Often writers will ask me variations of the question ‘how many words make a proper book?’ This question suggests the questioner is probably a new writer. They may not have spent long looking at the types of books they are writing or aspire to write.
As with many questions about writing, my immediate thought is, it will depend. Although some will say that a creative should let their writing flow and produce the manuscript which tells their story and writing should not be constrained by a set word count, this is not going to help a new writer. In the early stage of getting a first draft written, flowing creativity is most helpful and story is paramount. The beginning, middle and the end need to be crafted. At some point in the writing process, perhaps still at first draft or when self-editing and editing, manuscript length is worth considering.
When does it NOT matter how long a book is?
When the words are precisely as the author wants and the intention is to self-publish, the word count does not matter. Some books may be made in this way, for example, where a poet has invested a great deal of time crafting their lines and verses and has a group of themed poems to go into a volume. The author is the final arbiter and if this is their process the reader could be presented with any word count in a book. Once an author has become established and has a loyal following, they can be less concerned about the word count of their manuscripts.
When DOES it matter how long a book is?
With digital publishing, typesetting constraints are not what they once were, but physical books still have the same issues.
Picture books are typically thirty-two pages long, as they need to be in page count multiples of eight. The words need to fit within this construction.
Most books are not tied to a fixed page count, and equally, most are not entirely free from an expected word count norm.
At any stage in the writing and publication process, the word count of a manuscript comes with implications.
Getting it written – if you know the word count you are aiming to write for a project (whether book, blog post or article) you can use it as a gauge for how far remains to completion. The word count can be helpful to break the writing down into chunks which are more manageable to consider as chapters, scenes or acts to help bring a balance or pace to the narrative. Grouping word counts within a long-form manuscript can help outline and plan.
Managing the project – word count can be used to monitor progress. Awareness of word count helps with scheduling dependent activities such as self-editing, copyediting, proofreading, beta readers, publication and marketing.
Meeting genre expectations – book genres come with standards for the number of words they require, which is based on traditional publishing. Staying within the recognised word count appropriate to the genre will prevent frustrating the expectations of others.
Word count will have a bearing on editing and proofreading costs; production costs and perceptions of value. Books which seem short may appear as poor value for money, and books that are longer than readers expect may be perceived as drawn out or demanding.
What are standard traditional publishing wordcount guidelines?
These are benchmark word counts and come from various sources including Hill (2016), and the Writers and Artists Yearbook (2020):
Children’s Picture Books: up to 500 (absolute maximum 1,000)
Short Stories: 1,000 to 8,000
Children’s Chapter Books: 6,000 to 10,000
Novellas: 20,000 to 50,000 (some recommend a maximum of 40,000)
Novels: between 40,000 and 100,000 but typically 90,000
Young Adult: 50,000 to 80,000
New Adult Novel: 60,000 to 85,000
Horror, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller: 70,000 to 90,000
Mainstream Romance: 70,000 to 100,000
Literary Fiction: 80,000 to 110,000
Women’s Fiction: 80,000 to 110,000
Crime: 90,000 to 100,000
Science Fiction: 90,000 to 125,000
For a new writer, it is advisable to keep within word count guidelines as it is less likely to succeed as an exception than by conforming, although there will always be some exceptions.
Being confident about a few style choices and applying them consistently can make all the difference to writing speech clearly. Even though it should not be a main priority for the first draft, it is good to try to standardise these decisions and aim for consistency in the second and subsequent versions of a manuscript.
Done right, speech will add to your writing and make for a better reader experience. Here I set out detailed advice with examples for:
Reported and direct speech
Quote mark styles
Choosing speech tags
Punctuating speech tags
Broken speech
Action beats
Refining dialogue.
Reported and direct speech
Reported speech within narrative is not set out with speech marks (also called quote marks):
He said that they were under arrest.
She told Dad to climb the wall.
He asked where I went.
