The question of whether to add a preface or not came up quite a bit in the writing groups I attended. The common answer was almost always, don’t do it, and instead make it chapter one. Oh, dear the discussions over it. I can still hear it. I personally think if it’s well done, and it doesn’t leave the reader feeling cheated or misdirected like the tactics used by an unreliable narrator, then it’s okay.
I don’t appear to have an inking towards writing them in my books, instead I fight with wanting to make an epilogue. I think my choice to not write a preference comes from the books I’ve read and my reactions to them. Almost always I feel cheated and confused by the time I reach chapter one.
I have a couple of books that I’ve read that left me feeling very cheated after reading the preface. There was this one physical book, that my husband owned but can’t remember the title. The preface set up this amazing medieval battle scene perfectly describing the battle complete with sword clashing and the best setting description I’ve just about have ever read. I could even image the smell from what the author wrote. The first two paragraphs were very tight and every word focused on description, action and setting.
I was amazed and grabbed my blanket and settled in for the perfect adventure. When I was all snuggled up, I turned to chapter one and had to blink A LOT. The setting suddenly changed to modern time with a guy who was a detective. I had hoped this was just for one chapter and so I flipped to the next chapter and it was the same. This wasn’t what I had signed up for. I was heartbroken, and did what I rarely do, put the book down and didn’t finish it.
One more example is Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman. I purchased this book because I saw it on a top ten list for great anti-heroes. I like to read books that have characters with personalities that come close to mine as research. Excitedly I opened the book on my Kindle and read the preference. It was amazing, and yes, the villain was amazing. You didn’t know he was the villain just yet, but I had the itch that I couldn’t scratch telling me he was. Something was very wrong with him. By the end of the preference I was chilled to the bone and the ending of the preference was insanely good!
If you didn’t know he was evil before, then you did now. Again, I was super excited and turned to chapter one to find a brand-new character that didn’t appear to have anything to do with what I had read. Where did this evil guy wander off to? When would I see him again? I didn’t’ care about this new character, give me the bad guy back. Also, I didn’t realize it was a fae type book with fae magic. I just never felt compelled to read them, and the writer assumes you know how the magic works, and uses words I have no idea what they mean, so I spent so many pages lost until I was finally reunited with the evil dude. We finally get to him way later in the book, and even then you still aren’t certain if he’s the original bad guy from the preface. Not until very near to the end.
If I hadn’t have seen this book on the top ten list of awesome anti-heroes, I would have likely put the book away, never to see the light of my kindle again. I did go to the end and wound up liking it as a whole, happily surprised and very impressed with the anti-hero. I’m even reading book two. The writer is amazing and it’s well worth the read so don’t let the preference jar you and keep you from reading this book. I’m learning a lot from reading it and the way the writer immerses you into his world is so fantastic and fun.
So far I haven’t read a preface that didn’t leave me lost or confused.I guess this is why I don’t write them. Have you read any that were written well? I’d love to try them out.
Until Next Time! Write Well and Prosper!