything is wrapped up, and now I get to learn "where we go from here."  There's kind of a sense of accomplishment from hitting the epilogue.  Prologues, not so much.


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## Kitana (Jan 4, 2013)

Staff Deployment said:


> While back I wrote a huge 7000-word document detailing the entire backstory, and though I tried to implement parts of it into the book it never really meshed well.
> 
> I still have the document, though, and I refer to it a lot so that I can work in bits and pieces of information through the span of the story. I think that's probably the best use for it.
> 
> Hope this helps.



Thank you but the 'Prologue' doesn't really detail the entire backstory in it. Just the very first meeting between the two main characters of the story, it even opens up more questions. 
You could say I'm using it as a hook(which I've found is why some choose to include Prologues) seeing as the story will focus on the two characters mainly but I think Chapter 1 could hook the reader just as well. 

My reason for writing it, and possibly including it, is because it shows the two characters bond start to form then later(in chapter 1) the reader will see just how close they've become since that first meeting. To me it seems an interesting tidbit to include for the reader because otherwise the two characters first meeting wouldn't normally come up unless in a flashback scene.


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## Kyle R (Jan 4, 2013)

shadowwalker said:


> My opinion of prologues? Some are well-written and definitely enhance the reader's experience; others are poorly written and unnecessary. So basically, they're just like the rest of the book.
> 
> I have stronger opinions about people who say never use them - and even more so when hearing people advise writers to rename them Chapter One.



For me it's a matter of personal experience. I know I always avoided reading prologues like the plague, and skipped over them until I saw "1" or "One" in the heading. Same thing with "Introductions" and "Prefaces". I always thought, "Boring!" and flipped past them.

Nowdays I do read the prologues, introductions, and prefaces, though I am sure there are readers out there who operate how I used to. So for that reason I avoid titling any prologues I write as such. It's not really an advisement on my part, though--just an explanation of my personal approach.


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## Nee (Jan 4, 2013)

Something to think about: publishers do not want first-time novelists to include prologues.


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## Jeko (Jan 4, 2013)

^Really? Then why do some debut novels have them in?


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## shadowwalker (Jan 4, 2013)

Nee said:


> Something to think about: publishers do not want first-time novelists to include prologues.



Yeah, I think I'd like to see your sources for that.


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## Jamie (Jan 4, 2013)

Nee said:


> Something to think about: publishers do not want first-time novelists to include prologues.



Pretty sure that's nonsense. Publishers are looking for excellent writing and excellent stories. I doubt very much if they're dismissing work because a story has a prologue, first novel or otherwise.


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## mbear (Jan 4, 2013)

I know most will have a heart attack over this but I have never really cared for them. Therefore I don't read nor write them. But if it is important to you and you love them, then I am all for them and as a writer provide the option for your readers.


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## Nee (Jan 4, 2013)

People don't read them--but if you must, then use them.


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## shadowwalker (Jan 4, 2013)

Nee said:


> People don't read them--but if you must, then use them.



Again - a generality that probably isn't supported by fact. Lots of people read them; lots of people don't. I had never considered this latter bit until coming to writers' forums - so perhaps it's only writers who are so picky. ??


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## ppsage (Jan 4, 2013)

> People don't read them...


If prologues are read at all, and I know they many times are, then it must be _people_ who are doing it. I would guess that this is a situation where not all literature is created equal; probably avoid prologues if you have those certain readerships, who habitually disparage them, in mind.


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## Sam (Jan 4, 2013)

If readers weren't reading them, writers wouldn't continue putting them in novels. It would be kind of counter-productive, don't you think?


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## Gamer_2k4 (Jan 4, 2013)

Sam W said:


> If readers weren't reading them, writers wouldn't continue putting them in novels. It would be kind of counter-productive, don't you think?



How often do writers care about what the readers what? Content editing is necessary largely because of the disconnect between what writers think is important and what readers think is important, isn't it?


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## ppsage (Jan 4, 2013)

> Content editing is necessary largely because of the disconnect between what writers think is important and what readers think is important, ...



Might also be necessary, I think, because of the disconnect between what the writer could figure out (or remember) was important at the time of the first draft and what she's additionally realized is important by doing the edit.


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## Nee (Jan 4, 2013)

Still...there is nothing found in a prologue that can not be inserted into the main narrative text. And seeing how all you have to do at the beginning of a story is:

Introduce the main character(s)
Establish the setting (and tone)
And, move the story forward

Then, isn't it better just to give people a story that they can pick-up and loose themselves in right from the start...?


