On my recent research I found that publishers aren't too fond of the opening prologue or preface. Personally, I love them. So I would like to know what you think: are they needed for a novel, or are they a waste of time and too predictable?
On my recent research I found that publishers aren't too fond of the opening prologue or preface. Personally, I love them. So I would like to know what you think: are they needed for a novel, or are they a waste of time and too predictable?
This is interesting - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prologue - and also the "front matter" link.
David
I prefer epilogues myself - I'd imagine that very few people indeed would skip an epilogue, having read the entire book first. Lots of people tend to skip prologues, though I'm sure that it depends very much on the structure and story of the book. If it's some information which simply wouldn't work being integrated into chapter 1, then they're fine. If you were thinking of writing a novel or story with a prologue, it might be an idea, if you really want to include one, not to drop any vital information in it, and save the important details for the chapters themselves.
Hmmm... That's an interesting question... I will have to go and look up what the difference is between a prologue and a preface...
I'm hazarding aguess that a prologue is used for fiction while a preface is used for non-fiction... Will go and have a search...
I would reckon that a good one (of either) is good while a poor one...
But that's not a lot of use is it?
David