Are you pro prologue or anti?

In the pro prologue versus anti-prologue debate which is raging precisely nowhere as far as I can see, I’m definitely on the pro side of the fence.

Many of my books have one, nay, positively need one, to set the scene for readers. Some of my books boast several prologues, one of the benefits of being self-published ie, I can do whatever I like!

But I don’t like my prologues too long. Anything longer than 5 pages and I’m itching to get to the main thrust of the action, the place the author really wants to start the story. Too short a prologues and you can be left thinking why bother.

And in my younger days, I didn’t always bother reading the pre-amble, so eager was I tuck into chapter one. But as I’ve aged and things have slowed down, and because I’ve realised from my own books (did I mention those???) that prologues can serve a useful purpose, I’ve been less likely to skip the prequel chapter.

What I am anti is quotes at the beginning of novels. Too much of it about these days, with some authors pulling several and often putting each on a separate page. Whatever happened to sustainability targets at the publisher’s?

Putting another writer’s quotes at the start of my book? No thank you very much. I might be tempted to put my own quotes from other works of mine upfront, but it all seems a little ‘look how well read I am’ if you’re quoting Satre or some such luminary up top. I’ll stick to title page, legals, list of previous work, repeat of title page and chapter one thank you very much.

Perhaps with a prologue in between those last two if the story calls for it.