Conventionally, direct speech will include a vocative word or phrase (which indicates, or evokes, the speaker) and is set apart from narrative using quote marks and dialogue tags (also called speech tags).
Style of quote marks
The usual style for quote marks in UK fiction is single, as in this from Leonard and Hungry Paul (2019) by Rónán Hession, p19:
‘Indeed. And sometimes it’s difficult to know whether you want to scream or block out a scream,’ said Leonard.
Whereas in the US double quote marks are the convention, as in this from Room (2010) by Emma Donoghue, p127:
“Look,” she says, “a flamingo flying by.”
“Look, a zombie all drooling.”
“Jack!” That makes her smile for half a second.
Nested quotes
In both UK and US styles, nested quotes (quotes within quotes) take the opposite form of quote mark to that used for the outer quote mark. Thus, the UK convention would be to use double quotes within single; an example would be this from Hot Milk by Deborah Levy, p48:
‘I was very agitated at the conference … and to look out at the South China Sea in the afternoon. Are those not beautiful words … “South China Sea”?’
Whereas, the US convention would be to use single quotes within double, as in this from The Lives of Animals (1999) by J.M. Coetzee and in my 2016 edition, p86:
“Didn’t you write a book the first chapter of which was called ‘All Animals are Equal?’”
Smart quotes versus straight quotes
With UK and US styles, the quote marks, and any apostrophes, are smart ones (sometimes called intelligent or curly). They are favoured over straight ones (which typically came from typewriter use, where they were adopted due to space and mechanical constraints).
To make a single smart quote in MS Word for PC use ALT +0145 for left and ALT +0146 for right, and for MS Word on a MAC use Option+] for left and Shift+Option +] for right.
If you do want to enforce the use of straight quotes in a document within MS Word on a PC select the file tab and click options.
Select Proofing and the AutoCorrect Options button.
Click the AutoFormat tab and in the Replace section untick the box next to “Straight quotes” with “smart quotes”, click OK, OK.
Conversely to enforce smart quotes leave this box ticked.
Speech tags
In these examples, I have added bold to indicate the words that indicate speech (which is the tag). They come from What You Wish For (2014) by Mark Edwards:
‘Who do you mean by “this lot”?’ I asked softly. (p130)
‘I take it you’ve had no word from Cherry?’ I said. (p138)
‘A friend,’ I said. ‘Someone else who loves visitors.’ (p168)
These clarify that the section is different to narrative, clue the reader as to who is talking, and help create pace and rhythm. To guide your use and selection of dialogue tags, think of them as supportive of speech, so:
only there if necessary
secondary to the dialogue
speech based.
Only tag where needed
Think of dialogue tags as traffic lights at a minor road junction, the sort which only operate at peak times. When there are many vehicles, they are needed, but when the there is little traffic, they would hold things up unnecessarily, so stay off.
In sections of direct speech when many people are talking together the tags save confusion, but if there are as few as two people in a scene, tags can often be dispensed with. This avoids slowing the pace, as the conversation is already easy to follow.
Dialogue is superior to its tag
Conventionally, when there is a new speaker, one would open a new paragraph. There are times when this is not followed, such as when those speaking only say a few words to one another.
This works as a rule of thumb, and is what most readers expect. Avoid over flamboyant speech tags, as these take the limelight from where it needs to be for the storytelling.
Sadly, I can remember being set a class exercise in school, which was to create chunks of writing with as many differenttags in as we could dream up. We were encouraged to flip through a thesaurus in an effort to add obscure and flowery terms. I shudder to think of it now and want my school-child self to march to the front of the class and say, ‘I have an urgent message from my editor-to-be self, “No! please don’t.”’
Mostly ‘said’ works, as does ‘asked’ with a question. These are transparent to the reader and have the subtlety of a gentle nod from a parent, leaving the dialogue front and centre.
Keep it about speech
Occasionally, you will decide it is appropriate to use other tags and, properly considered, this can be a good choice. However, if you do, remember to keep the tag relevant to the speech.
