On Writing: Prologues [ Game of Thrones l Harry Potter l John Green ]
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- čas přidán 16. 11. 2018
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![On Writing: How to deliver exposition PART ONE [ Avatar l Matrix l Game of Thrones l Harry Potter ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/iq5A5bppyUg/mqdefault.jpg)
![On Writing: How to deliver exposition PART ONE [ Avatar l Matrix l Game of Thrones l Harry Potter ]](/img/tr.png)
![On Worldbuilding: Hidden Magical Worlds [ Fantastic Beasts l Black Panther l Trollhunters ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wYC6UeRja4U/mqdefault.jpg)
![On Writing: Subtext (and how to use it)! [ Tarantino | Thrones | Gatsby ]](/img/n.gif)
QotD: How have your written *your* prologue, and why does it work for your story? Remember to check out my Squarespace link in the description!
~ Tim
i introduced the threat of the evil infection army thing, kill the people who know how to defeat the big bad
My Prologue follows your example of the time jump, taking place in the past to set up the main struggle of the story.
Haven't written one, but I'm highly questioning whether I should add one or not.
I introduce a king and a prince, their relationship, and the prince’s choice to being the other kings together which is only mentioned secondhand in the rest of the novel. The prince doesn’t show up until the end so I needed him introduced in the beginning so the reader understands
The prologue of my story would be an introduction to the main threat, the Pisahrak. How they work, what effect they have on their hosts, things like that.
I was planning to have an epic battle for it but that be just unnecessary for the plot. But after watching this video, I came up with another idea.
An investigation about a mysterious charred skeleton and a missing dog. With the realization that the two indecents might be connected.
I wonder if there's going to be an episode about epilogues...
I second this
I love a Prologue. Their very existence is exciting because you know you're going to learn an important secret in them. I also like a prologue can be very artsy or poetic because it's sort of a one-shot separate to the rest of the book
Jonny Khan I usually sigh when I see the word prologue. 😅 Just me, though.
Jonny: I love your perspective on prologues. It's refreshing. 👍🏾
@@LadyAneh why?
KingBowserVlog Because I’m generally more excited to get to the main story, not that I have never myself written a prologue.
The Name Of The Wind's prologue is imo the best in the artsy-poetic department.
"Who would read lore dumps and lore books and… just really academic stuff…"
Yeah. I was laughing.
Pretty much everyone on this channel^^
Yay nerds! XD
Exactly 😂
Has this guy even read the Lord of the Rings? That is half of the point of Tolkien's works!
angelowl89 he’s read them, but I guess he missed that HUGE chunk of the book 📚😂
Yah plenty of us do like that it's just that a movie or a full novel is not the best source to give us that
Me Five Minutes Ago: "Damn, I don't know how to write my novel's prologue..."
HFM: *New video!*
Me: "Oh my God!" *Click*
Weird how he somehow knows just what we need
Well, it is just convenience
He did the same when I was writting the first chapter of my novel
my first question always is, "am i going to learn this later?"
don't monologue something to me that the plot is going to have to repeat to me later and don't tell me things about your story's setting that your set design shows me
Particularly in fantasy stories, it can be very useful to tease certain fantastical aspects, even if they're going to be explained in depth at a later date. This is particularly useful if we wouldn't otherwise see much of whatever makes this story special in the first couple chapters.
Good point
yeh
My favorite example came from pony fanfiction. To 'slightly' paraphrase yet in keeping with the spirit;
Rainbow Dash relayed the information about Queen-whats-her-face and the old war.
(All of which was detailed in the prologue)
THAT'S RIGHT!
The author expects us to go back to the prologue to reread if we forgot. Expects us to think Rainbow Dash (the closest to a dumb jock of the group) would know the prologue by heart. Expects us to believe that a ten THOUSAND year old history would survive unedited.
There was so much that was wrong there...
I feel like your 'On writing'video's are getting better and better. Well structured, good use of clips, informative even for those who already did some research, examples are not just shown but show how to use techniques too. Thank you it helps me a lot :)
I couldn't agree more, Envy!!! They are honestly some of my most favorite writing videos ever!!! :)
@@lukeskywalkerthe2nd773 I don't know if it's among the best yet. Here are some recommendations for everybody interested.
- The Brandon Sanderson lasses (Write about Dragons) is very good.
- Ellen Brock is great,
- I like overly sarcastic productions a lot and there are even more about writing for films that are really good.
