I start a lot of topics as a result of conversations in chat.

What's your take? Do you read them? Write them? Hate them? Overuse them?

As with many other writing techniques, a prologue can be gripping and functional if wielded properly. If handed badly... they can be boring and dull. Prologues can easily get dogmatic, feeding the reader a bunch of backstory in an uninteresting way. But if delivered with power, they can be gripping and shocking.

I really want to skip the prologue on Alaidia, but I think I need it to explain the backstory. However, it's such a struggle to get the backstory, when told straight, to sound exciting and not stereotypical. Maybe I can yet think of a way to simplify and remove it...

I agree with Philli's comments. ^^

(I apologize for my brain-deadness this evening.) *drool*

I'm not a prologue fan. There's always "how much should I put in there" and "what can I say without plot givaways" or even "this has no effect on the book whatsoever".

Epilogues, however, I love.
Maybe it's cheating, but epilogues can give you a glimpse into the future without you having to write up to that point. If I want to end at a dramatic point, it's possible to tack a well crafted epilogue on the end to show the reader what happened to the characters.
For me, it's skipping a lot of political tangle in the denoument. So I guess I kind of use it out of laziness, but it works for me. And as long as it feels satisfying, then I'm good with it. The key is to make it a good epilogue which rounds off the book, which is well done enough to satisfy the reader, yet leave the story open for a sequel.

Can you have an epilogue without a prologue?

I would suppose so.

I mainly find prologues useful for a scene that is relevant to the book but takes place awhile before the rest of the book begins. Epilogues are useful in the opposite way. I haven't used them much in modern fiction, but I might use them more in fantasy.

Yes. This is what I do as well. My prologues are usually shorter than a full-length chapter, and take place at some point in time before the action actually starts.

I actually have never used epilogues...(Now what I really don't like is Forewords and Afterwords, especially if they're really long - I never read those)

eruheran

I always use them. I just must know what happens to my characters in an epilogue. Sometimes I overuse them, though.

I feel like a prologue should be shorter than a chapter but longer than a few paragraphs and I always want an epilogue with it. I only use a prologue if I need it though. Sometimes I use foreshadowing in the first chapter rather than give a prologue. After reading Twilight I hate them if they're just there because.

Prologues, like every other scene in a book, should either further plot or character. They're often used to convey important information, such as an event that occurs before the start of a book.

However, usually this information is explained anyway later on in the book, which is why I don't use prologues. But they can add a bit of drama factor to the story, so, if done well, can really help your story.

Another thing to keep in mind is holding the reader's attention. I've heard that you have about three paragraphs to catch the reader's attention. (And about 100+ pages to hold it) A prologue is an excellent tool for this, but this should never be a reason to slack on the first chapter. If the prologue is interesting but you're first chapter is poorly imagined, you'll still probably get dropped.

Also, if readers are anything like I am, when trying out a book, they'll skip the prologue and go to the chapter one

- Terra

If a prologue can be skipped, it shouldn't be there. A prologue that can be skipped also indicates that the rest of the book may be equally boring.