These examples from Smith (1967) by Leon Garfield all work well and do not dominate:
‘And who, miss, would you ask?’ queried Miss Bridget irritably. (p17)
‘And so say all of us,’ murmured Miss Fanny, as she might have said, Amen! (p35)
‘Oh, Smith!’ she whispered, and turned away. (p105)
Used less well, tags can be distracting and annoying and can put readers off. I have created the following examples of how not to do it:
‘Climb the wall,’ fantasised the prince.
‘This one is for me,’ gobbled the child greedily.
‘I can’t speak through this mask,’ muffled Sarah.
And some frequently seen terms just do not work:
‘I did not know that,’ laughed Tony.
‘Here take an ice cream,’ she smiled generously.
‘Catch the bus home,’ he pointed.
‘Good grief,’ they snarled.
Speech tags have to be something which can be done with words and must present the possible; otherwise they pose a puzzle.
These are not so much firm rules, as guidelines, to consider when seeking to engage readers. Ignore them, and you risk spinning readers out of your story, wondering how they would have written that sentence differently had they been the writer.
As with so much about writing, once you are aware of the conventions you may decide to go against them but with knowledge, foresight and intention.
Punctuating the speech tag
A speech tag can be placed before, in the middle of or after a piece of speech and, in most cases, is set out with a comma (although a question mark or exclamation mark might be used instead where appropriate).
These examples all come from Me Before You (2012) by Jojo Moyes.
Granddad called out something that may well have been, ‘Hear, hear.’ (p229)
‘Let’s get some lunch,’ I said to Nathan. (p187)
‘Yiss,’ he said, and broke out a smile. ‘Yes, it is let’s head for the gee-gees.’ (p181)
Where there is a long passage of speech, which crosses into a new paragraph, the convention is to place an opening quote mark at the start of the new paragraph within the speech. But not to close the preceding paragraph with a quote mark.
An example of this can be seen in The Lives of Animals (1999) by J.M. Coetzee, which in the 2016 edition is on p56:
“Let me now turn to Gulliver’s Travels.
“On the one hand you have the Yahoos, who are associated …”
Broken speech
Not all speech will be neatly complete sentences, especially when a speaker is interrupted or distracted. To present this, an ellipsis is used.
Trailing off speech
Where a character’s speech either dries up or is interrupted is indicated by an ellipsis. In a part sentence, an ellipsis is placed after the last word uttered and is followed by the closing speech mark.
This example is from The Comfort of Strangers (1981) by Ian McEwan – 2006 edition p35:
‘Yes, two of those,’ Colin said eagerly, ‘and …’
Faltering speech
Hesitant, uncertain or tentative speech is indicated by a spaced ellipsis. There is no need to indicate this further – instead respect the reader’s ability to understand the pauses, stumbles or breaks.
This example is from Cold Sunflowers (2018) by Mark Sippings p160:
‘It’s a book about the First World War. I got it from the club – It was only two bob, well, ten pence. You wouldn’t believe what those soldiers went through; they were only youngsters. Some were even shot for desertion. It was terrible … terrible, the conditions … goodness me.’
Action beats
An action beat is a short section of writing which is attached to dialogue and indicates who is speaking. The use of an action beat can add to the pace of writing and can help show a character’s voice or provide insight into their emotions and perhaps their movement in a scene.
These examples from The Snow Child (2012) Eowyn Ivey:
‘It’s her.’ She turned her hand at her throat. (In the 2016 edition p86.)
‘So you do have some fight in you, my girl.’ Esther hugged her waist. ‘You’ll need every bit of that to survive around here.’ (In the 2016 edition p140.)
And from The Crow Trap (1999) Ann Cleeves, p323:
‘This is all I could find.’ She grinned so they would know she was lying.
‘That’s very kind.’ Anne took the letter and added, ‘Do you know where Edmund Fulwell is?’
