Feedback & Revision
Should My Novel Have a Prologue? A Decision Test
Freelance developmental editor who has shepherded 200+ manuscripts from messy draft to publishable, and writes about revision like the craft it is.
Your novel should have a prologue only if the story loses something essential without it. A useful test: delete it, read chapter one, and ask whether the book still makes sense and still pulls you in. If it does, the prologue was probably mood or backstory, and chapter one can carry that work.
There is no industry ban on prologues. Editor Tiffany Yates Martin wrote in Writer's Digest (April 2024) that agents and editors warn against them because they see so many weak ones, not because the form is forbidden. A short, self-contained prologue that sets up something the main story depends on can stay.
StoryWith AI is our own product, so weigh what we say about it accordingly.
Key takeaways
- No blanket rule: former agent Nathan Bransford wrote in August 2026 that there "isn't anything resembling a blanket rule against" prologues.
- The litmus test: cut it. If the story still makes perfect sense, you probably do not need it.
- Common failures: the backstory dump, the borrowed exciting scene, and pages of world-building.
- Querying advice differs: Bransford (2026) says include it in a partial; Janet Reid (2019) says generally leave it out of short query pages. Follow each agent's guidelines.
- Test it with readers: compare openings with and without it.
What is a prologue in a novel?
A prologue is a scene that sits before chapter one and stands apart from the main narrative. Bransford describes it as "usually a scene that's separate from the main plot of a novel that provides an introduction, often for atmospheric or tone-setting effect." It may use a different point of view, a different timeline, or a different setting.
What separates it from chapter one, in his words: "it feels separate from the main story, and Chapter 1 is typically where the story really begins."
Source: Nathan Bransford, "All about prologues," nathanbransford.com (24 August 2026), read on 27 October 2026.
How is a prologue different from a preface, foreword or introduction?
The other three are front matter: they talk about the book. A prologue is part of the story.
| Element | Who writes it | What it does | Usual home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prologue | The author, in the story's voice | A scene that opens the story before chapter one | Fiction, narrative non-fiction |
| Chapter one | The author | Where the main story begins | Every novel |
| Preface | The author, as the author | Introductory remarks about the book and how it came to be | Mostly non-fiction |
| Foreword | Usually someone else | Prefatory comments, often from a better-known name | Mostly non-fiction, reissues |
| Introduction | The author or an editor | Introduces the subject or the edition | Non-fiction, classics |
Table is ours. Merriam-Webster defines a foreword as "prefatory comments (as for a book) especially when written by someone other than the author" and a preface as "the introductory remarks of a speaker or author." See Merriam-Webster, "foreword" and "preface" (no date shown), read on 27 October 2026.
An opening scene with characters in it is a prologue or chapter one, never a preface.
Do agents and editors hate prologues?
Not as a rule. They see a lot of bad ones.
Bransford, a former literary agent, wrote in August 2026 that "prologues can be lightning rods," but "There isn't anything resembling a blanket rule against them." Of his years as an agent, he says, "I liked good prologues and disliked bad prologues."
Agent Janet Reid, answering a reader on her blog in February 2019, put it bluntly: "I've never rejected anyone because they included a prologue. I have passed on HUNDREDS of manuscripts because I had no sense of the story in the pages."
Martin, writing in Writer's Digest in April 2024, explains the reputation: "The reason agents and editors so frequently advise against prologues is that they see a lot of bad ones."
Sources: Bransford (24 August 2026); Janet Reid, "The much maligned prologue-with some actual guidance on when to include," Janet Reid, Literary Agent (20 February 2019); Tiffany Yates Martin, "The Prohibition Against Prologues," Writer's Digest (19 April 2024); all read on 27 October 2026.
Which prologues work, and which ones go wrong?
