TL;DR: Prologues are like garlic. Use them right, and they elevate the whole dish. Use too much or use it wrong… and the vampires aren’t the only ones running away.
Look, sometimes you need a prologue.
It physically pains me to admit that because I’ve had… let’s call them trust issues with prologues. Not from writing them—reading them.
I started writing over a decade ago, back when self-publishing was still in its awkward adolescent years. At the time, a lot of very confident business-minded folks were handing out writing advice like free samples at Costco. Their articles were essentially sales pitches for overpriced courses, and the advice ranged from helpful to wildly questionable.
The worst advice I ever saw?
“Make sure your opening pages are exciting and grab the reader’s attention.”
Okay, yes. That’s solid.
But then came the twist:
“If your best scene is later in the book, just put it in the prologue.”
No. Absolutely not. Please don’t do this.
If your best scene is in Chapter 17, start the book there and adjust accordingly. Otherwise, I get three pages of awesome, followed by 100 pages of meh, and an ending that’s just fine. I became the DNF (Did Not Finish) Queen. I started resenting prologues like they’d personally wronged me.
The worst? Make the prologue from the villain’s POV, and then never revisit them again. I’m talking full-on Snidely Whiplash energy—moustache-twirling evil in the shadows. It’s a trope that’s been done to death, buried, and dug up again for reasons I will never understand. And it’s an automatic DNF for me.
That said, prologues aren’t always evil. (Gasp! I know.)
If you’re writing fantasy or sci-fi and need to give me some worldbuilding up front—go for it. I get it. A quick grounding scene can be the difference between “Wow, this is immersive!” and “Why are there flying eel priests and no one is explaining anything?!”
I’ve also seen prologues that flash back to the moment a character receives their emotional wound, and then the story picks up decades later. Sometimes that works. Other times, I find myself wishing the author had just breadcrumbed those emotional tidbits throughout the book instead.
Now, full disclosure: I’m currently writing a paranormal cozy mystery series called Pour Decisions, which is set to release with Rowan Prose Press starting January 2026. I’m writing all three books in advance for a rapid release and I’m super excited about the world and characters.
When I sent the first chapter of Book Two to my beta readers, they were confused. Too many characters, not enough setting, no backstory to anchor anything. So, I started reading series mysteries to figure out how authors I admire get me in the world and ready to read. That’s what I’m suggesting, really. READ YOUR GENRE.
I found three techniques were regularly used:
- A short prologue
- A quick intro paragraph that sums up the main character’s vibe and backstory
- A mini-paragraph each time a new character enters, explaining how the MC knows them
Books I used as examples included Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series and Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar series. I also read PD James Dagliesh series but she starts with the people committing the crime and not Dagliesh. They are all great reads!
The moral of this story? Use prologues sparingly and smartly. Like every other scene in your book, they should move the story forward or deepen character development. And seriously—don’t stick your best chapter in the prologue and then repeat it later. Just start with that great scene and let the backstory filter in like perfectly steeped tea.
Who Does Tobi Trust for Writing Advice?
If you’re just starting out (or even if you’re not), here are some of my favorite resources:
- IGW – We’ve done the hard work so you don’t have to. Quick and dirty tips that you can use. AND WE’RE HAVING A GENRE CONFERENCE AUGUST 29-30TH! Get great tips and pitch to agents and editors IN PERSON! Click here for more info.
- Becca Puglisi & Angela Ackerman’s Writers Helping Writers site –full of fabulous articles and give you a sample of their thesauruses. I love The Emotional Wound Thesaurus.
- Jane Friedman’s blog didn’t have a paywall when I started. It’s immense, discusses EVERY topic imaginable, and has a great search feature. Her newsletter is free, and I read it regularly.
- Margie Lawson’s Academy –She sells lecture packets and they are only $22. At the very least, please read Empowering Character Emotions. The next would be Digging Deep into the EDITS. She offers classes online, but they can be pricey, but worth it. Her advice on backstory is incredible. Imagine your character’s backstory written on glass. Now shatter it—and only share the shards as needed. You don’t need to dump everything on the reader… but you need to know it all.
- Romance Writers of America (RWA.org) – Their chapter workshops are crazy affordable and incredibly varied. Sheila and I regularly teach through them, and they offer everything from pacing to character arcs to marketing.
Intensive Genre Workshops 