- Lessons from the screenplay just to name one example. (Every Frame a Painting and Just Write too although it's more about visuals than writing)
- Then there's Artifexian who's great with real nerdy worldbuilding.
- Then you have all the authors who wrote books themselves talking about writing. (Mostly generic tips where I feel they're doing it more to get recognision and sell more books, but that's fine too of course. Better than just doing nothing and waiting until people randomly find out about what you wrote and I am just rambling now so....)
I probablye forgot a lot and and then there's more websites about writing than I'm bothered to sum up here.
Not to say I don't like this channel or anything! It's definitely become unique and with enough of its own style.
Also, somebody should make a video just about good free online writing recourses. Would be so handy to have everything together.
@@nvwest If you think that then that's fine mine! I love all those examples you mentioned. But HFMs videos are some of my most favorite! :)
@@lukeskywalkerthe2nd773 Mine too actually :) Especially the later ones. I guess I just wanted to have a reason to procrastinate doing homework some more.
Wow.
Absolutely the best look at prologues I've ever seen.
Usually the advice is unhelpful, "Make it interesting! Don't info dump!" but this video is pretty gr18 on giving good variety in examples of good prologues and why they are good at being prologues. Usually people get stuck on one or two prologues when explaining, one bad one good, and that doesn't give as good a sense as what is actually happening mechanically.
That was my aim! Most are pretty much just "Don't do prologues" or "don't info dump."
~ Tim
Great video. Most people say, "If you're thinking about writing a prologue... don't."
But this outlines the reasons why a Prologue is necessary.
if
Good examples of Prologues are in Horror Movies. A bunch of different campers are in the woods, they get brutally murdered by the monster / killer. (One week later to 30 years later...)
The main story starts and a bunch of happy teenagers are getting ready to go have a fun camping trip. The mood here is fun, but the audience knows the danger.
That's also kind of overdone though, we expect that in horror.
mm!
0:10 To prologue or not to prologue
0:55 What is a prologue?
1:30 The prologue-hook problem
2:35 The double-hook structure
3:13 The type of hook needed
4:35 What make a prologue necessary?
5:55 Why backstory-prologue are often bad
6:35 Which backstory elements to include?
7:20 Juxtaposition with the first chapter
8:20 Prologue exposition - STAHP
9:08 Talk dirty to me, baby
9:40 Exposition through mystery-prologues
10:50 Exposition through emotionnalism
11:55 Communicating only vital info
12:40 Unique tone/mood/themes
13:55 Got boring after the first chapter? CHANGE IT.
14:15 Length of a prologue?
14:50Eragon: I know you loved it, but still.
16:13 Where you can get access my research!
17:10 Summary
18:00 Write the story you want to tell
"Talk dirty to me"
"Appendix B..."
lmaooo
Ah, Eragon. So nostalgic and singularly instrumental to getting me into writing, but wow, looking back, it does have some issues. Still love it, though.
Did I catch some new expressions for cartoon Tim? I like them.
I loved the prologue from A Game of Thrones, which I read years prior to watching the show and had nothing to compare it to. It hooked me in a way that few books have, and changed what I felt about prologues up until that point. It was fantastical, yet grounded in realism, describing their armor and weapons, their fear, and how arrogant the commanding ranger was, contrasted by his youth and the experience of the older ranger, who he did not, but should have, listened to. The blue-eyed wights introduced therein were at once threatening and strange--the show did not properly capture their undead mystique and icy armor to my liking, but oh well... adaptations rarely do. Great video
I feel like one thing that lord of the rings (the movies) and eragon do get that thry need from their prologue is establish that the magical object is something people see as worth fighting over... which you cant immediatly do with a protag from out in the sticks. And if the protag finds it and notices this seemingly unassuming object it before any weight has been given to the object the moments plays kinda off.
I considered making my opening chapter a prologue but instead decided to make it the first paragraph of my opening chapter in case anyone skipped it, which I wouldn't want to happen since it's exciting and I wouldn't want someone to miss it.
In case you're wondering what it's about, it's a fantasy novel starring an autistic druid as the protagonist, which I decided to write since I like fantasy and am autistic. A difference between it and the Freya Snow stories is that my protagonist is a male druid, not a female non-human. The working title for my story is "James the Druid".
Thanks for all the likes.
