writing for dummies

intros and prologues [12]

yes, i am alive.

now let's move on

i do intros. it's fine. cause guess what? IT'S ONE FUCKING CHAPTER.

here's the thing, aesthetics are fine, but when they're 20 fucking chapters long, then they're not so fine. i often see intros, but when they go on for more than, let's give it two or three, chapters than i'm out.

literally no one cares about each of your characters' individual aesthetics. i promise you do not need a whole ass chapter for each person.

sure, they're fun to do. i think it's a great way to sort of give your readers a sneak peak as to what they are to expect. and it helps you keep track of ages and whatever else you put in there.

but don't abuse them. i promise you'll only ever need a max of two chapters for aesthetics.

and while we're here, let's talk about prologues. i'm starting to get concerned about what people on this app think a prologue is. do you know?

it's not an intro 2.0. it's where you start actually writing. it sets up the main plot and shows a character or two, or something significant that helps further develop the plot. and those are usually pretty short.

and epilogues are not a place for you to write a 1000 word a/n saying how appreciative you are for your readers. i highly doubt anyone will read all that nonsense. and, don't get me wrong, i am grateful for the people who read and enjoy my works, but they don't need a 1000 word chapter to know that.

do you know what an epilogue is? it tells of what happened after the story ended. like at the end of hunger games when they showed katniss and peeta with their children? that's an epilogue. in tuck everlasting where they showed the end and jesse visiting winnie's grave because she died of old age and didn't drink from the pond? that's an epilogue.

epilogues are ways to show what happened; like the aftermath. it is a way to keep people off of massive cliffhangers.

does that make sense?

from: your favorite author ;)