Bransford's checklist for a good one is three words: "Short, self-contained, comprehensible." The reason is cost: "you are essentially making a reader start the book twice," he writes, so "It's crucial to make the reader's extra effort worth it."
| Prologue type | When it tends to work | Common problem |
|---|---|---|
| The crime, in a mystery or thriller | The crime drives the plot but happens before the detective's story starts | Shown so vaguely that nothing registers |
| Distant inciting incident | Something the protagonist cannot see yet (a virus escapes, a meteor is spotted) | Chapter one then repeats it |
| Framing device | Bookends with an epilogue, such as an interrogation that frames the whole story | The frame never returns, so it reads as a false start |
| Forces gathering | The villain's moves raise tension before we meet the hero | The villain gets more vivid pages than the protagonist |
| Ancestral or mythic past | A legacy that changes how the main story reads | Becomes a history lecture |
| Backstory dump | Rarely | "Bringing the reader up to speed," in Martin's phrase |
| Exciting-event preview | When the later scene gains meaning from being seen first | A "fake hook" covering for a quiet chapter one |
| Bait and switch | When the action sets up a character or world | Unrelated to the plot, so it reads as a false promise |
| Dramatis personae or stage setting | Rarely | Too many names and too much world too soon |
Types in the first five rows follow Bransford (24 August 2026); the types in the last four rows follow Martin, Writer's Digest (19 April 2024); both read on 27 October 2026. The "when it works" and "common problem" notes are our summary.
Martin sums up what a prologue cannot do: "A prologue is not a substitute for initial action or a strong hook, a way to 'cheat' in initial backstory or bring the reader up to speed, or an explanation of the story readers need to orient to or make sense of it."
Source: Martin, Writer's Digest (19 April 2024), read on 27 October 2026.
Does my novel need a prologue? A yes/no test
Martin's advice is to "be ruthlessly honest about your answers."
- If you delete it, does the story still make perfect sense? Yes means it is probably mood. Bransford: "most of the time you can set the mood when the actual story begins."
- Is it there because chapter one feels slow? Yes means fix chapter one. Martin: "A powerful prologue is no substitute for a strong first chapter."
- Is it mostly explanation of the world or a character's past? Yes means cut it or spread it through the book.
- Does it show something the main characters cannot witness, such as a crime or a distant inciting event? Yes counts in its favor.
- Does the rest of the book pay it off? Yes counts in its favor.
- Is it short and readable on its own, with a character to follow? Yes counts in its favor.
Mostly "yes" to 1 to 3: cut or fold it in. Mostly "yes" to 4 to 6: keep it short and keep it.
Questions are ours; quotations from Bransford (24 August 2026) and Martin, Writer's Digest (19 April 2024), read on 27 October 2026.
Should I send my prologue to agents with my query?
Experts disagree, so follow each agent's guidelines exactly.
Bransford's view, for agents who ask for 20 or 50 pages: "Include the prologue. Agents want to see where you think the story begins." If you would rather send chapter one, he adds, "maybe you don't need the prologue entirely."
Reid, who asks for only 3 to 5 pages with a query, reasoned from page count in February 2019: "The fewer pages you're asked to include with your query, the less likely you should be to include the prologue." In her September 2019 post she wrote, "generally you will NOT send the prologue as pages with the query," because query pages should "show the start of the story." For a partial, "If you think the prologue will help the agent assess those first 50 pages, then yes, include it." For a requested full: "yes you should include the prologue."
Sources: Bransford (24 August 2026) and Reid (20 February 2019) and Reid (17 September 2019), read on 27 October 2026.
A practical reading: if an agent's guidelines say "first chapter," send chapter one. If they say "first 10 pages" and your prologue fills most of them, ask whether it shows your voice and story better than chapter one would. Our guide to how to query a literary agent covers the rest of the package.
What are the alternatives to a prologue?
| Option | How to do it | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Cut it | Delete it and keep it in a notes file | Chapter one already works without it |
| Fold it into chapter one | Keep one or two essential lines and open the chapter with them | It holds a single fact or image the reader needs early |
| Convert it to a flashback | Move the scene to the point where a character remembers it or the reader starts asking | It is backstory that matters later, not first |
| Rename it chapter one | Drop the label and treat it as the opening | It is really the start of the main story |
| Keep it, shorter | Trim to one scene, one viewpoint, a page or two | It passes the test above |
Table is ours, written for this guide.