A fantasy novel starring an autistic druid? Funny; so is my novel that I'm writing, which I'm also writing because I like fantasy and I'm autistic. Though my book is more along the lines of a fantasy war novel, and the autistic druid is just one of 4 point-of-view characters in it.
Funny enough, the autistic druid in my book is also a human male (well, sort of. I don't want to say too much, but I can say that his dad is definitely human).
@@matthewmuir8884Well, that's a coincidence. What's the working title for your book?
@Snaketooth 09 I don't want to say; mainly because it's a title no one else has used that fits my book so well, and I don't want anyone to use it before I can. I'll just say that it is the name of a unique crown of deep political and symbolic importance to the kingdom in the book, and it is made from a material from which crowns are not normally made; the material in question having both cultural importance and symbolising the royal family's humility.
@@matthewmuir8884 Okay then. Can you tell me/us (us being the comment section) once it's released? Its just I'd like to read it.
Does One Piece's prologue work ?
"Wealth, fame, power.
Gold Roger the king of the pirates obtained this and everything else the world had to offer.
And his dying words drove countless souls to the seas.
“You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place. Now you just have to find it! ”
These words lured men to the grand line, pursuing dreams greater than they ever dared to imagine.
This is the time known as the great pirate era."
I feel like it has a lot of mystery (not giving too much points),but wants you to know the thing. And it is deeply linked with the main protagonist : Luffy.
not sure: depending on how your countrys dub handled openings, it appears at the start of every episode in the beggining of the show. does avatars four nations intro count? if yes, so does this. i do definitly agree with what you said there though
Marco Pohl Yeah i see,then i’ll consider it as a prologue.
Hell yeah it does. I never got into one piece, but I was like the only person who liked the 4kids op. especially the little prologue at the beginning
It's more like the entirety of chapter one is a prologue and tbh it's the best one I can think of
Never seen the intro "the legend" as a prologue but it definitely works
I love prologues. When I write them, it is often to hint at a darker tone to my story than originally presented and even clue the reader into the expectation of something supernatural at play. Sometimes though, I write a prologue in a first draft as more of a guideline for me - like an excerpt that the story must steer through to be fulfilled. Since I tend to write first, plan later, it really helps me keep track of what I want for each story as I switch between them. Of course, there are times I do without, since I prefer to go with what feels most natural to me in a given situation.
Eragon started with Arya and Durza because Star Wars started with Leia and Darth Vader.
Only the first instance of the Eragon series diving face first in an endless ocean of dumb clichés and almost plagiaristic "inspirated" moments and names.
@@edoardoprevelato6577 Do remember Paolini was like 16 when he wrote Eragon. When I was 16 I was SIGNIFICANTLY worse at hiding when I was wholesale stealing ideas off other authors when I tried to write stories. Also, a cliche is only cliche when it has been overused to the point where it has become expected, which doesn't make it a bad thing, just something to be used in extreme moderation. If everyone suddenly stopped using ANY cliches in writing, most of the backstories for a significant amount of famous characters would be stripped right down to the bones.
And your unprofessional opinion on 'plagiaristic' is irrelevant if lawyers who make a living suing people for plagiarism didn't sue the writer for plagiarism. Very very few ideas have not already been written by others and it is VERY common to draw inspiration from already popular works. The lawyers will let everyone know if the 'taking inspiration' has dipped too far into plagiarism.
@@BobTheTesaurus of course my opinion is vastly profane, but i felt Paolini's writing style hardly improved through the four books. Besides the naming and plot choices, which i found frustrating with the bleak ending, are furtherly hindered by too verbose descriptions of every character, item and situation presented. It just breaks my immersion: we are supposed to experience what Eragon (or Roran) are doing and thinking, but no human being can relate to that much information taken up neatly and infallibly at once.
I enjoyed the inheritance cycle.
When I read Eragon I loved it. It may use cliches and rip off tolkien but I think its still a decently written fantasy book.
The last lines "Write the story you wanna tell. maybe it might not be the best storytelling technique, maybe it might make it a little bit of a drag at beginning, but if that is the story that you want to write then your only responsibility as a writer is to do that." hit different because I've been feeling lowkey anxious about how to write my story since there are so many good authors and writers out there who make it work. Even though my goal is not to write a book, but do just that, tell a story I've had in my head for roughly a year. Your videos are actually helpful, but maybe because of my current situation with having binge-watched your videos now for hours, it made me feel like I have to master all these different techniques and know exactly how to make the perfect prologue, but then you ending this video with saying that your only job as a writer is to tell YOUR story you want to tell, no matter how it looks and or sounds like, is the number one priority.
