Many people go through deciding whether or not they should add a prologue to their story, and hopefully I can help you guys decide if you need to add one. The prologue to the story is the first impression of your story, after all.
Deciding to add a prologue has a lot involved to it, you have to ask yourself many questions to make sure that you really need it or not. Ask yourself these questions, and answer them truthfully.
If you were to call your prologue Chapter 1, would the story still flow smoothly? (If yes, ditch it.)
The prologue is supposed to be a chapter of your book that's is before the story's time, giving a background to why things in your story are happening the way they are. When doing that, make sure you're not writing an info dump for the reader, though.
Oh, and if you do choose to have a prologue make sure it's consistent with your story's genre. For example, if you're writing a mystery, don't make it humorous and historical, that just doesn't work.
But prologues are also used for other reasons. Those would include an old lady reminiscing her youth (the storyline), having it in a different point of view than the story (therefore releasing a secret about one of the characters that the MC doesn't know about), or grabbing the reader's attention.
Tip: If you are writing a prologue, do not introduce your character, you can mention them in passing, but it's best not to introduce them, even minor characters. Villains are exceptions to this tip. (Remember this isn't a rule, merely a tip.)
Good luck!
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A Guide to Writing
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