Hypothetical example: a prologue before and after
Hypothetical example, written for this guide.
Before (separate prologue):
Prologue: The Year of the Flood
Two hundred years before Ana was born, the river Sel broke its banks and drowned the lower city. The Guild of Engineers built the great sluice gates, and the families who paid for them became the first Gatekeepers. Over the centuries the gates were never opened again, and the Gatekeepers grew rich on the tolls.
Chapter One
Ana had worked the night shift at the toll house for three years.
History with no character, then chapter one starts over.
After (folded into chapter one):
Chapter One
The gates had not opened in two hundred years, and tonight someone had greased the hinges. Ana held her lamp to the iron and smelled fresh tallow. Down in the lower city, where the river had once drowned everyone, people were asleep.
The reader still learns that the gates are old, hold back a flood, and protect the lower city, but through a character noticing something wrong. The Guild's history can wait until the plot needs it.
How do you test whether your prologue works?
Your own opinion is the hardest to trust here, because you know what the prologue sets up. Readers do not.
- Make two versions of the opening. Version A with the prologue, version B starting at chapter one (or with the prologue folded in).
- Give each to readers who do not know the book, ideally some seeing only A and some only B.
- Ask neutral questions: Where did you start paying attention? Who is the main character? Would you keep reading?
- Watch for the restart. If chapter one felt like starting over, the prologue is not earning its place.
- Check after the ending. Ask readers who finish whether the prologue meant more on the last page. That payoff is the strongest case for keeping it.
Our first chapter analysis guide covers what else to check in an opening, and the self-editing checklist covers the rest of revision.
Where StoryWith AI fits
StoryWith AI can tag a scene by its dominant mode (conflict, development, exposition or world) and give it a tension score from 0 to 100. A prologue tagged mostly exposition with low tension is the shape Martin calls the backstory dump.
The scene purpose check names a scene's primary purpose, scores how strongly it delivers it from 0 to 100, and is instructed to mark it weak when the score is under 50, the purpose is unclear, or the scene reads like exposition without movement. A weak result becomes a "Weak scene purpose" item in your list of what to fix, with suggestions phrased as options. It is a directional AI read, not a verdict on whether you need a prologue.
The AI beta reader runs a scene or chapter past a panel of simulated reader personas (three to five gives the most useful comparison), each reporting on engagement, clarity, emotional impact, genre fit and whether it would keep reading. It is on every plan, including Free, and each persona uses one AI text action. It is a simulated first pass, not evidence of how real readers respond.
On the paid plans, reader sessions let you share chosen excerpts with readers you invite through a private link, add both openings as versions with an A/B preference question, and see how far each reader got before stopping. StoryWith AI does not supply the readers, and it never rewrites your prose unless you ask for an edit and accept it.
It is the wrong tool if you want something to decide for you. Whether the prologue stays is your call, and real readers in your genre are the best evidence.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Should my novel have a prologue?
Only if the story loses something essential without it. Delete it and reread chapter one. If the book still makes sense and still grips, the prologue is probably mood or backstory you can cut or fold into the opening chapter.
Do literary agents hate prologues?
No blanket rule exists. Former agent Nathan Bransford wrote in August 2026 that there "isn't anything resembling a blanket rule against them," and agent Janet Reid wrote in 2019 that she had "never rejected anyone because they included a prologue." Editor Tiffany Yates Martin (2024) says agents and editors warn against them because they see a lot of bad ones.
Should I include my prologue in my query pages?
Follow each agent's guidelines first. Beyond that, advice differs: Bransford (2026) says include it in a requested partial, while Reid (2019) says generally leave it out of short query pages and include it in a requested full.
What is the difference between a prologue and a preface?
A prologue is part of the story, usually a scene before chapter one. A preface is the author's own introductory remarks about the book, and is mostly found in non-fiction.
Can I just rename my prologue as chapter one?
Yes, if it really is where the main story begins. Renaming does not fix a scene disconnected from the rest of the book: if readers still feel they start over at the next chapter, the problem is the scene, not the label.
