Writing a prologue

I have decided to begin my new story with a prologue. I played around with the words for days on end, striving to get it "Just Right".

But why did I spend so long on it?

• The beginning of a story needs to be gripping. It needs to draw the reader in or they won't get beyond Page 1. 
• I needed the prologue to set the scene immediately. In very few words I needed to inform the reader of place, time and character personality.
• I wanted to introduce some made-up words that are important to my story. If the reader learns their meaning straight away, there is less room for confusion later on.

Once I had written the prologue I emailed it to my boyfriend and asked him what he thought. He knows that if it is not up to scratch, he can offer me criticism and I'll be prepared to re-write it from scratch. Four drafts later I might just be happy with it.

Now it's back to my research and character profiles until I am happy enough to begin the first draft!