Readers: Do you read Prologues?

[Former Member]

4 hours ago, Reader1810 said:

I always read prologues. Even if they might not be crucial for understanding the story that’s to come, they always add something to it. That’s my opinion, anyway. 

I think it’s kind of a respect thing. The author thought it was important enough to include. But I usually sit through the movie credits (unless I’m trying to make sure I catch the last BART train home – or disliked the movie almost enough to walk out).

[Reader1810]

2 hours ago, droughtquake said:

I think it’s kind of a respect thing. The author thought it was important enough to include. But I usually sit through the movie credits (unless I’m trying to make sure I catch the last BART train home – or disliked the movie almost enough to walk out).

I don’t go to many movies at the theatre, but I usually watch some of the credits. This is one I stayed to the end. Nice reward for doing so, I’d say. 😛 

 

 

 

[BabyXander1990]

On 6/8/2018 at 4:45 PM, BHopper2 said:

If a writer includes a Prologue to their story, do you read it or skip it?

Read it...it could be what happened to the characters 10-15 years ago, and when they met up in the present time. Romance novels does it

[Billy Martin]

They are important enough to have been written.

[JamesSavik]

Prologues are an authors way of orienting the reader. They define the setting, place in time and set the tone for what the reader is about to experience. Not reading the prologue is a lot like embarking on a journey without reading the map. You may have just gotten on the highway but, did you get on at the right interchange? Did you need to pack suntan oil or a combat knife? 

 

Example:

 

The Wassari Jump

 

Prologue

 

In the year 2312 the Greater Terran Union embarked upon its most aggressive military campaign to date. It invaded the planet Wassa on the edge of its space for no greater reason than the Wassari civilization was beginning to tinker with space flight and might become a threat. 

 

It was from start to finish a real shit show. The troops landing in the first wave instantly knew it had been a dreadful mistake. The Wassari are a cute and fuzzy mammal species that most resembled the Terran meercat. The space marines dropped on Wassa ended up protecting the very civilization that they were there to subdue and conquer. 

 

The GTU, abused into paranoia by it's own pre-starflight invasion by a powerful alien race, had finally grown up to be just the kind of bully that it had grown to detest.

 

 

_______________________________

 

Do you see what I did there?

 

I answered several key questions:

Who? The Greater Terran Union and the Wassari

When? 2312

Where? The planet Wassa on the edge of GTU territory

What? Invasion

Why? The GTU was paranoid because of its history.

 

All of this could have been done in exposition but the prologue shortens that process and makes the authors life a little easier.

 

 

Edited September 22, 2018 by jamessavik

[Aditus]

On 6/9/2018 at 2:07 PM, Timothy M. said:

I usually do, but if the prologue is very short I may skip it and read it later. Or if it's info like character names I'll use it later to remind me who's who.

How can you do that??? lol

 

Oh and I always read the prologue. And even though  you didn't ask that, I love writing prologues and would be very disappointed if readers would skip it.

[Brayon]

1 minute ago, aditus said:

Oh and I always read the prologue. And even though  you didn't ask that, I love writing prologues and would be very disappointed if readers would skip it.

That's my feeling as well on writing prologues. I did a separate thread for us writers in the writing club, to discuss this thread, and prologues in general.

[Backwoods Boy]

Usually I do.  I failed to read one recently, and then felt a bit  stupid because the relationships I was struggling with were all explained therein. 😕

[CassieQ]

Usually I will, if it's short.  If it's not very good or engaging, I probably won't read the rest.   

[LJCC]

Some writers miss the mark when turning prologues into descriptive linear summaries of their characters or specific scenes. Not those scenes relating to their story, but scenarios of how they'd envisioned their story to be. And i'm like...hold up, is this an autobiography, cause I'm sure I saw this in the fiction aisle. 

 

So yeah, I tend to drop it cause I usually have a bad feeling where it's mostly going.

Edited September 24, 2018 by LJCC

[Thorn Wilde]

I can't for the life of me understand why you wouldn't read a prologue. Why would you skip part of a book? That's just weird, I had no idea people did this. Now starting to wonder if anyone ever skipped a prologue to one of my stories...

[Former Member]

39 minutes ago, Thorn Wilde said:

I can't for the life of me understand why you wouldn't read a prologue. Why would you skip part of a book? That's just weird, I had no idea people did this. Now starting to wonder if anyone ever skipped a prologue to one of my stories...

To me, it’d be something like skipping every tenth or twentieth paragraph! You’d get the sense of the story, but would miss out on so much! But then again, I read appendixes and postscripts.  ;–)

[CassieQ]

2 hours ago, Thorn Wilde said:

I can't for the life of me understand why you wouldn't read a prologue. Why would you skip part of a book? That's just weird, I had no idea people did this. Now starting to wonder if anyone ever skipped a prologue to one of my stories...

If it is a good prologue, I'll read it.  My favorite series has a prologue that introduces the villains on a quest that the protagonists will later join in on, and that is fine.  If it something like "these are my characters!" type thing, or if it has a bunch of information that really should be included in the body of the story, then I'm a bit iffy on reading further.  So it is not a prologue itself that I take an issue with, it's how well (or not well) they are written.  In my opinion, if someone is going to include a prologue, it should meaningful to the story and well written, because that is the first thing the reader is going to read. 

[Thorn Wilde]

5 hours ago, CassieQ said:

If it is a good prologue, I'll read it.  My favorite series has a prologue that introduces the villains on a quest that the protagonists will later join in on, and that is fine.  If it something like "these are my characters!" type thing, or if it has a bunch of information that really should be included in the body of the story, then I'm a bit iffy on reading further.  So it is not a prologue itself that I take an issue with, it's how well (or not well) they are written.  In my opinion, if someone is going to include a prologue, it should meaningful to the story and well written, because that is the first thing the reader is going to read. 

 

Well, I feel like in that case it's not the prologue that's the problem, it's the book itself. Or, the writer. I dunno, if the prologue's bad then I expect the rest of the work to be, too. I get what you're saying, though. 

Edited September 30, 2018 by Thorn Wilde

[Brayon]

Honestly I feel it's a dick move to skip any part of a story. Someone spent a lot of time and effort in creation.

[CassieQ]

Now that I'm thinking about it, I don't see prologues much outside of fantasy and sci-fi books.  

[Thorn Wilde]

2 hours ago, CassieQ said:

Now that I'm thinking about it, I don't see prologues much outside of fantasy and sci-fi books.  

 

I've written prologues for other works. Nemesis 2 has a prologue, for example. A few of my unfinished and unpublished novels have them too, and as much as I love SFF, I only write drama.  That's just me, though.

[Solivagant]

Yes, I always read everything that the author includes in the story. I even do research if I must. There have been countless times when I have wanted to skip a chapter or a few paragraphs because I find them unnecessary, but then I know that I would feel guilty about it and would have to go back to read it. When I was younger I didn't use to finish what I was writing or watching if I lost interest, so I committed myself to always finish what I begin, regardless of what it is.