Giving a little Teaser
A prologue is defined as a separate entry into a story. Its job is to establish context and give background details. I hear a lot that readers confess to skipping it.
My memories of most prologues are that they were info dumps that don't matter. More often than not, I can't remember any of the details mentioned.
In the world of episodic television we don't do prologues each week, we do Teasers.
A Teaser, sometimes called a Cold Open, happens before the show's opening credits come onto the screen. In a thirty minute comedy, like Friends or Cheers, you get about thirty seconds to tease the audience to watch this week's episode.
Think Joey entering Monica and Rachel's apartment while cracking a joke about his date last night. Or think Norm coming into the bar to a cheer. Sam or Coach would ask how it's going and Norm would deliver the perfect one line, self-deprecating joke about his life.
A teaser has three jobs; it had to be immediate, quick and grab attention. It gets you ready for the meat of the episode. It's like an amuse bouche that leaves you wanting more before you're served the main dish.
In my opinion, there are two main types of teasers; they either feature a slice of life in the world or ask the story question. Let me give you some examples.
Now, I like to go old school so I'm using an example from Cheers. Cheers was a 30 minute sitcom from the 1980s set in a Boston bar that was owned by a former baseball player who was also a recovering alcoholic and a womanizing bachelor named Sam Malone.
Episode on Youtube:
In this particular episode titled Father Knows Last, Sam's date cancels on him. So Sam pulls out his black book of phone numbers -reminding viewers that he's a very desirable guy. The lucky girl he calls doesn't answer the phone and he's told that she's now in a convent. After a beat Sam asks for the convent's phone number.
The episode is about waitress Carla, who is visibly bursting with child, finally admitting that she is, in fact pregnant. It's not about Sam's prowess. But viewers have tuned in in the past for Sam the charmer. This kind of teaser provides a slice of life from a world we already enjoy. In particular it reinforces the empathy or the connection we feel to the lead character.
In Buffy The Vvampire Slayer's pilot episode, we don't meet the main character Buffy. We're introduced to the world of the Hellmouth and the main villains -the vampires. We meet Darla, a vampire dressed as an innocent Catholic school girl, when in reality she's a viscous bloodsucker. We get place, time, mood and tone in this slice of life teaser that let's us know that we're in a dangerous paranormal world, things are not as they seem, and girls will kick ass.
Here's that script: http://buffyangelshow-gallery.com/database/buffy/transcripts/s1/1x01.pdf
And a Youtube link for the opening scene:
The Buffy writers often used the teaser technique to introduce the new threat to the viewer before our hero Buffy gets wind of them. The villain comes to town to specifically take on the slayer. We get background on this week's villain; an innocent looking vampire who is wreaking havoc on the school and town. We see the villain's strengths. We know they're going to be pit up against our hero's weaknesses. The story question becomes Will Buffy defeat this new Big Bad in the next sixty minutes?
Now You Break It Down
Next time you're tempted to write a prologue, determine if you might be better served by a teaser to give your readers a Slice of Life of your world, or Set up your character's Story question that you'll answer by the end of the book.
You can take the time to give us a Slice of Life and remind us why we do love or will love your character. Or you can take the time to introduce us to a new character (like the Big Bad) or new situation that the hero will have to confront.
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