Refining dialogue
Good advice to an aspiring writer would be to read their dialogue out loud, as this helps to bring authenticity. It is also a good idea to look at a selection of titles and see how speech is presented, as some authors make unconventional approaches work well.
Some prefer not to use speech marks at all, seeing them as an interruption, distraction or perhaps slowing the pace too much. Not using speech marks seems especially popular for writing in the present tense or over a restricted timespan.
Some genres and target readerships may lend themselves to less conventional approaches; some recent books which present speech unconventionally include Normal People (2019) by Sally Rooney and Summer (2020) by Ali Smith.
There is a great deal to writing well and, as the communication medium, writing needs to convey the writer’s message to the reader. The writer decides on what the message is, and the extent to which conventional approaches are used is their choice.
Where editorial assistance is sought, the author needs to consider their style decisions and present these within their project brief to enable an efficient collaboration.
These points should help you to consider what is involved in writing engaging dialogue and presenting it clearly. Get it right, and it will give your story variety, interest and pace.
I think honesty from the outset about the quality of writing is important. Clients sometimes ask for their manuscript to be edited to be perfect, but quality in writing has a subjective component. There will be improvement, but perfection is an elusive aim.
Every writer decides at some point that a piece of writing is finished and ready. However, they know that if they leave their document for a while, then go back to it and read it again, they are likely to tweak and improve what they have written – to improve the clarity or the pace of the story or the words which are used. Redrafting and editing are all iterative processes; many writers produce multiple versions before they feel that their work is complete. What writers aim for, and what readers seek, is good writing, but it is difficult to pin down exactly what that is.
Perfection v. improvement
Editorial professionals, be they developmental editors, copy-editors or proofreaders, work to improve the content they are presented with. Ask a dozen copyeditors to work on the same manuscript and give them all the same reference books (such as Butcher’s Copy-editing,The New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, New Hart’s Rules or Merriam-Webster and The Chicago Manual of Style), then read the twelve edited versions. You will find that no two versions will be exactly the same. Why is this?
They will have spotted a great many of the same changes needed in spelling, grammar, capitalisation, consistency and the use of language. But their individual suggestions will differ, if only slightly, and across the manuscript there will be a number of variations. Each edited version will be an improvement, but no two versions will be exactly the same improvement.
As an editorial professional, I aim at perfection, but writing is subjective and each revision of a text will find further enhancements to make. There are constraints on everything and deadlines need to be met so, at a point, the work must stop, and the improvement be deemed sufficient.
I work to lift your text and voice to the next level. Realistically, perfection is the aim and improvement is the reality.
To see how I can help with your fiction or creative nonfiction, do get in touch.
There isn’t an easy answer to when an author should find an editorial professional, be that for developmental editing, copyediting, line-editing or proofreading. However, it is best to give a collaboration of this sort some time for consideration. It is good to be clear what the different services provide and to approach suitable candidates with enough time to find a good match to achieve the best outcomes for yourself and your manuscript.
It would be an understatement to say that how writers write varies. The amount of planning which different writers undertake ranges from the highly detailed plotters like John Grisham, who feels that the longer he spends preparing a detailed outline, the easier the book is to write. Through to writers like Steven King, who plans very little, preferring to work things out as he writes. To him, very thoroughly outlined books have a somewhat stale quality.
Some writers use a Pomodoro approach, with disciplined daily word count goals, and others will take a cabin in the woods with the aim of not resurfacing without a completing manuscript. Bashing out a first draft and not looking back is the advice of many how to write books, and some writers edit as they go along.
As a writer, you will know how writing a book is a major accomplishment and the culmination of a great deal of time, discipline, perseverance and not a little emotion. Many will be unable to say the number of hours it took to reach that stage, and will frequently answer with the number of years since the first idea came to them.
Redrafting and editing choices
However, it is arrived at the completed manuscript, it is a good idea for the writer to distance themselves from the manuscript, at least for a while before embarking on the next stage. Self-publishing writers will not have the same set-up as a publishing house, with the team focused to ensure all the necessary stages of the production process are carried out in a coordinated way so that deadlines are met and all the preparations are carried out smoothly.
