A Prologue Breakdown

Prologues.

They’re a difficult thing to write and are often unnecessary, as you will hear so many writers say.

But when prologues are done correctly, they ground you in the story without being redundant or giving anything away.

So, here is the prologue I wrote for a new story for one of the Vocal challenges I am participating in.

***

“I did it!” The scientist exclaimed.

The assistant lifted her head from the microscope. “You did?”

The scientist held the vial in his hand. “Ten years of work has finally paid off.”

She stared at the purplish liquid. “What will our superiors say?”

He snorted, “They’ll probably want to shelve this.” The scientist carefully set it down. “Or hog it from the public.”

“Why?” The assistant tilted her head. “Our goal is to help all of humanity!”

He smiled, “I forget how young you are.” He sighed, “That is the goal of science. But not everyone sees it so purely.”

She adjusted her clipboard. “So, how do we make it available to the public?”

“Besides creating more?”

The assistant nodded.

The scientist’s mouth curved upward. “I guess we’ll have to figure it out.”

Why I Wrote a Prologue

With all the longer fiction pieces I’ve drafted, I’m not sure if I’ve even written an actual prologue. Most writers advise you to stay away from them. And there are a plethora of ones that tell you why.

But I wanted to try something new, and with the story being much longer than most of the creative pieces I’ve been drafting lately, I thought it would be an interesting element to the story.

The Main Elements

It’s not practical to assess this with a good/bad mindset or a technical eye, so this self-edit will be developmental in nature.

POV

Unlike the rest of the story, or anything I’ve ever written for that matter, I don’t enter the minds of either character for the prologue.

All I give is action and dialogue. Not a new POV style, but one I hadn’t tried for a non-poetry piece before, so it was fun doing it.

And it was the right choice for what I’m going for with the prologue.

The Characters

While you don’t know who the characters are, never learning their names, you will know them for what they did in the story and how it affected the world my MC lives in.

I like this idea, so I don’t want to change it.

I’m also a fan of the mentor/student dynamic playing between these characters. You often don’t see this in something as short as this prologue.

The Scene

This is obviously setting up the rest of the story, with the scientists successfully creating a formula meant to help humanity.

It makes you curious about what happens next, as it leaves off on a cliffhanger.

What I Think Of It

While I think the prologue is good overall and don’t want to change the core aspects I discussed, it needs to be flushed out to help it stand on its own better as the rest of the story is created.

I am an under-writer regarding first drafts of anything. And that’s okay. First drafts aren’t supposed to be perfect.

But I am excited to see where my story takes me. And for you to read it when it’s published.

***

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Subscribe for more content!