Writing a story is tough enough, but working the best ways to make it easy to read and engaging is another.
Author’s Notes, Prefaces, Introductions and Prologues have been designed to help the reader understand certain decisions the writer may have made regarding use of historical texts, forms of spelling and give general context to the story. The trouble is, the average readers tends not to read these sections in a book. They go straight to ‘Chapter One’ to get on with the story. The reader hopefully might read a prologue, which helps to establish a setting with information from the past or a scene in the future of the book to tantalise the reader and foreshadow a mystery will come. But a writer can’t always guarantee that the reader with even read the prologue.
I have just finished reading The House by the Thames by Gillian Tindall. It outlines the story of one of the last standing eighteenth century houses by the Globe Theatre on the south bank of the River Thames in between Southwark and Blackfriars Bridge. Normally I, as a reader, would have expected at least an Introduction to give me the historical context to this infamous area and continue into Chapter One with the building of the house. Cleverly, however, after a list of Illustrations, and two maps, one eighteenth century and the other nineteenth century Tindal choses to go straight into the first chapter starting “You can reach the house in a number of ways.” From then onwards she slips into the history of the area from Roman times through the Middle Ages when she reveals that the footprint of the eighteenth century house probably stands on the remains of a medieval inn called the Cardinal’s Hat.
It is not until Chapter 5, page 60, that the current eighteenth century house on the Thames is built and comes to life with its interesting array of owners, uses and changing fortunes – nearly 25% into the story. It as an interesting way to write a story – and it’s an interesting story. There are no copyright issues with story structures, so see if this is a helpful example for your writing to ensure a reader reads everything you would like them to know.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-House-By-Thames-People/dp/1844130940
Nicola