They serve multiple purposes, and are part of the novel, though not part of the main narrative. Prologues allow authors to provide readers with backstories. They maybe introduce themes that will trickle in through the novel. They can, and often are (however overt of subtle) be a foreshadowing of things to come. They’re also a good way to introduce readers to the world in which they are about to enter for the next two hundred, three hundred, or, in certain genres, five, six, or even a thousand

No, I’m not asking for a barrage of hate mail from people who love reading about dragons and sweaty, modern versions of Fabio; rather, I just wish there was as much focus on the novels and fiction that dig into “smart” literature that deals with the human condition. Fiction that makes you think and that entertains rather than just entertains. It’s snobbish, my thinking. Conceited. Arrogant. Haughty. Pull out your Synonym Finder or go to Thesaurus.com

First-person point of view, while extremely popular, is probably the easiest to use as a writer of fiction. We use the pronouns “I” and “we” to tell the story, and our narrator’s role in our story tells us the psychological relationship to the things happening in our tale, as well as the narrator’s role in the plot of our tale. In terms of narrators, it’s important to note that three exist: reliable narrators, unreliable narrators, and the first-person peripheral . . .