It actually reassured me that as long as I have passion and motivation to put my story out there, it doesn't need to be perfect Rowling or R.R.Martin from the first line or sentence. There is gonna be people who care and will want to know what happens next to my lesbian agent in the multiverse.
So thank you Hello Future Me, for reassuring me that my story doesn't need to be perfect from the get-go, my responsibility is to just tell a story.
My favorite prologue is for Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. It is emotional and draws you in on a first read, and it is extremely satisfying on a re-read due to understanding everything about the scene.
i was waiting someone to mention this, it's awesome that it depicts the moment that set everything in motion even though you'd expect it to be exposition.
Well everything was normal until the fire nation attacked...I mean until this channel uploaded a new video.
You talk a bit about hooks in this video, but as someone who struggles in particular with deciding where to start the story, could you make a video talking about hooks? How to identify them, how to set them up, structure them. That sort of thing?
Don't know of you've found a solution in the space of time, but hey, I'll reply for anyone else who's also wondering and sees your comment: he goes into hooks in a decent bit of detail in his video On Writing: The First Chapter
In my book, The Vampire Hunters, there's a prologue detailing the first vampire. It takes place in 1469, five hundred years before the main narrative, and shows the first Vampire becoming a Vampire and him dying to Vlad the Impaler, and sets up the Vampires' quest to resurrect him.
Love this series! One thing I’d love a video on is character development (because I’ve been having trouble with it during my own writing). And maybe even on on character flaws.
Me as well. Good luck writing!
Also the Way of Kings has such a frustrating prologue because it doesn't actually make sense until you know about the true nature of desolations, the Heralds and their Honorblades and the Voidbringers which really isn't until the end of the second book
Thanks for the video! I feel like 95% of writing advice is "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT WRITING A PROLOGUE", so it's nice to hear your thoughts on it. Obviously prologues aren't always needed or, if people do write them, the first chapter can be rewritten and do a better job at telling the story and hooking the reader, but sometimes prologues make a story better.
I loved your examples. Especially The Incredibles. It does such a good job at introducing characters and their wants and needs, the catalyst of why super heroes become illegal, our villain, and the world itself.
Hellow future me, I just want to say thank you so much for this videos on how to write a good story (as well as your avatar and how to train your dragon videos), I had been struggled with writing my original story since I first started, but now thanks to you I can write my story more fluently. Thank you so much for your support and dedication to writing stories and thank you so much to introduce me to the nerdy world of writing novels.
AND THANK YOU OH SUPREME LEADER MISHKA FOR THIS SLAVE THAT ENTERTAINS AND HELPS TO YOUR SUBORDINATES!!!
ALL HAIL MISHKA!!
All the best with your work, and I'm happy to know I've helped! #allhailmishka
~ Tim
Thinking about adding a prologue. Mostly to set the stories true setting. It takes place in a futuristic fantasy world, but the fantasy elements of the 'world' specifically are pretty removed for the first bit of the story
that dependence on what these fantasy elements are. and above all you should ask your self this question. can you fit it in to your story by hinting at it and slowly revealing these elements? or what ever they are. i mean if you finish you book and you can explain or hint at this fantasy setting you will have show the true setting of the story but stil leave some mystery in the story. and you wont need a prologue. i mean i'm also writing a story and its an near future world in a alternative time line with a more than century of different history (and its filled because i gone a bit crazy with world building) and so the world has changed a lot but writing a prologue isn't necessary because i can't easily reveal all that in the story i'm telling. and on the back of the book if needed.
Ha ha, I’m doing something similar. Leaving out the magic until later that is. I would not call it prologue though. I always sigh when I see the word prologue. Just use chapter 1 as prologue, like J.K.R did with Harry Potter, and I think Tolkien also did with Fellowship.
@@LadyAneh
the reason I thought of using a prologue instead of ch1 was to show the setting of magic being sealed (x)hundred years ago. It would help the change of pace/setting not be so jarring later on, as well as show the main factions of the world (angels demons and the great houses) and that none of them are necessarily evil, just greedy in their own pursuits.
It being so heavily disconnected from the main cast is why I felt it to be a prologue should I write it as litterally 14/hundreds of souls from the time of that event would still be alive come chapter 1... But I'm still teetering on whether it needs to be written in as exposition later as well.
