: Re: Does this qualify as a prelude or prologue? In the story I'm writing i have a 2k word chapter that will either be attached to my fourth chapter or be a prelude. (prologue? I'm not really

@Fox6458700

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Whether you use this section as a prologue (I think prelude is more commonly used to refer to music) or a flashback is ultimately a stylistic and structural decision that depends on the overall flow of your book. I find myself rearranging/moving chunks of text around quite a bit while editing. That said, as a reader I prefer books to be told in chronological order unless there is a clear reason to do otherwise. It's just less confusing. I would suggest you consider the following questions:

Are the style, settings, and characters of this "chapter" so different from the main book that this section could create misleading expectations in the reader (you don't want readers to get attached to Takira and be super annoyed that she's suddenly no longer the focus)?
Does this section create a suitable introduction to the characters/world/themes/problems of your book, or is it more of a narrow info-chunk that shouldn't be given the prominence of a prologue? If it's too narrow, you might want to edit it to include ties to the overall book (for example, including a introductory sentence or two that explains who these people are and how they are examples of the type of folk who people your world). Prologues sometimes contain info that that sets the thematic stage for the book, and introduce that kinds of ideas/personal challenges that the characters will struggle with, even if the main characters aren't in the prologue. Is there a way to do this with your piece?

By the way: Takira is certainly an interesting character. Her extreme casualness in the face of death is a bit startling!

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