Etymons: French prélude; Latin praeludium.” That Latin means, um, “prelude.” And while “prelude” derived from the practice of warming up the voice or instrument by performing a few notes, its oldest usage in English is “A preliminary action, or condition, preceding and introducing one of more importance; an …

(Entry 1 of 2) 1 : an introductory performance, action, or event preceding and preparing for the principal or a more important matter. 2a : a musical section or movement introducing the theme or chief subject (as of a fugue or suite) or serving as an introduction to an opera or oratorio.

prelude noun (INTRODUCTION)

An introductory or preliminary performance or event; a preface. Etymology: From prelude, from preludium, from earlier praeludere. To introduce something, as a prelude.

Prelude, musical composition, usually brief, that is generally played as an introduction to another, larger musical piece. The term is applied generically to any piece preceding a religious or secular ceremony, including in some instances an operatic performance.

The term “Longest Prologue Ever” is popularly used to describe the first part of Kingdom Hearts II, and was even a former Trope Namer. The game’s prologue with Roxas takes between three to five hours to complete.

Your prologue could be set in the past to reveal an important event. It could jump into the future and the rest of the story becomes a sort of flashback up to that point.

So yes, it can be done, and published. Generally, I find that’s it better to be consistent in writing to avoid confusion. That doesn’t mean underestimating you audience though. If the prologue is past and the story proper is present tense and it maintains that discintion.

A good prologue performs one of many functions in a story: Foreshadowing events to come. Providing background information or backstory on the central conflict. Establishing a point of view (either the main character’s, or that of another character who is privy to the tale)

Fear not, writers. Prologues aren’t all bad. In fact, they come in handy in a number of scenarios: To provide a “quick-and-dirty” glimpse of important background information without the need of flashbacks, dialogue, or memories that interrupt the action later on in the book.

prologue

A foreword is written by someone other than the author and tells the readers why they should read the book. A preface is written by the author and tells readers how and why the book came into being.

epilogue