Friday, August 8, 2014

Happenings In The Outhouse 08-Aug-2014 / Prologue or no prologue, that is the question

There's been a fair amount of discussion lately on the good ol' web, via podcasts in particular, in regards to prologues--and epilogues as well.  In other words, do you use them or do you avoid them like the Black Plague?

Personally, I believe it's fruitless to completely dismiss prologues and epilogues outright.  Some have.  I will not expose them here, but they're out there.

Prologues and epilogues are tools.  If used correctly, they can tell a more compelling story.  If overused, just for the sake of using them, then frankly they give the tools a bad name.

Some view prologues and epilogues as devices that need to be far removed, time-wise, from the current story.  I disagree.  Many thrillers use them to introduce the killer or an added scene to increase tension.

Use them, if deemed necessary.

I am still at work on my short story collection.  Hopefully, by next week, I'll be much closer to completion.

Until then, happy writing . . .

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