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Topic : Can you make multiple prologues in one book? I am writing a World War 3 Novel, and I want to write the backstories of the main characters as prologues. It's really short, so I can't make - selfpublishingguru.com

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I am writing a World War 3 Novel, and I want to write the backstories of the main characters as prologues. It's really short, so I can't make another book.

Is it even possible to make multiple prologues?


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Read White Death by Clive Cussler & Paul Kemprecos. Two Prologues, and they work extremely well. Useful for when you want to tie two seemingly disparate story lines together later on in the book. BUT -- you must plan this carefully, or you leave yourself open to confusion, plot holes, or even worse writing yourself into a corner


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Multiple prologues I suggest are more acceptable if they each have at best two paragraphs each because characters need to process every detail, besides readers may remember actions more clearly than statements


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I gave an answer to this question about why prologues are useful, which may be relevant to what you're looking for.

In summary: a prologue is useful for setting up a story, and including any relevant information that cannot be worked into chapter 1 without an exposition dump. It is useful as it does not have to follow the same flow or narrative style as the rest of the book, and serves to engage the reader immediately.
@HenryTaylor is correct in his answer, there is no need to tell the reader everything about the characters before they are introduced, because the reader will not be invested in their life story, as they will not know who the characters are.

I'm assuming from the context that the backstory would refer to their lives before the war began. However until the reader understands who they are now, it doesn't matter to them who they were. This is why so many TV shows now run the story of characters in their current lives in parallel with their previous lives (such as Lost, before and after being on an island, and Orange Is The New Black, before and after being in prison).

You get to understand who the main characters are, and gradually learn who they were, how they changed, and how they came to be that way. That is how readers connect with the characters, and understand them deeper. You wouldn't immediately give your life's story to a person you had just met. They don't care, because they don't know you. But close friends would be interested, as they are invested in who you are as a person now, just as a reader would be invested in the current story of the characters.

So the answer to your question 'Can you make multiple prologues in your book?' is no, because you shouldn't have to. If you can't make it into a single prologue, it shouldn't go into a prologue. If you are setting up the backstories of multiple separate characters, that should be happening within the body of your book.

Instead, if there is salient information needed to understand who these characters are before the story begins, it should be done altogether.


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Is it possible? sure. It is your novel, so structure it as you will.

Is it wise? probably not.

Prologues are theives which steal from their creators. They steal the backstory and motivations which defines who your characters are; leaving you, the author, with nothing except your characters' future actions to build your story with.

It is very hard to write a prologue about a main character, without giving the coming story away. The historical facts which you choose to share, subtly inform the reader of what parts of all of a world's history is important to this particular story. The particular character details which you share, let the reader know what the character is likely to do, and which personal demons they will have to slay along the way. No matter how carefully you craft a prologue, you are likely to give away more than you desire.

Keep that precious backstory hidden. Save it for the slow moments between the action, when your characters might naturally reflect on their past and how it relates to their current adventures. Don't reveal your characters' pains and dreams before the reader has even met them. Allow time for the reader to learn to love them, before telling more about who they are.

For me, the proper quantity of prologues for any novel, is none.


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