Prologue
A prologue is a scene that comes before chapter one, usually set at a different time or place, or told from another character’s point of view.
Prologues usually do one of a few jobs: share a bit of history you’ll need later, show a murder or disappearance the book will come back to, set up a prophecy, or tease a scene from near the end to hook you. Fantasy tends to use them for world history. Thrillers tend to use them for the body.
A lot of editors are wary of prologues, and the reason is usually the same. Many are backstory the author needed to figure out but the reader doesn’t want yet, dumped on the page before there’s anyone to care about. The usual advice is that a prologue should be a proper scene, not a briefing, and good enough to work as an opening in its own right.
Readers are split. Some skip prologues and say they never miss anything. Others read them twice. What most authors aim for is a prologue that rewards you if you read it and doesn’t leave you lost if you don’t.
Prologue: common questions
Should you read the prologue?
Usually, yes, but skipping one is rarely a disaster. Good prologues pay off most on a reread, when you can see what they were setting up.
What is the difference between a prologue and chapter one?
A prologue sits outside the main story, in a different time, place or point of view. Chapter one is where the main story actually starts.