Friday, June 30, 2017

Do you need a prologue or an epilogue?

Do you need a prologue or an epilogue?

Posted by CreateSpaceBlogger on Jun 5, 2017 5:22:26 AM
Epilogues and prologues are sometimes enigmatic parts of a 
novel that can even perplex the author of a book. What are 
they, and are they necessary? The answer to the second 
uestion is no, you don't need them. The inclusion of an 
epilogue or prologue or both is purely a matter of style. 
Some authors find them useful, but most authors in today's 
publishing world don't include them in their books. I have 
used them, and I do find them useful.

They are extra bits of a story. In mystery books, a prologue 
can be the incident that triggers the mystery. I've used 
the epilogue to wrap up a subplot that would be the bridge 
to the next book in a series.  In the final chapter of the 
book, after the conclusion, I simply used the epilogue as 
a launching point for the next story.

Some authors, use a different point of view in their epilogues
and prologues. They play with style and voice to give the 
story a bookend feel to it. A prologue can even be in the 
author's voice. In this case, it would be used to explain 
the motivation behind the story, what drove the author to write 
it and share it with the world?

Epilogues and prologues aren't for everyone. If you've never
included either in a book, don't worry. They aren't crucial
to the structure of the book. But, you may find, as I have,
that they can be fun to write, and if done right, they can 
give your story that little extra oomph that you've been 
looking for. 

-Richard
https://createspacecommunity.s3.amazonaws.com/Resources Contributors/RidleyHeadshot_blog.jpg
Richard Ridley is an award-winning author and 
paid CreateSpace contributor.

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