Writing.Com General Discussion

I would consider a shift in your perspective; how you're viewing and approaching the story may need to change in order to tell the best story for these characters. If the bulk of your story happens in the past, then that's where your actual story is. Don't treat the bulk of the narrative through the lens of it being a "long flashback." It may cheapen that actual story and lessen it's impact.

I know that we as writers want to hook our readers right away. But that can often leadsa lot of us to beginning our stories in places where they really shouldn't start. If the bulk of your story is the past, that's where it should start. I know there's intrigue in "Here are these really cool characters, and guess what, they have a trouble a past, let's go figure out what happened."

You must take into account that this is the first time your readers are engaging with these characters and most will not have developed an attachment to them in one chapter (prologue). And because the readers don't yet have an emotional investment in those characters, they won't really care—for lack of a better word—about what happened in those characters' pasts. Let the reader dive into that past as its happening and experience it firsthand rather than getting the aftermath treatment of being told what happened.

Experience is immersive. Exposition is detracting.

I'd suggest finding a point in the past that aligns with your goals: something that involves the two characters during a time when their relationship is in a state of flux during a point of momentum that can propel the story forward.

Prologues can be a dirty thing and if you challenge yourself to start your story at the point where it's actually needing to be told from, you'll find you often don't need a prologue. Prologues can be false promises and can also be a lack of confidence in your story, lack of understanding of what the actual story is you're trying to tell, and can become a crutch for our writing. Be bold, and tell that story. You've got this!

Write on