tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10583449.post7644324748071155669..comments2023-09-23T04:56:51.617-07:00Comments on Forensics & Faith: Writing the Prologue--Part 1~ Brandilyn Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04771812607327238979noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10583449.post-21877563379881480412009-03-16T08:38:00.000-07:002009-03-16T08:38:00.000-07:00Extremely helpful. I've got a fantastically cinema...Extremely helpful. I've got a fantastically cinematic opening scene that I just love, for Book II of my quadtych. But the scene began life as a prologue that just never seemed right. And then the other day it became the opening scene. It still didn't feel right. The next scene was going to be my Lead in the fight and crisis of his life. He was then going to basically ask "wha' hoppen?" to cause all this strife in his about-to-end life. And then he was going to go back and pick up the story and tell it in first person. He would then eventually wend his way back into the crisis scene that prompted him to ask "wha' hoppen?" And then he'd be back in his present, and finish his development into his denouement. However, I now believe I see agree that the opener must absolutely reflect organically what the story and the Lead are all about---right away. After the cover, the blurbs (and my cool portrait), the reader will Expect to see certain things. This is the hardest job I ever had. It was easier getting shot, or beating that train to the crossing. But, Yeehaw!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10583449.post-68689712965916246052008-03-27T17:18:00.000-07:002008-03-27T17:18:00.000-07:00They are different mediums, but there are many sim...They are different mediums, but there are many similarities in all types of storytelling. All stories are about change, and the early scenes of a movie or early scenes of a book must show the situation the character is in prior to anything changing. The “prologue” for <I>Miss Congeniality</I> works because it helps show that Sandra’s character has always had a romance problem. I would hate to think that authors include prologues only because they see other people using them in movies or otherwise. I believe every author should have a justifiable reason for the decision to include, or not include, a prologue rather than doing it because it is cool.Timothy Fishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06554064732811895577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10583449.post-83789557525977954562008-03-27T13:46:00.000-07:002008-03-27T13:46:00.000-07:00Cathleen, screenwriting is an entirely different m...Cathleen, screenwriting is an entirely different medium. For one thing, someone who pays to see a movie won't tend to walk out after the opening scene. Whereas a reader can easily put a book down and not continue.~ Brandilyn Collinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04771812607327238979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10583449.post-18143475396236821702008-03-27T10:33:00.000-07:002008-03-27T10:33:00.000-07:00I wonder if the reason aspiring novelists often wa...I wonder if the reason aspiring novelists often want to use a prologue is because movies make such frequent use of them. There is an opening scene--such as the one in Miss Congeniality--and then the action flashes forward or flashes back and the plot begins. Would you address the difference between the two forms of story telling? Why is it such a common device in movies and to be approached with such caution in novels?Cathleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04114895186471381548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10583449.post-66761058621169767492008-03-26T05:49:00.000-07:002008-03-26T05:49:00.000-07:00You state that suspense readers want havoc wreaked...You state that suspense readers want havoc wreaked now. I think we can generalize this and say that all readers want conflict to begin on page one, even if the inciting incident doesn’t occur until several pages later. By this token, a good prologue will have conflict as will a good first chapter (even if it is a fight with a pencil sharpener).<BR/><BR/>It isn’t a book, but the movie <I>Miss Congeniality</I> provides a good example of a prologue. It begins with a girl fighting on the playground at school, defending the honor of a boy, who then makes it clear that he doesn’t want a girl fighting for him. There is crisis in the scene, which helps, but what makes it great is that it deals with the central conflict of the movie, a tough as nails FBI agent trying to find her place in a world that likes women to be beautiful.<BR/><BR/>A good opening to a story, whether with a prologue or otherwise, helps us see the current status quo and why it has to change. When a prologue is used, it may tell us a little more about why the status quo is what it is, but it still needs to show us that the status quo creates conflict for the characters.Timothy Fishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06554064732811895577noreply@blogger.com