Leviathan's Iris hmm...you might do the scene where magic is sealed as a short prologue, which would be good in explaining the situation in the beginning of the main story. You could then go on to do exposition about angels and demons and great houses other ways, like introducing characters, however extra, that are members of these various peoples. You could also introduce some of the things by having a storyteller tell about them or something. Patrick Rothfus (The Name of the Wind) does something like that to give the reader a very basic idea of the origins and some rules of magic before the main character actually learns magic formally.
Leviathan's Iris Anyways, hope your story goes well! I’d read it, from how you described it.
Love your writing videos, keep up the good work! This one made me realize that I need to cut my 1st chapter to keep the reader asking questions so all may be revealed later, like A Game of Thrones
Your video essays have been an absolute delight to watch on top of being informative. A+ stuff.
Thank you so much for this video Tim "Hello Future Me". I'm currently writing my prologue and this video became really helpful in my novel work. As a fellow pop culture researcher, I enjoy looking at all the references you place in this video. Keep up the good work!
@ 9:00
*slowly raises hand*
I love lore and backstory.
Yeah but only if you are already invested in the world/characters will you ever care about it. Otherwise it's "in one ear and out the next" you'll just filter it out. Which is why it's better to not make prologues a lore dump.
I love your videos... as a young writer, storyteller, and lover of literature; these videos help a lot with my writing. Thank you for doing this and I only hope that you continue to make more videos.
Thank you for this brilliant video, it made me realize a prologue is absolutely what I need! :)
I know this video is 4 years old, but I have a prologue I'm kinda proud of. It was for a high school project, which was to write a short story, but me being an overthinker and overachiever, it evolved into a short novel that I had to submit half finished way past the deadline. Teacher still loved it though. It's still unfinished today, and I'm not sure if I still want to finish it, but it's the first draft that I was actually proud of. Here's the prologue:
"Panting, he pushed through the pain in his lungs as he ran for his life. The moon loomed above him, a few minutes from approaching its peak. He didn't dare look back, but he could almost swear that he could feel his pursuers' breaths down his neck. He knew that if that were true, he would be dead, but the knowledge that they are right at his tail overwhelmed him. This shouldn't have happened.
Finally, he reached a hidden door on the ground: his destination. He quickly opened it and jumped in the hole, hoping that his hunters didn't see him. After shutting the trapdoor locked, he huddled in a corner, shuddering.
With a crash, the trapdoor was blasted open, and in entered two figures, draped in hooded robes. Once they spotted their prey, they reached inside their clothes to withdraw their weapons. The figure at the corner trembled. He felt his arms change into claws and attacked."
I think it works on 3 fronts. 1) It's an artistic one-shot by itself that has some mystery to it. 2) It's clearly a backstory, but from whose perspective, we don't know yet. 3) It establishes important things about the world and story: there are shapeshifting monsters, and they're being hunted.
The first chapter is also short, it just introduces our two main characters are moving into a new town, but I still tried to give it some mystery. The younger mc smells meat in the air and grows hungry, so he asks his older companion if he's sure they're in the right place. In response, the older mc observes that everyone is speaking in secretive whispers and says, "It's perfect."
Later, it revealed that (surprise) they're secretly shapeshifters, who are being hunted and whose transformations are involuntary. There will be references to a past event as the older mc says he doesn't want a "repeat of last time," to which the younger mc defensively replies, "Last time was a mistake." This implies that the younger mc is the one in the prologue, and that his mistake almost got them killed. However, it will be revealed that the mistake only risked them getting exposed, and that the older mc was actually referencing his mistake when he was younger, before he met his friend, and that he was the one in the prologue.
Idk, I think it works. Sorry if this was long, I just wanted to share. :)
I don't like using prologues, but I remember one I did, funnily enough, for an Inheritance Cycle fanfiction. It was something of an homage to the original prologue, having a Shade try to steal a dragon egg from the elves transporting it, but this time he succeeds. I realize now that it establishes several things: First, that the villain is a visceral threat, having killed several elves in his attack (though anyone who read it will probably say that I nerfed them, and they'd be right). Second, his plan is going to be unusual, because as soon as he gets the dragon egg, he sends it away to a recipient that even he doesn't know the identity of. And third, the Dragon Riders have returned, but they are not all as strong as Eragon, since the Shade kills both a dragon and its Rider in the attack. As much as I can see where I went wrong in that story, I also tend to reference it when trying to make a point.
