To Prologue or Not to Prologue?: Grabbing Readers From the First Page • Reedsy

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📚 Overview

Your opening line is your sales pitch – it has to hook readers instantly and convince them to keep reading. In this Monday Masterclass, author and editor Mark Leggatt will explore the art of beginnings: from crafting irresistible first lines to deciding whether a prologue will elevate (or drag down) your story.

A well-crafted prologue can tease what’s to come or deliver vital backstory — but if it’s handled poorly, you risk losing your reader before chapter one. In this masterclass, Mark will show you how to make yours work.

Schedule

EVENT

3pm - 4pm EDT

“To Prologue or Not to Prologue?"

In this seminar, you’ll learn:

How to write a powerful opening line
When to use a prologue (and when to avoid one)
Techniques for writing effective prologues
The role of short vs. long prologues

Drawing on famous examples, Mark Leggatt will share practical tips and advice to help you start your book in a way that grabs (and keeps) a reader’s attention.

Speakers

Mark Leggatt

Developmental Editor and Author

Mark Leggatt is a freelance developmental editor and the author of four traditionally published crime thrillers, and his latest, PENITENT, was longlisted for the 2023 Scottish Crime Book Of The Year. He's appeared at numerous festivals in the EU and UK, plus three times in a row at Thrillerfest in New York.