The prologue and epilogue are two extremely vital components of writing a book. An exceptional prologue is important because it is an introduction to readers of what’s to come. If the prologue is not well written, a reader might have no interest in reading any further. An epilogue is similar to a conclusion. It can be written as a thought sharing insight on what you’ve discussed in your book.
Tips on Writing a Prologue and Epilogue
The need to create a good prologue and epilogue may seem minuscule to most writers, but when done correctly, these two components can be invaluable tools and indispensable parts of the story. ChatEbooks lists down a few tips to take into consideration to help you pull off creating a killer prologue and epilogue for your novel.
What Are You Trying to Accomplish
One tip for creating a great prologue is to ask yourself what you’re trying to accomplish by writing one. Are you attempting to create a foundation or background for your story? Or is your motive to hook readers into turning the page? My guess is that you’ll actually want to accomplish a bit of both when writing a book. The combination of a solid foundation with a good hook can make readers put your book down or continue reading. Take the prologue for the super hero Spiderman for example. He gets bitten by a spider and then develops super spider-like powers for saving the world (or something like that). You get point, the story behind the hero is both foundational and enticing….let that be your goal!
What is Your Purpose
Similar to a prologue, you must also assess a motive or purpose for your epilogue when writing a book. One approach to writing an epilogue is to provide an afterthought to your story. However, an epilogue is most commonly used to give readers a hint of what might happen next. If writing a sequel, the latter can entice readers to obsess over the release of your next book. A good “Spiderman” epilogue would be a script where Spidy’s wife finds out she’s pregnant. The hook: will their spider baby have the same super powers as dear old dad? Maybe not all that great of an example but hopefully it gets the point across. Your epilogue needs to grab the reader’s attention with a shock and awe that they never saw coming!
Learn from Other Authors
When writing a book, looking to other authors is another great way to create an exceptional prologue and epilogue. You should check out other books that are written in your genre. Take note of which ones pulled you in quickly and which ones you immediately became bored with. Next, choose your favorite and dissect the methods the other authors used to deliver an exceptional beginning and ending. By looking to other authors, you can discover what works effectively and what doesn’t.
Epilogues and prologues are crucial components of a great novel. While creating an effective prologue and epilogue can be challenging, it is not impossible. You can make use of these tips for creating a killer prologue an epilogue. These will surely draw readers in and get them excited about what you plan to deliver next.
