forum Prologue or No Prologue?

Started September 13, 2018 by Kellsey

tune

So my story has three main characters, each with a traumatic past that eventually leads them all together. They're all so different, I've always though about having prologues for them to inform on what they've gone through and how it shapes their lives as they go through the story. My intention was to do it in the style of the anime Soul Eater (if anyone here has seen/read it.) The first three episodes/chapters are dedicated entirely to introducing the seven main characters, as they work in units and have their own different pasts and chemistries.

So my intention was to have each chapter introduce the event that would, I guess, mark the moment that set them on the path to each other. But I've heard prologues aren't a good idea, and I'm questioning my choices. However, the moments I'd like to use as prologues are too important to just mention at later times, since much of my characters' trauma and personalities come from the things they didn't notice rather than what they did.

So I just really don't know. Any advice?

I think part of why prologues aren’t generally a good idea is because they’re often full of names and historical events and a lot of infodumping, and they introduce characters that we never hear from again (i.e. not the main characters), but if you steer clear of those, your prologues could probably work quite well. If the action you have planned is crucial to later characterisation, it sounds like it could be quite engaging.

In short, if you write these prologues in such a way as to hook the reader and get them to start to root for your characters, I don’t think they would be a problem.