Re: Are prologues bad? Do readers feel misled?
#21
I think prologues, and epilogues for that matter, are good tools to start/end a book from the point of view of a different character or timeline. Now I probably wouldn't start a new story with a prologue, but for 2nd+ novel in a series, or a spin-off, sure.
Re: Are prologues bad? Do readers feel misled?
#22
I don't know if prologues are "misleading," but it does seem like folks online just want to get into the meat of the story as quickly as possible. The structure of LitRPG really shows the hunger audiences have to get to the core premise. Perhaps prologues are best left in book form, where readers have access to the entire story at once?
Re: Are prologues bad? Do readers feel misled?
#23
I do enjoy prologues quite a bit, but they should be short (a maximum of 3 chapters and that's already getting quite long, I much prefer just the one).
An example of a story I recently started reading is this: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46319/speedrunning-the-multiverse
The author here just used a single chapter to hook the readers in, and I must say it completely worked in my case. Binged it in one sitting, now have to wait a while for new chapters.
If I can find some other good examples, I'll add them.
Edit: A Journey of Black and Red is another good example (magnificent story btw)
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26675/a-journey-of-black-and-red
An example of a story I recently started reading is this: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/46319/speedrunning-the-multiverse
The author here just used a single chapter to hook the readers in, and I must say it completely worked in my case. Binged it in one sitting, now have to wait a while for new chapters.
If I can find some other good examples, I'll add them.
Edit: A Journey of Black and Red is another good example (magnificent story btw)
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26675/a-journey-of-black-and-red
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Re: Are prologues bad? Do readers feel misled?
#26
Never really thought much about prologues, but as a reader. I have been turned off of some works from reading their prologue. I do really like the idea of using a prologue for world building, to give the reader a sense of what the story will be about.