What is a prologue?
Some of you are thinking what an absurd question! Who doesn't know what a prologue is?
Of course it's the couple of pages that set the scene before the actual story starts. Some of the greatest writers have written prologues like the great William Shakespeare, Stephanie Meyers and plenty more. But what makes a prologue so outstanding and what makes it worthy of having a place in your masterpiece?
Some say that a prologue should offer insight into what your book is about, if it foreshadows a character's destiny or whether it portrays the world your readers will be getting adapted to for many, many hours on end.
Others might suggest that a prologue is not necessarily needed to accomplish this. As you go through the book itself you might realise the character's destiny or who the antagonist is and where their problems lie and why, same goes for the world part too.
How do you know if you need a prologue?
I can't tell you that. Writing a prologue has to be an individual choice. It is a feeling you'll have when you read it through and something will not click into place. If you feel that there is something missing then try it with a prologue, but if you already have one and it doesn't do anything for the book itself scrap it. It is possible that it is simply not needed.
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