If you are thinking of using the services of an editorial professional, you may want to involve them at any stage. Once the manuscript is written, you may request a developmental edit or ask for a manuscript critique. This would be to help you identify where there may be difficulties of plot or with the structure of the writing. Perhaps you do not want to change any of the big picture features of your manuscript, and you have time to rework the manuscript through some rounds of redrafting. After this, you may decide to collaborate with a professional copyeditor. You could feel you have reached the point where your latest draft would benefit from being looked at with a fresh pair of eyes. Even if you set aside time and decide that you are going to rely on your self-editing skills, you may seek the reassurance of a proofreader for a last check before it goes in front of a reader, be that publisher, agent or beta readers.
Some authors feel their time is best spent creating the next title and may already be preoccupied with that. From an editor’s standpoint, schedules get filled up, and earlier approaches are easier to accommodate.
If a publisher is already interested in the manuscript, planning for editorial services will help get the manuscript to be as good it can be for the publisher. Experienced authors appreciate the value of booking their editorial collaborations to meet their deadlines and aspirations.
The written and unwritten rules of fiction, which readers and authors acknowledge, group stories into recognisable genres which usefully serve as a form of jargon or shorthand to guide readers to find the types of novels they enjoy by knowing which genre they are choosing. On the other hand, genre also helps the authors to deliver fulfilling writing to their readers and to meet reasonable expectations based on the chosen genre.
Publishers also use genre to inform their purchasing decisions and to direct their marketing. Genre is of great importance in fiction writing and there are many tropes and standards which apply within a particular genre and do not apply in others, for example, a story from the romance genre and a story from the horror genre will attract different readers. For an author to include extremes of the horror genre within a romance is very likely to put off a swathe of readers, who will then avoid selecting titles by an author who does not write in a manner which conforms to their expectations.
The term genre comes from the French word for kind and is helpful for everyone in choosing the right content or type of story. Knowing the genre of a book helps to recognise what can be expected from it without having to read it first.
Text in context
Whatever story an author writes a genre will be fitted to it by the world at large and that labelling will, to some extent, select who chooses to engage with the story. Readers come to a title with certain assumptions depending on its genre. Knowing this, authors wisely craft their stories to fulfil those expectations in the reader. If it is a humorous work, the reader will have different expectations to those they would have for a thriller, where they are looking for suspense and intrigue. Umberto Eco states that no text is ever read independently. Authors and editors do well to steep themselves in their preferred genres to help create the emotional effect of stories on the readers, while at the same time avoiding the presentation of cliché.
The reader should be offered an entertaining experience where they can be drawn into a story and feel that the author has crafted a believable world, without the distraction of unpleasant surprises. These pull the reader out of the story, leading to dissatisfaction and disengagement. This is especially a problem with long form, due to the greater investment of time for both the reader and the writer. Whatever an editor can do to steer a work to better fit a genre will serve both the author and the reader.
Dynamic nature of genre
McCaw notes that genre is not static. So, whereas there is a temptation to view what works of a genre have in common, as though there was a fixed set of criteria to be met, genres change over time. The differences within a genre can be studied and change is ongoing, which points to the importance for both authors and editors to be aware of recent works written in the genre they are writing for, or editing within.
At the online Edinburgh International Book Festival 2020, The Midnight Library author, Matt Haig, points out how he has witnessed massive change over the past ten years. He says ‘genre snobberies have evaporated remarkably’ and the barriers which used to exist between literary and commercial works have moved, making it much more possible for authors to take creative influence from everywhere. Which he sees as a more natural way of doing things.
Experience shows that editors may come across a manuscript which pushes the boundaries of genre, and they must be ready to embrace this in their work, otherwise the dynamic nature of genre could be restricted and the new could be stifled. As with much about fiction editing, sensitivity and tuning into the author’s voice is paramount. I would argue that this craft element will always present a problem to techniques of artificial intelligence and will ensure human editing retains its elusive, unique quality and value.
