tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4780642520803074770.post3045890006837719898..comments2014-06-19T05:46:57.630-05:00Comments on How Do I Know What I Think Until I See What I Say?: Workin' On It Wednesday #33 -- On ProloguesJay Montvillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165174061380427178noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4780642520803074770.post-51373574709058886142009-10-31T11:28:33.491-05:002009-10-31T11:28:33.491-05:00@Livia -- I'm going to have to check out Folle...@Livia -- I'm going to have to check out Follett's prologue again. I don't remember it, which means it must have been good. :)Jay Montvillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165174061380427178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4780642520803074770.post-50366945350387052892009-10-14T20:01:20.967-05:002009-10-14T20:01:20.967-05:00Prologues are tricky -- you have to have justifica...Prologues are tricky -- you have to have justification to make a prologue -- some kind of structural reason. Ken Follett did a really good prologue in Pillars of the Earth. I was so enamored with it that I dedicated my first blog entry to <a href="http://liviablackburne.blogspot.com/2009/06/pillars-of-earth-example-of-prologue.html" rel="nofollow">analyzing it. </a>Livia Blackburnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15805379309049803903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4780642520803074770.post-76963236556086708752009-10-14T11:08:35.480-05:002009-10-14T11:08:35.480-05:00I imagine it varies but I'm always amused that...I imagine it varies but I'm always amused that there are writers out there who hate-hate-hate prologues. For some writers, you get the feeling they're saying "well, I don't use them so nobody should use them." Then you have your literary snobs who think such a literary device is beneath them (note: I do not place you in either group).<br /><br />For example, I just finished reading an old James Ellroy novel the other night and he's very fond of prologues. It was the kind of book that, when it ended, made you want to go back to read the prologue to see how he set everything up. Used properly, the prologue can invite the reader back for another look or set the stage for a theme that the average reader might not notice at first.<br /><br />Prologues can be interesting, they can be annoying, they can be dull. It's just like any other literary trick. I'm just tickled that some folks hate it so. Do these folks hate every other literary device, too? I'll bet these same folks spend the first few pages really trying to hook the reader, don't they? Oldest trick in the book, people.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com