Also, I recently realized the true importance of the question "why should we care?" in a novel, since it's a question that some authors don't answer it when it should be (the first chapter preferably). Just wanted to warn everyone how much it can gut a reader's enjoyment if they don't care at all what happens beyond "this should happen in a story."
Finally more fantasy writing stuff, love watching these at work while I make my world in my head
I watched some of you videos over the last 2 weeks and I want to say THANK YOU: your videos motivated me to review old chapters of my novel (i kinda have a writers block for over a year now). and through reviewing i actually started actively working on it again (i ordered your book too xD). and it goes so smooth now. still have some trouble since i'm more of a "go with the flow" writer and don't plan everything out point for point. i kinda only have a rough outline, start-climax-end. but, i'm moving forward! (currently working on plannning out chapters, yay me!)
i learn to improve my storytelling ♥ so big thank you!
You are awesome Hello Future Me! Please continue! I love your videos!
I loved reading this chapter in the book! I’m working on something new and it’s SUPER helpful
Loving this on writing series. Its helping so much. Thanks😆😆
I love you.
Seriously. You're awesome.
This channel inspired me to go back and re-watch The Last Airbender - holy shit. What an excellent show. Can't wait to jump back into Korra now.
Don't. Korra's honestly not worth it and does far more wrong than right. I know it's pretty popular to hate on Korra, and I don't want to seem like just another person jumping on the bandwagon, but I'm serious. It's not worth it.
Magi V I personally enjoy it, despite it flaws.
@@merrittanimation7721 Superficially yes, Korra is a fantastic LOOKING show. But sadly that's about it and it's incredibly...hollow and sometimes downright stupid, ESPECIALLY compared to its groundbreaking predecessor. I don't want to feel sad out of disappointment, so I probably won't ever watch it again. But let's not get into an argument. I respect your opinion, although I don't agree with it.
I really enjoy these videos. I discovered them earlier this year and watch or listen to them when I'm able to. They're very helpful and educational, and really help me with my writing.
As far as your question, mine is the long-forgotten history of where the story takes place. It comes into play much later in the book in the form of a fable and is largely avoided until the events start to fall into place over the course of time.
I like you and just the way you talk it is very informed keep the great work up
Looks good. I'll watch this in a bit. Looking foward to it
Oh man thank you so much. Writing my first novel and I've been using a prologue to introduce my main character AFTER the story. This helped so much
good luck!
I really love the inheritance cycle. Even if they have flaws.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I AM REALLY PROBLEMATIC ON MY PROLOGUE CUZ' IT'S WAAAAAAAAAAY TOO LONG AND IT EVEN BORES ME! THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING THIS AND IT HELPED ME A LOT! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I'VE BEEN LONGING FOR SOMEONE TO EXPLAIN LIKE THIS AND I COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU DID! THANK YOU SO MUCCCCHHH!
I can not tell you how much i wanted this video.
hey, this video got to be most helpfull, thanks for making this
I think prologues are really helpful at times. One of said times that I love using a prologue is when there is a magic system so you can write it in someone using magic to its upmost effectiveness before then moving on to the actual first chapter so you can establish a power ceiling quickly and concisely without stuffing the flow of the main story
I am 'currently' writing for a passion project game.
That prologue is a small scene of one of the characters sending a warning letter to the more main characters before getting arested by some guards. It is about 1 or 2 minutes before Chapter 1 starts.
I'm barely working on it though, maybe if in Year 3 I might be able to convince my fellow students to work on this project. Right now I am in Year 1.
I study Game Design in Breda, one of the highest rated in the world etc. I'm aiming for Narrative Design so your videos are such a good help for me. :)
I've listened to and read a lot of breakdowns attempting to explain why some prologues are great, while others are terrible. This is, by far, the best explanation I've heard. Extra kudos for pointing out that if you "need" a prologue for excitement, you probably need a new first chapter. Thank you!
You're good at this
I recently readded my prologue for the simple fact that it echoes the end of the book. I think it just draws a bigger question to some important details in the story.
This really gives me context on the prologue of Six of Crows. It's basically there to give you an idea of the effects of parem on grisha, or more specifically, the effects of parem on a heartrender.
This video really helped me, now i understand, what i have to change. Like: prolog -> first chapter; new prolog
Thanks for this. I was fighting between 2 different prologues. Because of this I made my decision now.
