SWRT 214 | Prologues

July 22, 2021

person typing on MacBook Pro on brown wooden table during daytime photo

This week on the Story Works Round Table, Alida, Kathryn, & Robert dissect the prologue. Can you be for or against prologues? When do writers do them wrong? And how do you do them right? As with so many of our Round Tables, we start out with something that seems so simple, yet find ways to sink our teeth into a juicy discussion!

Want to be part of the conversation? Good.

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VIDEO

AUDIO

SHOW NOTES

What we talked about:

Do we all understand what a prologue and epilogue really are? (0:30)

How can we use prologues and epilogues? (2:05)

Is a prologue a part of your story? (4:01)

Pulling double duty when using a prologue. (6:15)

Is your prologue helping or hurting your story? (9:55)

Make sure your prologue pays off. (15:00)

Do we have examples of prologues that didn’t work for us? (19:20)

How can you fix a broken prologue? (24:30)

LINKS

Get Alida’s Writing Tips here.

Things we mentioned:

Note from Robert:
The Spenser book I had remembered actually had no prologue (though I found another that did!), but it does have a switch to the antagonist’s POV that caught me by surprise. I don’t think he did it again in later books. – Crimson Joy by Robert B Parker
However, this one does have a prologue that sets up a crime (and I don’t remember any others in the series with prologues): – Double Deuce by Robert B Parker

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Want more about these topics? Check out:

SWRT 29 Hooks – Premise & Openings
SWRT 011 Openings
SWRT 075 Story Structure
SWRT 167 In Media Res

Have thoughts, questions, other examples? Join the conversation at the Story Works Writers Facebook group.

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About Your Hosts

Alida Winternheimer is an award-winning author with an MFA in writing from Hamline University. She pursues her fervor for all things story as a writing coach, developmental editor, and teacher. Three times nominated for the Pushcart Prize, she is also a notable in Best American Essays and winner of the Page Turner Award. Author of The Story Works Guide to Writing Fiction Series, Alida lives and writes in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She camps, bikes, and kayaks in her free time. Unless it’s winter, in which case she drinks chai by the fire. You can find more at www.alidawinternheimer.com.

Kathryn Arnold writes fantasy and anything else that sparks her creativity from her home in Kingston, Washington. She currently earns her living as an insurance underwriting assistant, where she also creates marketing and web copy. When not writing, she plays (and teaches) piano and keyboard in a band (or two), and is working on starting a ministry team with her husband. You can find Kathryn at www.skyfirewords.com.

Robert Scanlon was born in Australia, but whisked off to England when only a baby. After many years complaining about the weather, he did the sensible thing and moved back to Australia. Despite a career in the music industry, followed by decades teaching public speaking, Robert is an introvert who adores reading. Robert grew up on a diet of sci-fi masters, eventually discovering he had read the library’s entire science fiction section. Now he has to write his own. Robert is the author of Constellation, book one of the Blood Empire space opera series. Find out more at www.RobertScanlon.com