Prologues & Epilogues: When to Use Them (Or Skip Them)

Bryson Ann
Aug 20
4 min read

Updated: Sep 15

The Importance of Prologues and Epilogues in Storytelling

Understanding Prologues and Epilogues

At some point, a writer will grapple with whether their manuscript needs a prologue, an epilogue, or both. These bookend elements can elevate a story or weigh it down, depending on how skillfully they’re used. This post examines when prologues and epilogues serve essential functions versus when they become unnecessary padding that weakens your narrative.

A prologue is a scene or section that precedes your main narrative. It typically occurs before the events of Chapter 1 or from a different time period, perspective, or location. Unlike Chapter 1, a prologue often establishes context, backstory, or atmosphere that enhances the reader's understanding of the main story.

An epilogue follows your story's conclusion. It provides resolution beyond the climactic events. Epilogues often show the long-term consequences of your plot's resolution, revealing how characters' lives unfold after the main conflict ends.

The most crucial aspect of both elements is that they must serve a specific narrative purpose that cannot be achieved through your main chapters. They're not repositories for interesting-but-nonessential information or atmospheric writing exercises.

When Prologues Enhance Your Story

Prologues prove most valuable when they establish information that fundamentally changes how readers interpret the main narrative. In fantasy and science fiction, prologues often introduce world-building elements or magical systems that provide essential context for understanding the protagonist's journey.

Mystery and thriller genres benefit from prologues that establish the stakes or reveal the antagonist's perspective without immediately identifying them to the protagonist. These prologues create dramatic irony—readers understand threats that characters cannot yet perceive.

Historical fiction frequently uses prologues to establish time period context or introduce historical events that influence the main narrative. This helps readers understand the broader circumstances affecting your characters' choices.

When Prologues Become Unnecessary

Many writers use prologues to dump backstory they couldn't naturally integrate into their opening chapters. If your prologue primarily explains your protagonist's childhood trauma, family history, or previous adventures, you're likely using it as a crutch rather than a strategic narrative tool.

Action-heavy prologues that bear little connection to your opening chapter often confuse rather than engage readers. If your prologue features a completely different cast of characters, setting, and conflict from Chapter 1, readers may feel deceived or disoriented when the "real" story begins.

Fiction Genres with High Prologue Benefit

Fantasy and Science Fiction: Complex world-building often requires foundational context that would bog down your opening chapter. Prologues can establish magical rules, technological systems, or historical events that inform the entire narrative.
Mystery and Thriller: These genres benefit from prologues that show the crime, establish the antagonist's motivation, or reveal information that creates tension throughout the investigation.
Historical Fiction: Period-specific context, historical events, or cultural information can be elegantly established through prologues without disrupting your main narrative flow.

When Epilogues Enhance Your Story

Strategic Epilogue Implementation

Epilogues work best when your main climax resolves the central conflict but leaves questions about long-term consequences. Romance novels often use epilogues to show the couple's life together after overcoming relationship obstacles. This provides emotional satisfaction beyond the romantic resolution.

Literary fiction employs epilogues to explore thematic implications of your protagonist's journey. They show how their transformation affects their future choices and relationships. Series fiction uses epilogues to tie up loose ends while setting up future installments. However, this requires careful balance to avoid frustrating standalone readers.

When Epilogues Become Unnecessary

If your final chapter already provides satisfying closure, an epilogue may feel redundant. Many writers add epilogues simply because they're not ready to let go of their characters. However, reader satisfaction comes from appropriate narrative completion, not extended character observation.

Epilogues that merely summarize what readers can reasonably infer often feel like overexplanation. If your story's resolution clearly implies certain outcomes, spelling them out explicitly can diminish rather than enhance reader satisfaction.

Guidelines for Implementation

Testing the Necessity of a Prologue

Ask yourself, "Does removing this prologue fundamentally change how readers understand my story?" If readers would be confused, miss crucial context, or lack essential information without it, your prologue serves a valid purpose. If the story works equally well without it, consider integrating that information into your main narrative or eliminating it entirely.

Evaluating the Value of an Epilogue

Consider whether your epilogue provides new understanding of your story's themes or characters' growth. Effective epilogues offer perspective that enhances rather than merely extends your narrative. They should feel inevitable given your story's events while providing information that couldn't be conveyed through your final chapter.

Integration Strategies

Sometimes the best approach involves integrating prologue or epilogue material into your main narrative. Backstory can be woven through early chapters via dialogue, flashbacks, or character reflection. Future consequences can be implied through your resolution rather than explicitly shown.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

The Info-Dump Prologue

Resist the temptation to use your prologue as an encyclopedia entry about your world, characters, or backstory. Readers want story, not exposition disguised as narrative.

The Disconnected Opening

Your prologue should feel connected to your main story, not like a completely separate tale. If readers finish your prologue wondering what it has to do with Chapter 1, you've created confusion rather than intrigue.

The Unnecessary Epilogue

Don't add an epilogue simply because other books in your genre have them. If your story concludes satisfactorily without one, additional pages may actually weaken your ending's impact.

Conclusion

Prologues and epilogues are powerful narrative tools when used strategically. However, they become liabilities when deployed without clear purpose. The key lies in understanding whether these elements serve essential functions that cannot be achieved through your main narrative.

Key principles to remember:

Use prologues only when they provide essential context that fundamentally affects reader understanding of your main story.
Implement epilogues when they offer meaningful insight beyond your climactic resolution rather than mere character observation.
Test necessity by considering whether your story works equally well without these elements.
Focus on integration opportunities that might serve your narrative better than separate prologue or epilogue sections.
Remember that reader engagement comes from well-crafted narrative flow, not from conforming to structural expectations.
Consider your genre's conventions while prioritizing your specific story's needs over formulaic approaches.

With thoughtful consideration of purpose and function, prologues and epilogues can enhance your manuscript's impact. They create a more satisfying reading experience for your audience.