This was very enlightening
I just found your channel and now I am seriously considering writing a fantasy book.
*Prologue*
She watched as the ship blasted away from the blue-gray dot that she had called home. Perhaps she would never see it again. All the better; the memories made there would stay there, forgotten, like the ancient buildings, the faces of old _Empri_ carved into unyielding granite, the cities once desperate for more, now empty metal shells, abandoned in the hopes of something better.
She leaned against the window, knees tucked against her chest in a familiar position from days long gone. She could enjoy this moment to herself before having to face whatever was to come.
~~~
Without spoiling too much, this is a sci-fi story set several centuries in the future. Functionally, the prologue serves to add an air of mystery, making the readers confused and wanting to find out more. The same goes for the first chapter, where I leave a lot of open questions regarding the setting and the characters involved.
It also introduces both the tone and the narrative structure of the story. The story alternates between the perspectives of the two protagonists. One is introduced in the first chapter, while the other is introduced in the second chapter as a continuation of the prologue.
I feel that the tone conveyed by the prologue is perhaps a bit different from the typical action-packed stories I see in most sci-fi stories (which would be the fourth point in the video summary)? Idk, I don't actually read much sci-fi. It also contrasts sharply with the tone of the first chapter, which is action-packed and … takes place over 100 light-years away.
What you say on the end of this video is why I respect you so much 👊
Eh, I don't really need a prologue. I already planned like 15 chapters of trading deals and planet-hopping before shit actually hits the fan and stuff starts happening...
At least I have a holiday where people eat leaves.
A holiday where people eat leaves!? Sounds like my kinda holiday! Good luck btw
Your stuff has inspired me to write a story again.
Wonderful video, thank you. You have another subscriber.
Super insightful, thanks!
I'm surprised that the Wheel of Time was not mentioned in some capacity. It has both good and bad uses of prologues, including one that is about 2-3 times the length of an average chapter (87 pages vs. 25-40).
As always, amazing video :D I was wondering if you had any plans to make a video covering writing action? It's something that I think is extremely important as well as extremely difficult, and usually divulges critical information about the story, like exposition, magic systems, and can turn the plot. If you have any insight, it'd be greatly appreciated!
Man, I just wanna say thank you. You helped me with so much insight as to how to do a prologue. When I was getting into writing years ago, I didn't quite know what the main plot or theme would be for my story. I just wrote in the meantime and work on my ability to write. I figured out what the main plot and theme would be years later, but I wrote basically an extension prologue/backstory for the main character. I wrote a new chapter recently that sets the stage for the main plot, then I thought I'd go back to the original prologue i wrote and it just felt off too me. At the time, I thought all I would do was trim some fat, but no, the problem was much more complex. After finding your video, I realized why it didn't feel right; it was disjointed from the main plot and theme! It's set 20 years prior and it didn't touch on the theme as much as I'd like. So after watching this yesterday, I contemplated what I should do for a new prologue/ intro until I finally figured it out! Thanks man. I really appreciate what you do on your channel.
im glad to see i wrote my prologue right! it's way in the past, relevant to the story but completely detach from the main story. It gives questions and all. I'm happy!
Honestly, the exposition is my favorite part of anything lmao whenever I am writing I find myself getting fixated on the worldbuilding and get nothing else done
My prologue for book one is part of a connected, simultaneous story used to contextualize the conflicting feelings of an important Series Villain as well as reveal the intrinsic motivations of another very important mentor character. I basically set it up this way so that their respective, opposing reactions to the MC make perfect sense without ever having to drop a flashback. The story spans a prologue, intermission and epilogue all following the same scene in small 2-page cuts.
Been reading a draft of a friends book and my god do they need video.
I went back and forth but think my ~250 words is a prologue because of the POV. It's a character that won't hit the narrative until the 3rd book but is pivotal to understanding the world and magic. I also ensured that I put that specific word in there (like "strings" in your example) to help the reader understand its importance. Thanks for all the great content!
Tysm this was so helpful
Hey Tim i was wondering if you could do a video on what is the difference between plot and story. Love your work. Keep on rocking 🤘
My prologue is the equivalent of the "prologue" in Beauty and the Beast, or a comic book. Here's the main character, here's his motivation and how he got his powers.
My prologue is just a paragraph with a little information that can leave the reader asking a few questions.