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## voltigeur (Jan 4, 2013)

I'm using my prologue to deny any knowledge that I wrote my work in progress. (I’m only partially kidding.) I have seen Collin Willock (wrote The Fighters) use prologues and epilogues the best. He did a work of historical fiction about the World War 2 and the epilogue told you what happened to any surviving characters. It was done in the form of a documentary paper documenting interviews he had with the characters. It made the fiction very believable. 

My prologue will be used to explain the foundations to my WIP since the historical part of my historical fiction may be partial fiction itself. (But that is part of the fun.)


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## Nee (Jan 4, 2013)

In historical works prologues and be very useful, but there is no need for them in fiction.


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## Tettsuo (Jan 4, 2013)

As much as I avoided reading prologues, I found myself putting a prologue into my work in progress.  Interestingly enough, it's not about the main character at all, but about his love interest (she doesn't appear until later in the book).

God I hope no one skips it... like I would!


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## Sam (Jan 4, 2013)

Gamer_2k4 said:


> How often do writers care about what the readers what? Content editing is necessary largely because of the disconnect between what writers think is important and what readers think is important, isn't it?



If writers thought for a second there was a chance that 50% of their readership was going to skip the important information contained within their prologues, do you think they would write them? 

Skipping prologues is another of those myths which pervade countless writing sites across the Internet. Maybe a few readers skip them, but certainly _all _do not skip them. If they did, prologues would serve no purpose other than as a tool for anti-conservationists.


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## shadowwalker (Jan 4, 2013)

Nee said:


> Still...there is nothing found in a prologue that can not be inserted into the main narrative text.



Again, a generalization which is not universally true. While it may be possible to include the information in the main story, it can be clumsy to do so, or worse yet, a slogging info-dump. A prologue is typically distant in time to the main story; it may or may not have any of the characters from the main story; it offers insights for the reader so they may see the nuances and ironies and secrets which may not be apparent even to the MC or other characters in the main story. So unless one can figure out how to do all of that without info-dumps and convoluted explanatory dialogue, it definitely belongs in the prologue and not the main story.

I get you don't like them. So don't write them. But don't keep making generalized statements as if they were fact, when they are only based on your opinion.


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## shadowwalker (Jan 4, 2013)

Gamer_2k4 said:


> How often do writers care about what the readers what? Content editing is necessary largely because of the disconnect between what writers think is important and what readers think is important, isn't it?



Like those writers who swear readers hate prologues when there's an equal or greater probability readers enjoy them?


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## Deleted member 49710 (Jan 4, 2013)

The thing about sweeping generalizations is that there's always likely to be an exception or three or three hundred thousand. Like say, Chuck Palahniuk. Both _Fight Club_ and _Survivor_ start with a prologue. China Miéville's _Perdido Street Station_ has a prologue. Céline's _Journey to the End of Night_ does, too. Also Camus's _The Plague._ I could go on but I don't feel like digging through my shelves any longer. 

Note that these aren't necessarily labeled "prologue"-- but there is a short chunk of text preceding "Chapter 1" or the entry into the main storyline.

In any case, here is a blog entry by an erstwhile literary agent about prologues that I thought was pretty interesting when I read it a while back (some of the comments are good, too). The upshot: Often they're unnecessary and clumsily done and you're better off skipping to chapter 1. Sometimes they're justifiable and good. Depends on the prologue.


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## Nee (Jan 4, 2013)

Shadowwalker...I am stating my opinion--which is all any of us can do.

And it is possible (fact: it is possible) to include prologue information into the main text of the story without being clumsy or resorting to info-dumping. But then, that is the art of it, isn't it.


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## shadowwalker (Jan 4, 2013)

Nee said:


> Shadowwalker...I am stating my opinion--which is all any of us can do.
> 
> And it is possible (fact: it is possible) to include prologue information into the main text of the story without being clumsy or resorting to info-dumping. But then, that is the art of it, isn't it.



Yes, it's _possible_. That doesn't mean _always_.


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## Staff Deployment (Jan 4, 2013)

Nee said:


> And it is possible (fact: it is possible) to include prologue information into the main text of the story without being clumsy or resorting to info-dumping. But then, that is the art of it, isn't it.



Now the very reason I've included a prologue at all is that the events in it started out worked carefully into the dialogue and narration... But then I figured, "Wouldn't a reader rather see these events for themselves?" And then boom, an old couch is dragged out to the middle of a field, some dirt-bikes are ridden, and someone's eye is stabbed out with a kitchen knife.

