I posted a new section for the on-going SIGI story I’m using as a test-bed on the Wattpad platform. SIGI is a very serialized sort of tale featuring a new-born, sentient robotic insect destined to become a superspy and, eventually, to save the world. I must admit that the prose thus far is a bit experimental, and the response has been lukewarm.
Let’s face it, I can’t knock everything out of the park, but I believe in the SIGI story and I’m going to keep whittling away at it because I want to see it gain some traction.
As a result of my desire to ramp up interest, the part I added this morning (completed while I was on the road to and from PensaCon), is a prologue that I hope will do a better job of drawing in new readers. It sets the stage, gives the reader a more tangible starting-point for the story, and offers a grand stage of intrigue—with spies and spooks and and secrets and plots and murder—right from the get-go.
It’s funny, you hear people speaking on panels at conventions about how one “shouldn’t” use prologues. However, when you thumb through recently published novels from the big five publishers as well as the little guys, there are plenty of prologues to be found.
The reason is simple: prologues provide context or conflict… or both. They can serve other purposes, to be sure, but these two are exceedingly common.
Generally speaking, I like to start a story—particularly novels—with the protagonist and an inciting incident. However, there are times when the inciting incident and the source of the primary conflict don’t really start with or even near the chosen protagonist and/or the narrator. In those situations, the prologue becomes an effective tool to get the story rolling towards a climax.
So, for your review and hopefully enjoyment, I present this latest addition to the SIGI tale: Prologue – Instantiation.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
Cheers!
Q