Eco, U. (1981). The Theory of Signs and the Role of the Reader. The Bulletin of the Midwest Modern Language Association,14(1), 35-45. doi:10.2307/1314865
I have checked back to my references for crystal clarity, referring to the New Oxford Style Manual (2012) and to the Chicago Manual of Style, although these do not state every instance and are only conventions adopted, or not adopted, by publishers. There are also instances of exceptions, so these are far from being strict rules.
How to create dashes
The en dash can be found on the ribbon on the Insert tab and at the right-hand side. Click on Symbol and the then on More symbols.
Select the Special Characters tab and the top two offerings are the Em dash and the En dash, select the one you want and click Insert.
The keyboard shortcuts are:
Alt+Ctrl+Num for Em dash and Alt+Ctrl+Num for the En dash.
Alternatively hold down the Alt key and using the Numbers Pad:
key 0151 for the Em dash or 0152 for the En dash.
When introducing a phrase at the end of a sentence
A phrase at the end of a sentence can be introduced with an em dash (closed up) and the example given in New Hart’s Rules which, in my copy of the New Oxford Style Manual, is p81 (4.11.2)
Everyone understands what is serious—and what is not
So, this is a single parenthetical usage, and replaces a colon and is widely accepted in UK English.
When used as a pair of dashes
Where you use em dashes with a space before and after, these would be parenthetical. This is not currently a general UK English publisher’s preference.
New Oxford Style Manual (2012) 4.11 p72 states:
‘The en dash … Many British publishers use an en dash with space either side as a parenthetical dash, but Oxford and most US publishers use an em dash.’ And
(p80) ‘The em dash … Oxford and most US publishers use a closed-up em dash as a parenthetical dash; other British publishers use the en dash with space either side.’ …
A pair of dashes expresses a more pronounced break in sentence structure than commas, and draws more attention to the enclosed phrase than brackets:
‘The party lasted—we knew it would!—far longer than planned’
And
… Use an em dash spaced to indicate the omission of a word, and closed up to indicate the omission of part of a word:
‘We were approaching — when the Earl of C— disappeared.’
So, both the em and en dashes can be used to set off an augmenting or explanatory word or phrase in a sentence that could stand alone without the insertion. Examples include:
That small flower – the pink one – is as fresh as can be. That small flower—the pink one—is as sweet as can be.
He knew the price of that rare vintage – everyone did. She knew the price of that rare vintage—everyone did.
In the UK, it is conventional to use a SPACED EN DASH. This is not a law, but is the conventional style used my many (although not all) UK publishers (an exception being Oxford).
In the US, it is conventional to use a CLOSED-UP EM DASH. Not a law, just a convention, but one which many US publishers follow.
It is also true that there are some style guides which ask for spaced em dashes; however, this is relatively rare.
So how are authors using the dash conventions?
Beyond the reference material it can be useful to look at how published authors’ work appears.
Publishing in the UK
In Stephen King’s Everything’s Eventual (2002)
There is an example of the single parenthetical en dash:
(p299) ‘… for what I’ve done – for what I did to Skipper, even.’
And in Val McDermid’s Killing the Shadows, (2001)
(p159) ‘That someone hated Kit – or his word – even enough to pour out such venom…’
Whereas publishing in the US
In Emma Donoghue’s Room, (2010) there is an example of a pair of parenthetical em dashes:
(p133) ‘Old Nick will carry you into the hospital, and the first doctor you see—or nurse, whatever—you shout …’
And in David Baldacci’s The Finisher (2014) there is an example of the single spaced em dash:
(p1) At first light, I was almost always up in my tree — a stonking, straight-to-the-sky poplar with a full towering canopy.
In conclusion: I recommend using spaced en dashes or closed-up em dashes because that is what readers are most familiar with. The choice of which depends on where much of the target audience are (US or UK), however, where there is an international audience either style can be chosen, as long as it is applied consistently.