After writing three books, i still come back and watch these videos for reference. Anyway, in two of these three books, i used a prologue. The first one was an “emperor’s new groove” style “how did i get here?” Thing. And the second one was a “15 years earlier” harry potter style thing. There is a lot you can do with prologues.
Favorite prologues in recent history come from Maggie Stiefvater in her series The Raven Cycle. She generally switches perspectives between the four main characters and the antagonist of each book, so getting the occasional glimpse into one of many common and integral characters is a treat. There's lots of lovable characters that don't get a ton of time in the spotlight, despite being driving forces or anchors for protagonists.
These sorts of videos really help with the novel I’m currently working on. I’m already roughly half-way through Chapter 5 and I’m putting off the prologue til after I’m done. I didn’t even consider writing it from someone else’s perspective but I definitely will now. It’s a Mystery novel btw. Might make it an audiobook once it’s done.
The prologue of my novel is only a few sentences long, takes place moments before the first chapter but it allows me to set a tone of lingering anxiety that would have been difficult to ram in anywhere else within the first chapter. It's also foreshadowing but due to the nature of the events that take place throughout the first chapter, you won't know it's foreshadowing until the whole picture of the story is seen and understood.
Great video. Helps me visualize what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong in my own story.
You should have a book reference list for this video
Honestly he should just have a book recommendation list, while also giving a reference list for each video - books he likes that demonstrate well what he's talking about.
I really like this video, it actually reassured me that my story doesn’t need a prologue and I made the right choice in not having one. 😁
Oh I needed this.
Hello- I have a video request:) how to write a story arc. Basically just a video on things to think and plan out before you actually start writing.
18:18 oooooohhhhh that frame. that could not have been drawn with a straight face. XD
Thanks for making this video, and all of the other On Writing series, they have really helped me to build my book from a knock-off Power Rangers fanfic to an origalnal masterpeice. My villain would *not* be the same without you.
I am honestly surprised that you didn't actively divide it up into different categories and went through them one by one. There are the mood setters that establishes the tone of the story, the tease that showcase what interesting things might lie ahead, the perspective shift. A personal favorite of mine, as it can give us insight into some important character in the story that might not come to light otherwise.
Then we have the exposition dump, AKA the Star Wars intro. It works excellently in those movies due to the music building hype and the slow shift in perspective as the text disappears into a calm scene in outer space and then we get action. Slow, oh so slow yet highly intense action.
I love lore dumps but you are absolutely right no one wants exposition like that. I am I huge role-player so I read world building settings all the time so that I can better allow the players to be immersed into it, but when running a game I don't lore dump nor do I do that with my writing. Thank you Tim this video is fantastic.
I was thinking of making the Prologue be a letter to the Main Character to his father before the battle that the father would die in.
The letter eventually being the instigator for the main character to return home and begin his rise to power
sounds cool!
Funnily enough, I cut the prologue from my story just a few weeks before watching this video. At the time, I just did it because it felt like it didn't fit, but thanks to this, I now know WHY it didn't fit. While it did establish an air of mystery and feature a different point of view than the rest of the story, almost everything it did exposition-wise got rehashed in the first chapter. The few elements that weren't immediately restated didn't need to be established until later in the narrative anyway.
(I have since expanded said prologue and published it as a teaser for the final product, which I think works much better.)
After watching this i realised that the prologue is very much like the bridge to a chorus in a song, just introduced before any of the verses. I also noticed a big similarity bw the GOT prologue and Levianthan Wakes. Both give you vivid detail of something extra-human, an ominous threat to the very existence of humanity, but then spend basically the entire book on relatively petty human politics and social drama. The entire time you know more than the characters and the thrill of the reading comes from not the "what if" but "when will".
Aww I'm wearing your "a wizard did it" shirt now, fun to see you wearing it, lol.
A WIZARD DID IT
Thanks! So helpful because prologues are really hard for me :')
Thanks so much for making this. I just spent SO long writing a prologue before watching this, and now I realize how long it is before what happens in it actually affects anything in the story. It also kind of spoils its own story, now that I think about it. Well, at least I didn't just go ahead and put it in the story.
I like to use prologues in my stories, the way I plan to do them though is that yes they're info dumps, _but_ I try to keep it relevant to the setting a story takes place in, such as the history of the region focused on in the story, and building up why things in that region are how they're found in the story (i.e. in my second latest one, how the cities important to the story were made, why the people controlling the area were too weak to find and stop the villain before he caused trouble, among other things)