Most Common Writing Errors

Prologues

This chapter talks about prologues and how they are not first chapters.

Read the disclaimer if you haven't already.

Okay, let me say it clearly.

There is a difference between a prologue and a first chapter.

I think many writers don't realize prologues are their own thing. They'll write a standard book chapter then call it a prologue because it sounds cooler.

I'm guilty of doing this too, so don't feel bad if you've done this before.

While I think the line has blurred between what is and isn't a prologue, keep in mind the word "prologue" is taken from the prefix "pro."

I know a lot of people reading this book are not native English speakers, so please let me know if I need to explain anything more in-depth when it comes to prefixes and root words. I will be giving an explanation, but if you need anything explained, please let me know!

With that being said, let's talk about prefixes.

If you do not know what a prefix is in the context of the English language, a prefix refers to a letter or group of letters added to the beginning of a root word. For example, "unhappy." The -un is added to create a new meaning for the root word "happy." It uses the meaning of "un" to turn "happy" into unhappy, AKA not-happy. "Un" means "not."

When I say "root" word, I am referring to the core word that receives additions, such as prefixes, to build on the meaning of said root word. In the previous example, "happy" is the root word, and the addition is the prefix "un" to make happy "unhappy." Root words act as a base for creating new words.

Some examples of words with prefixes (with the prefixes clearly shown):

- "Non"fiction

- "Re"do

- "Mis"behave

"Non" is like "un" and means "not," "re" means "again," and "mis" means "bad/wrong." If you break down the words that way, the list would look like this:

- Not-fiction

- Again-do

- Bad/wrong-behave

Using prefixes, you can figure out what a word means despite never having seen it before.

For example, "monologue." The word "mono" means "one." If you break it down, you'll know "logue" can relate to dialogue, but it technically means "speech." So it literally means "one dialogue/speech."

By using the prefix, you at least know the word is referring to one thing. Monologue refers to a speech made by one character.

Even though it can still be difficult to figure out what a word means based solely on the prefix, it can at least help.

In the case of the word "prologue," the "pro" tends to mean "before." It also means "forward," but for the sake of keeping things simple, let's just stick with the "before" meaning.

Prologue comes from the Greek word "prologos," which means "before the word" (source: Grammarly prologue blog). When you say the word prologue, you'll notice the emphasis is placed on the first part, "pro."

A prologue literally means "before the words." So, with that meaning, we can come to the conclusion that a prologue is physically placed at the very beginning of the story and before the first chapter.

I've never seen a book use a prologue anywhere other than the very start of a story, so for sake of not wanting to get into exceptions and all that complicated English/book stuff, let's just say prologues always come at the very beginning of a story.

That's the first part of what a prologue is: Beginning of the story.

The second part is this: Prologues typically do not take place in the present timeline of the story, and they typically do not show the main characters.

For example, if you're writing a BTS fanfic about Kim Namjoon going on a space adventure, your prologue more likely than not will not have Namjoon present.

The Expanse book series is a good example of proper prologues. Every book has a prologue. The first book shows a girl on a spaceship infected with alien life. What happened to her is the main mystery of the book, but the prologue takes place before the current timeline of the story, and she isn't a main character.

However, there are different types of prologues that exist for the sole purpose of introducing a main character, so I'm not saying a prologue never includes a main character. Just, in my experience, it's uncommon.

An example of a prologue that may include the main character is a past protagonist prologue, which shows the past of the protagonist to set up their character in the present timeline of the story.

You can argue the opening scene in The Last of Us (both the TV show and game) is like a past protagonist prologue. It shows the main character's, Joel's, past and sets up his character in the current timeline of the story.

However, regardless of if the main character(s) are present or not, a common theme is a prologue almost never takes place in the current timeline of the story.

A prologue is not just a fancy chapter 1; it exists to provide context or background information. It typically is not part of the main narrative and exists to give the reader crucial information they will need to understand the book. I hope that makes sense.

The sources I am taking from are Grammarly's blog post about prologues, Reedsy's blog about prologues, and Masterclass's Writing 101: How To Write A Prologue course.

I understand prologues tend to be debated often, so I decided to incorporate sources for this chapter so you guys can check them out and make your own opinion.

In writing, there are so many exceptions it feels almost impossible to say "a prologue is this." So, keep in mind I am talking generally. Not every prologue is done the way I am describing.

Now, let's get into something else.

Why am I writing this chapter?

Many writers use a prologue as a substitute for chapter 1. For example, they'll have the first chapter be "Prologue" then the next chap be "Chapter 2."

In other cases, writers will make their prologue a core story chapter, not a prologue. There are no defining traits of a prologue in their prologue, making it more of a chapter 1 and not a proper prologue.

It really isn't a huge deal if someone gets a prologue wrong since mistakes happen, but it is something to keep in mind for your future stories.

In summary:

- A prologue comes before the main narrative, AKA before chapter 1

- A prologue is not a substitute for chapter 1, and it is not synonymous with chapter 1

- A prologue takes place outside of the main timeline of the story

- A prologue typically does not show the main character(s), or at least doesn't show them in the current timeline of the story

- If a prologue takes place in the main timeline of the story, it typically will not follow the main characters and instead give context to help the readers understand what's going on

- There are exceptions to everything, but every tip I've given about prologues are general tips, of course there are exceptions to the tips I'm giving

~ End ~

I hope that chapter was helpful. If you have any questions, please let me know and I will reply as soon as I can.

Please vote and follow for more tips, and feel free to request a topic for me to cover in a future chapter.