One of my favorite fantasy novels of the past year, Blood Song, by Anthony Ryan, uses a different technique. Ryan divides the novel into a different parts and starts each part with the viewpoint of an historian recording what is expected the be the death of the main character. These short insights are told from someone who hates the central protagonist while the majority of the book is from the protagonist viewpoint. The story bounces from the present view of the historian to the past as experienced by the protagonist. I really enjoyed this technique and am starting the second book, Tower Lord, tomorrow.
Some books start in the middle and then have flashbacks to where the story actually started. TV shows often do this, starting in the middle and then flashing a 'three hours earlier' sign. I'm not such a big fan of this in books but I believe if done with skill it could have the same suspenseful usage as on TV.
A piece of writing advice I was given a long time ago and that I usually follow is to start my books with action. In romance novels this is often the first meeting of the two protagonists or the event that will lead to their meeting or start of their relationship.
The most important thing about that starting point is that it captures the reader's attention. Lots of readers are like me when it comes to finding new authors to try. I read those first few pages, getting a sense of the author's voice and the pace of the novel. There also needs to be a hint of the conflict, an interesting one, and at least a brief sense of setting.
Where do you start your novels? Do you like prologues? Did anyone ever tell you not to include one in your novel? Do you put action on those first pages of your book? Don't forget to visit IWSG blog today for some great insights into the writing life.
22 comments:
NO, as I've said before, I don't care for prologues. That being said, to each their own. Hey, some people don't like baking. It's a crazy crazy world.
Cheers and have a great new week.
I like prologues. My own fantasy books start with one, but nothing else I've written does. I think it really has to suit the story.
Most of them start with action.
After a lot of angst, I wrote a prologue into my current project. I'm still anxious about it, but because of how I structured the rest of the book, it seemed necessary. We'll see, I suppose...
I'm not anti-prologue at all. I think some are done rather well.
My CP is teaching me about the beginning of a book. How important it is to have a hook right off the bat and get the reader's interest piqued.
Prologues have to be very short. If an author has to write several pages to get the reader up to speed my interest starts to wane.
I don't have a problem with Prologues. I know some people skip them but I always read them. They're still part of the story!
Madeline @ The Shellshank Redemption
Ryan certainly picked an interesting twist.
I read prologues. Why would anyone skip them?
I've only written one and that was at the request of my publisher.
Opening pages are the hardest to write. I always just start SOMEWHERE on the first draft, but by the end of the novel I know have to rewrite the opening again and again to figure out the right action to show. I'm still waiting on feedback for my fourth draft attempt at the opening. Like you said, those pages are so important. Gotta get it right. I revise those pages more than any others.
I like prologues, but again it depends on the story. I think they work really well in the likes of fantasy and sets the challenge to come.
I read them and if done right I enjoy, if done right anything can work really. It just has to fit the story.
I'm a fan of prologues, as long as they're not too long. I think they're great, usually.
And wow, that cover is striking.
For me it all depends on the prologue itself. Some are full of boring backstory, others intrigue and entice me :)
I write suspense, so all my novels begin with a death or something wicked. The opening in Broken But Not Dead actually scared me. LOL. I know, I'm the author, why would it scare me. I'm still baffled over that one.
My books aren't heavy on action, but I do try to dump the character into a conflict. I've never written a prologue before though.
I like prologues, but I haven't kept any that I've written. I like the prologues I read to fall between a paragraph and three pages. Originally, I had one for each of the books in my Champion Trilogy, but then wasn't sure I liked them . . . now, well, they're out now but I halfway wish I had kept those prologues. Sigh. Next time . . .
The type of prologue you note being used in Blood Song is one of my favorite kinds of prologues - something from the villain's or antagonist's perspective, or something from the perspective of history or outside of the MC's main fellowship group in one way or another. I also like the "One Ring to Rule them All" type prologues where a legend or history is given that will affect the events of the story. And now . . I've almost written my own prologue post. Yikes.
I'm the start the story right in the middle of the action writer. Yet if the prologue is interesting, I do enjoy them, especially in fantasy when world building is so important.
The thing with prologues is they have to be done well. I read a book once that disguised it's prologue as chapter one. Everything changed in chapter 2 and I felt cheated. I wouldn't have felt cheated if I'd known it was simply a prologue from the start. Does that make sense? lol.
I like prologues most of the time. My WiP used to have a prologue until I found a better way to absorb the information into the novel. As you say, I wanted the novel to begin in a place of action.
I like prologues, yet have not written one. A curiosity, now that I thin about it. I'm a fan of in medias res. I want action to start a story. I'm not much for reading novels that want to set things up before they get going. :-) I have spent hours on Amazon just scrolling through books and using the "Look inside" feature to read the opening paragraphs of books. Then I analyze the writing style of which ones I would read more, and which ones piqued NO interest in me.
Interesting post, Susan. Good food for thought. :-)
I don't have a problem with prologues. I write them, and I don't throw a book away if I read them. They have to make sense with the rest of the story, of course, but I don't mind a prologue setting the scene before the main character or main plot is introduced. As long as the prologue doesn't feel extraneous I'm just fine with them.
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