I agree with parts of your argument, but continue my X chittering; these all have legit uses but most readers and writers don’t understand the purpose. I use both prologues and occasionally epilogues in my thriller series. They are short, punchy and add clues for the reader. They set a fast atmosphere of the crime. They are not ‘needed’ to tell the story, they’re hopefully fun!
Oh, you shared how you use them and you use them perfectly!
This overview of the various -logues wasn't meant to dissuade people from using any of them, but show what they are. Okay, I go a little hard on prologues, because I often come across them and deem them unnecessary--but I stress they don't have to be!
My four "rules" of a good prologue (I like rules)
- set the tone
- establish a mystery (a "ticking time bomb"--"something is coming", not "something once happened")
- show the mythical lore and backdrop through a short dramatization
- dramatic irony (let the reader know something the characters don’t--this creates tension in the arc)
I agree with parts of your argument, but continue my X chittering; these all have legit uses but most readers and writers don’t understand the purpose. I use both prologues and occasionally epilogues in my thriller series. They are short, punchy and add clues for the reader. They set a fast atmosphere of the crime. They are not ‘needed’ to tell the story, they’re hopefully fun!
Oh, you shared how you use them and you use them perfectly!
This overview of the various -logues wasn't meant to dissuade people from using any of them, but show what they are. Okay, I go a little hard on prologues, because I often come across them and deem them unnecessary--but I stress they don't have to be!
My four "rules" of a good prologue (I like rules)
- set the tone
- establish a mystery (a "ticking time bomb"--"something is coming", not "something once happened")
- show the mythical lore and backdrop through a short dramatization
- dramatic irony (let the reader know something the characters don’t--this creates tension in the arc)
It's very simple:
Vane admonishes that there's a great misuse of prologues nowadays and advices to omitt them whenever possible.
Some stupid (and quite mediocre) fantasy indie writers only hear that Vane hates all prologues and the use of them in absolute terms.