About 1000 words a day.

Um, erika?

There is no planet on which that isn't beautifully productive.

Think about it. If you play the numbers game? That would give you a 90,000 word manuscript in three months.

OK, well, that's an average...but ok, I'll be proud.

Backsent like an accent, Kristin.

Kristin, I didn't see an attachment on your email.

Thanks P-C. I'm digesting your comments. It may be worth noting that the character in the Prologue is not the protagonist--she actually ends up being a minor character for much of the book. Thank you, though-lots to think about.

Susan et al, resent.

It may be worth noting that the character in the Prologue is not the protagonist--she actually ends up being a minor character for much of the book.

Ah, cool. I can see that.

Something amusing: I saw the "The Archive" in the header, and I thought it meant you had pulled this out your archive, since it was something you'd been working on for a long time. Then it dawned on me that it was the actual title.

Question to prologue-writing folks. Do you find that to be the most efficient way of clarifying important matters that take place in the past? My mind keeps returning to the original novel I've got, where the main story takes place ten years after the instigating events. Most advice I see says to start a book with something going on, but I don't feel comfortable starting the conflict without showing the settled, comfortable life my heroine is currently living. I need to show some of what she has to lose before revealing the dichotomy that is her past.

I just have flashbacks interwoven, myself. Time will tell if I made the right decision, especially with my tense problems.

A prologue to tease the audience about some central problem is a fairly common technique in the fantasy genre, but it has to be very vague to avoid giving anything away. I personally used one in my book because I wanted to broaden the world I was about to introduce (the first actual chapter takes place in a much narrower environment, and I wanted the reader to get a taste of broader problems at hand).

I don't feel comfortable starting the conflict without showing the settled, comfortable life my heroine is currently living.

Is it possible to show a snippet of this time without giving away too much about who is involved? Anonymous woman from Prologue could be anyone in the heroine's life, not just the heroine.

That said, I agree with erika that flashbacks woven in often work just as well. Like I said, I'm writing in fantasy right now. When I'm writing in a "normal" style, I usually don't use one. (I'm anything but original.)

While I guess many fantasy works contain prologues, I don't think "normal" ones can't not work with them. A lot of my short story ideas start in medias res, so while this can lead to either interwoven flashbacks or one long flashback, the first section can effectively be considered a prologue.

In your case, Connie, I say go with it. You have a lot of flexibility at the beginning, so if you think a prologue will help, do it. I find them to be very good for hooks. The one in Plainsong had a killer punchline.