A prologue will delay the start of a book for the reader who, having just opened it, is champing at the bit, or at least more interested than they have ever been up till now or will ever be again, to find out what the book is about. A prologue is a piece of writing separate from the start of a book, setting out an early thought that the author really needs the reader to know to be fair to them embarking on this reading.
Rather like a host at a party will mention a whispered aside to the only guest who has not been to their home before, ‘We don’t open the red door, that’s where we keep Grumpy the Doberman when we have visitors, everyone else knows not to go in there.’ Good to know, important to know, the newcomer is grateful to have been clued-up, so they don’t inadvertently upset the social occasion but finding this out was not the main reason they called at the house.
Likewise, the reader will be better prepared having the information set out in a prologue, but that detail is not the main thrust of the story they’ll be reading in this book, and it is not usually the thing they are reading to discover. The aside is what should, if it is needed, go in the prologue. On another occasion, a newcomer to the house might call when someone has kindly taken Grumpy on a long hike, there would be no need for any concern that the red door might be opened and on that day no need for the aside – no prologue.
If there is no need for a prologue, do not have one, do not hold the reader up unnecessarily when they are at their most ready to engage with the content of your book. If it is not needed because you have no secret which they will be at a disadvantage not knowing about at this point, leave it out, let them get on with what they have come to do.
Useful background
Placed at the front of a book before the start of the story, a prologue should say all it needs to but briefly and should not take up a great deal of time. A good prologue gives a little extra information about the background of the story, which will help a reader fully appreciate the context in which the story is being told. So, it will help to create a satisfying rounded story and, used well, will help the reader feel engaged and immersed in the world or setting of the story right away. So, include an event or at most two events which help to draw the reader into the best place to be to start reading the story set out in the book. To write a good prologue, consider the timeline of the book and if there is information outside that timeline but which you feel should still be included, this is likely to be the right sort of material to make into a prologue.
Particularly in sci-fi, using a prologue can introduce unexpected features of world-building or alien characters which are in the early scenes of the story without slowing those scenes down with the description. This also makes for an intriguing context being set out in the prologue which will give more to those readers who do take the time to read the prologue without delaying readers who prefer to dive straight in and try to work the contextual detail out for themselves.
A prologue may be a great place to mention an event which gave the characters their motivation so, for example, a character who has lost a young child may have that reason to become over-protective of a child they later adopt. To show this actively, the past event could be placed in the prologue, making the reader aware of that context for how the character goes on to act.
Another use for the prologue is to give a different point of view from the main story and fill in some detail or insight from a different character’s perspective. So, for example, how a murderer feels being taken away to prison, may be given in the prologue when the main character in the story would have no way of knowing that information. As perhaps, the story is about the first-person experience of the murder victim’s sister.
You can use a prologue to start the story from a different point in time from the main story if that would be useful for some information which you feel the reader will need as context for your main story but which cannot, for some reason, be delivered within the main story set up.
Why not to include a prologue
Don’t write a prologue if your story makes sense without it. The content you were thinking of putting into a prologue may fit in the main story, and if it does, no prologue is needed. Avoid just using a prologue for mood, atmosphere or for world-building alone. These can be uses for a prologue, but there should also be a further reason that a prologue is required because all these things could be done within the main body of the book.
What is a good prologue?
If you still decide a prologue is needed
Make it interesting imparting crucial information.
Make it short in length (considerably less than any of the book chapters). Some recommendations are between one and five pages, others suggest around 1,500 words.
Refer to one or at most two events; otherwise you risk overloading readers with too much information.
Make sure the language is consistent with the rest of the book; otherwise it will appear odd.
Make sure any questions posed in the prologue are answered by the end of the book.
In conclusion, when it comes to whether to have a prologue, it is good to remember the words of Benjamin Franklin, ‘If in doubt, don’t.’
To see how I can help with your fiction or creative nonfiction do get in touch.
