April 13th, 2008 (02:45 am)
Mood: hahaha... ha.
Sound: Nightwish - Live to Tell the Tale
So, I have to agree with others who think prologues are often misused and probably unnecessary most of the time. I remember reading the Wheel of Time and wondering why the prologue for book 7, for example, wasn't just titled "Chapter One," because that's what it was. (Or, maybe it was chapter whatever for the last book, only for some reason it didn't make the cut!) The prologue to the first book was completely irrelevant.
They seem to work best when they're telling a contained story of some kind, which usually involves a myth or historical event in fantasy, but I think it's more interesting to learn about your story's gods the hard way. Personal preference, of course. And mythical openings tend not to work for me because the focus isn't really the legend - it's the epic story that comes after, which might reference the legend now and again. If that's the case, why write it like a fable? Very few writers are actually good at that kind of language. (Tolkien, Pullman, and LeGuin come to mind. Jacqueline Carey tried, but it really depends on how far she's taking it.)
Maybe this is also personal preference, but if you're going to write a creation myth, shouldn't you put a lot of effort into it, and then make sure it's absolutely relevant to the story at every possible turn? (Carey did do this, but she was also reinterpreting LOTR.) Mythology is about the human psyche. If the world has a body of legends, reality and myth should mirror each other. It should be an integral part of your characters.
Sorry, digression. But it's something I've been thinking about. I think I like world-building more than writing the fantasy itself. Writing myths and history is really fun.
In any case, a complete story doesn't really need bookends. But I said they have a use, and they do! ...kind of. What I'm thinking of is more appropriate for an appendix. Or endnotes.
Instead of banging your head on the keyboard because your readers don't understand your reference to Cain and Abel, why not just tack the original story onto the beginning of your own? Problem solved! Sure, it lacks grace, but it gets the point across, and you can't be too obvious with the majority of readers. I can't tell you how many hundreds of emails I've gotten for my websites asking questions that were answered at the top of the page in question. People can't read.
This would work best, of course, if your story revolves around said myth. I like doing that. I'm also pretty pretentious.
Your smarter readers will think you're being a) stupid and obvious, or b) snarky, which I admit is the downside to my wonderful plan. But we're talking about the cream of the crop, here.
I am not bitter. It just came to me on the train the other day when I was squished against the window by the person sitting next to me. What this says for the quality of the idea should already be apparent!
Personally, I like a bit of subtlety with my fic, but we don't all get what we want.
ETA:
I'm SO kidding about the last part. I promise. :P