A Prologue Hater’s Guide to Prologues

Posted on by intensivegenreworkshops

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:

  1. A short prologue
  2. A quick intro paragraph that sums up the main character’s vibe and backstory
  3. 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.

Correcting Contrived Plots/Scenes

Posted on by intensivegenreworkshops

It’s that time of year again and I’m judging for the Kiss of Death Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. I get to read unpublished works and published works and it absolutely reminds what to do and not do in my own writing. Some of the stories are so artfully crafted, the dialogue perfect, and others need some tweaks. I’m also reminded that I hate contrived scenes and plots.

I know what happens. The author has a fabulous scene the want to write…the baby NEEDS to be kidnapped – or whatever – so they make it happen. And there’s absolutely no reason the kidnapper wants the baby, or for the baby to be there, or for the caregiver to not notice and react to a kidnapper. It’s contrived. And it happens in traditionally published works, too. (I’m still traumatized by the totally illogical book that had the person under police protection because a sniper was trying to kill her and she went out onto the balcony of the safe house in the middle of the woods-providing excellent cover for a sniper-to READ. Not only putting herself in danger but also the officers protecting her as well. Basically, she deserved to die, but in reality the author knew there needed to be some kind of action scene and so they contrived it.) I hate contrived scenes.

I really hate contrived plots.

If you feel the need to have something happen and your character wouldn’t logically or believable do it, you’ve got to figure out what your character actually wants, meaning what’s their goal. Why do the want it? What’s their motivation? What do they risk if they don’t get it? What is stopping them from getting it? If your answers are a bit sketchy or illogical, please take a moment and TALK with your writer friends, your friends, your online community, and figure out WHY someone would feel the need to read a freaking book on a balcony when there is a sniper aiming for them. What will most likely happen is that you’ve got a great first (or second) draft, and ideas from others will help you figure out a better way to organically create the scene you want. Chances are you’ll have to skip the reading on the balcony scene because that gal is too stupid to live.

Lean into what they risk if they don’t attain their goal. There has to be a REALLY good reason for someone to want to change or even get off the couch. Seriously, if I didn’t need to pee, I’d probably never stand. We are biologically lazy, conserving energy, and it takes a lot of motivation to push for us to change. So, unless they are risking their life (because that’s the only time I’d run, and honestly after a few blocks I’m screwed anyway), their job, their reputation, their family/friends, something so integral to who they are as a person, they are most likely going to remain in the same state they’ve been living in.

Don’t make your characters’ actions become contrived scenes.

Talk to other writers. It can be online, no eye contact necessary, but get out there and ask the questions. For example, Why would someone carjack a car with a baby inside of it? I’m sure you’ve got some great reasons – leave them below. But honestly, if you are trying to hide from a killer, WTF would you read a book on a balcony? Hard nope from me. Have I ever done contrived a scene? Yes, as a new writer it was my favorite plot twist, a nonsensical action scene. But I’ve grown as a writer and I hope this helps you grow too 🙂

Want to meet me in person? I’m less salty in real life. Sheila and I have our Genre Conference this August 29-30th in Huntington. We’ve got 9 agents and editors taking pitches and some fabulous workshops too! Check out https://askigw.com/2025igwgenrecon/ for more details. I hope I get to see you there!

Love,

Tobi

PS Other things I hate – prologues that are actually scenes from later in the book. But that rant is for another day.