If you find yourself in this scenario, what you need to know is that a prologue, no matter how exciting or emotional it is, it's not going to save a week chapter one.

In fact, it can only delay the moment that readers encounter that chapter one.

Welcome to the fiction writing made easy podcast. My name is Savannah Gilbo, and I'm here to help you write a story that works. I want to prove to you that writing a novel doesn't have to be overwhelming. So each week, I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple, actionable, and step-by-step strategies that you can implement in your writing right away. So whether you're brand new to writing or more of a

seasoned author looking to improve your craft, this podcast is for you. So pick up a pen and let's get

started. In today's episode, I'm sharing three signs your novel might not need a prolog

and how to know whether the prologue you currently have is helping or quietly holding your story back.

So if you're someone who already has a prolog written but you're not totally sure it belongs

at the front of your story, or if you're someone who has a prolog written and something just

feels off about it, then this episode is for you. Because I'm going to walk you through the

three signs your novel might

actually be better off without a prolog and what to do instead so that your opening still works

and hooks the reader's attention and pulls them into the rest of your story. But before we get

into what those three signs are, we need to get clear on what a prolog is actually supposed to

do because the bar it has to meet is actually

higher than most writers realize. And I have a whole other episode on this topic. It's episode number

215 and it's called How to Write a Prolog Readers Won't Skip. So I'll link to that in the show

notes for you, but in a nutshell, a prolog earns its place when it does something that your first chapter can't do.

So not something that your first chapter just hasn't done yet, but something that it structurally can't do.

And that usually means that the prolog will take place in a different time period.

It'll be shown from a different point of view that might not

be present in the rest of your book, or it shows the reader something that your protagonist

isn't present to witness. Now, we'll talk about this a little more in a minute because there is a

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