That's the thing with prologues. They can be whatever you want. A big infodump is common, certainly, but not necessary.


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## Kyle R (Jan 4, 2013)

I've been thinking about my aversion to prologues and I've concluded that, for me, it comes down to simply the word itself.

"Prologue". Very similar to "foreword", though often the foreword is written by someone other than the author. Or "Introduction", sometimes written by the author as a way of discussing his novel with the reader. There was an introduction by Stephen King in his novel, "The Running Man" in which he quite literally gave away the ending to the book (discussing it in specific detail)--though I believe it was the publishers who made the mistake of putting this at the beginning instead of the end.

Also the "Preface" is much like the "Introduction"--I believe the terms are even interchangable.

In any case, there are many of these things that come at the beginning of a book, and often they are essays, casual remarks, historical information, or whatnot--things that are not written in narrative form and therefore not really "storytelling", but facts or commentary.

This is likely why I always skipped past the Prologue when I saw it in books, as I assumed it was yet more of the same--and as a reader what I was after was narrative storytelling and nothing else.

I've seen a lot of narrative Prologues titled as chapter one. In Stephen King's "It", the first chapter is essentially a prologue--it takes place twenty-seven years before the actual story begins. The same thing with the first chapter, _Boston Mercy_, in John Irving's "The World According to Garp" (the first chapter takes place before the title character is even born.)

It's okay to write prologues and of course many authors do it, but I wonder, why title it as such, when you have the freedom to title it anything you want? In the above example, Irving titled his prologue "Boston Mercy" and he titled his next chapter "Blood and Blue"-- in my opinion a much more engaging way of naming the sections of his novel as opposed to the more traditional "Prologue" and "Chapter 1".


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## Deleted member 49710 (Jan 4, 2013)

I'm not planning on labeling my prologue as such (no chapter numbers or titles, either, just separating with page breaks). But it _is_ a prologue, for good or ill, so that's what I call it.


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## popsprocket (Jan 4, 2013)

Prologues are acceptable when they're done nicely. I think the hardest thing is picking what information you want to put in there. If your prologue is just going to be a scene that could have appeared anywhere in the book, then it's not worth including. Same goes for 'scene setting' and general info dumping.

If you don't have a specific hook to go anywhere in your first chapter, then a prologue might be useful for you. It's kind of a cop out to put the hook there and then revert back to nothingness in the first chapter, but it's still a valid method.


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## Staff Deployment (Jan 4, 2013)

KyleColorado said:


> There was an introduction by Stephen King in his novel, "The Running Man" in which he quite literally gave away the ending to the book



"Hey, you, random person on the street, hold up a second!"

"Excuse me? Who are you?"

"I am Stephen King, bestselling and internationally acclaimed author of horror novels. Many of my books have been made into movies. I have something to give you."

"What?"

"Take it. It is the final ten pages of my novel _The Running Man,_ ripped clean out of its original manuscript."

"Wasn't this published decades ago?"

"Just take it! There's no time to explain!"


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## Kyle R (Jan 4, 2013)

Lol!

Okay. Perhaps "literally" was not the best choice of words there.


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## Jeko (Jan 5, 2013)

Nee: A prologue is a part of the main story. Else, it would be left out. For some stories they are unnecessary. For some they are essential.


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## Nee (Jan 6, 2013)

The only thing that is essential to do at the beginning of a story is:

Introduce the main character(s)
Establish the setting
& Move the story forward.

Of course, if the writer believes that the only way he/she can begin their story is by using a prologue then I suppose it then would become essential.

We are only limited by that which we believe needs to be before we can move forward.


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## Staff Deployment (Jan 6, 2013)

Nee said:


> The only thing that is essential to do at the beginning of a story is:
> 
> Introduce the main character(s)
> Establish the setting
> ...



I think every good story should start with a string of lewd sexual puns, followed by a massive swordfight.

[spoiler2=Of course...]On viewing that I remembered that Romeo and Juliet also had a prologue, in which the ending is given away.[/spoiler2]


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## Jeko (Jan 6, 2013)

> Introduce the main character(s)



How widely do you read?

Even YA fiction doesn't obey this.


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## Nee (Jan 6, 2013)

I read over 120 novels a year.
Sure, at least 60 of those are audio books, but still...


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## Jeko (Jan 6, 2013)

> I read over 120 novels a year.



That's not what I asked.


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## Flith (Jan 7, 2013)

IMO, a prologue should be used if there's something that the read needs to know that the main character doesn't know, or doesn't find out until later


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