So first, although a chapter too late, a disclaimer. Caveat emptor. Beware of what you read here and elsewhere. I know nothing certain about what will make your writing successful. I've got suggestions, but, honestly, these are suggestions that merely guide my own decision making as I write. But I break my own rules from time to time—whenever it seems to me it's best to do so. I advise you to treat any writing advice the same way. Research and explore what often makes for effective writing, but be flexible in your implementation of these ideas.
That said, I'd like to deal with and debunk three "rules" I've been told I've broken here on Wattpad and elsewhere: 1. Prologues are bad. 2. Adverbs are bad. 3. Starting with "waking up" is bad.
The Problem of Prologues
These days, I keep seeing the argument that prologues are a sign of weak writing. In particular, I encountered a junior agent on Twitter who was extremely anti-prologue. His argument finally forced me to dig deeper and put this argument to rest—for me at least. His tweet rant went something like this. All prologues are bad, harder to digest than spoiled milk, and he rejected any submissions that began with a prologue. Since I hope to be published traditionally one day and since I like prologues, this young agent's proclamation troubled me.
So are prologues bad? I like to look at what's been successfully published for deeper insight into such claims. Here's what I found with ten minutes of research. No, not all prologues are bad. My proof? Well, last year, Tomi Adeyemi began Children of Blood and Bone with a poem—she didn't call it a prologue but, hey, it was a prologue. Similarly, Sarah J. Maas's Kingdom of Ash starts with two prologues that she didn't call prologues: "The Prince" and "The Princess." By the way, both books were best-sellers.
Seeing a pattern here? Successful books are still being written with prologues—we just don't call them prologues any more. Sly ... but frustrating if you ask me.
The clincher? The Da Vinci Code. This book, which sits at number eleven on the list of best-selling books of all time, begins with a prologue...called..."Prologue." So yeah, don't follow that example, right? Geesh.
Some final thoughts about prologues. I say, feel free to write them, but don't label them "Prologue"! Seriously, though, I think the concept of the prologue has been lost along the way by many amateur writers, sullying its reputation. Often younger/newer writers struggle with starting their stories. They feel like there's just so much information readers need to know before jumping into a story. For these writers, the prologue becomes a massive, boring info dump. Pages upon pages of description and explanation that rival Moby Dick's "Cetology" section for sheer brain-numbing, eye-burning abuse of the poor reader. Yeah, don't do that—whether you call it a prologue or not.
Remember, you're delivering a story to your reader, not an encyclopedia. But more on that later. If you want to write a prologue, fine. But please, consider your prologue a part of the narrative, not a compendium of facts we need before we actually read your story.
Adverb Adversity
Just the other day, to my dismay, I had another amateur writer tell me that my chapter was good and all, but I had used too many adverbs. I cringed because I try to be meticulous in my examination of my adverb usage. I hunt down adverbs like Ahab chased his whale (wait...is that a good thing?) and whenever possible chop them out. Adverbs are signs of weak verbs! All adverbs must go! Right?
Long story, short...I counted my adverbs in the chapter. There were fifteen or so in nearly three thousand words. I took a deep breath and relaxed. None had been used carelessly. Most had been used in dialogue. A count of fifteen adverbs in 3000 words is pretty good if you ask me.
So what is meant by "adverbs are signs of weak verbs," anyhow? Well, a common problem for new writers (I am very guilty of this, by the way) is something called overwriting. We often use more words than we need to describe a scene. Word count is important in traditional publishing...pages cost money to print. Fewer pages to tell the same story means greater profit.
Indiscriminate use of adverbs can be an indicator of overwriting. Why? Take for example a simple sentence like, "Corin ran quickly." In this sentence, "quickly" is our adverb (ends in "ly" and describes an action), and it is modifying/strengthening "ran." But we can say the same thing more concisely with a stronger verb. For example, "Corin sprinted."
Think about it. Fifty adverbs could actually mean your chapter has at least fifty more words than it needs to tell the same story! Multiply that by thirty or forty chapters...and that's an extra chapter you could cut!
That said, take this rule with a grain of salt, too. Just today, I chopped out a line of description, five words or so, by ...wait for it...inserting an ADVERB instead. So, yeah, not every adverb is bad. Overwriting is probably bad. And adverbs can be a sign of overwriting.
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
Should you ever start a story or chapter by slipping out of slumber? This one's going to be quick. And, hopefully, eye-opening.
Yes, starting a story or a chapter by having a character wake up has been done before Yes, it might be better to try something new. That said, guess what book starts with its protagonist waking up? The Da Vinci Code! Here's the opening sentence for you to chew on:
Robert Langdon awoke up slowly.
This book has sold over 80 million copies. And its first chapter starts with its protagonist waking up. Slowly. That's right, it also starts with an adverb. So yeah, who am I to say this is a bad approach. Money talks, people. Money talks.
Final Thoughts
All this is just to say two things:
1. Take everything I say to you in this blog with a grain of salt. You are the author...which means you are the ultimate author-ity of your own work.
2. I'm not sending my work to that junior agent. Just sayin'.
P.S. Grammarly red-lined the "awoke" in that opening sentence from The DaVinci Code. Apparently, Dan Brown didn't know he was supposed to use "woke." Amateur.
P.P.S. I re-read the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher/Sorcerer's Stone last night. I've got LOTS to say about this chapter (for another day), but it, too, is a prologue labeled "Chapter One." If you own this book, you should definitely re-read the first chapter with a writer's eye.
YOU ARE READING
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