I also think that prologues and epilogues should only be used when absolutely necessary. Most books and stories don't really need them.
If your prologue is back story, the info can usually be worked into the story. If your prologue is an exciting bit to tide the reader through some slow parts, then you might want to keep it. Take a look at your prologue and see if it can't be worked into chapter one, or just be chapter one itself. If it can't do either, then you may want to keep it as your prologue.
Epilogues I generally feel could be worked into the last chapter. A story should be able to wrap up all the story threads on it's own. Unless they're done really well, epilogues tend to fall a bit flat, which takes away from the satisfaction of the ending.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2011-05-31 11:19 pm (UTC)If your prologue is back story, the info can usually be worked into the story. If your prologue is an exciting bit to tide the reader through some slow parts, then you might want to keep it. Take a look at your prologue and see if it can't be worked into chapter one, or just be chapter one itself. If it can't do either, then you may want to keep it as your prologue.
Epilogues I generally feel could be worked into the last chapter. A story should be able to wrap up all the story threads on it's own. Unless they're done really well, epilogues tend to fall a bit flat, which takes away from the satisfaction of the ending.