Prologues as Hooks
Asked by Timothy Bailey on May 11, 2020
Hi Jerry,
I read a lot of non-fiction narratives about adventure. Whether the story is about someone climbing Mount Everest, exploring the Amazon, or skiing across Antarctica, the approach is often the same. The book hooks the reader with a prologue describing some high stakes climactic action, such as falling into a crevasse or being lost in whiteout. The reader is left hanging. Chapter 1 then backtracks and begins the chronology at an earlier time, at a much slower pace. Sometimes the prologue is extracted word for word from a chapter in the middle of the manuscript and at other times is written as a variation.
What are your thoughts on this approach for hooking the reader when writing non-fiction narrative?
Since people sometimes skip prologues, would it work to make this kind of introductory hook Chapter 1 and then jump back in time at the start of Chapter 2?
Thanks,
Tim
Jerry's Answer
Yes, Tim. :)
And for readers like you and me, it works both ways. I'd never skip a prologue, but sadly, research shows that many do.
Were I writing it, I might do it as a prologue but not label it. Then maybe they'll read it, assuming it's a first chapter, and then come upon chapter one.