Often the author, having finished work on a work, is faced with the need to address the reader personally, say a parting word or mark something before reading. Then a preface is born to the text - a special part, both related to the manuscript and excluded from it.
Instructions
Step 1
Don't make the preface another chapter. The beauty of the opening pages is that they are not directly part of the subsequent essay. Of course, it is foolish to read the introduction outside the context of the work, but, nevertheless, a certain independence and separation is always preserved. Try not to make the foreword too large - an acceptable size is from one and a half to five pages. Avoid too detailed analysis of the subsequent text, because for the reader it will be useless.
Step 2
Be yourself. The preface is valuable precisely because it makes it possible to "personally" communicate with the author. In this context, the most pleasant way to write a preface would be to "appeal" to the reader. Try to tune in to your work, tell the features of the work, emphasize what kind of reaction to creativity you expect (for example, “treat what is written further, not as a parody, but as an evil satire”).
Step 3
Tell the story of how the piece was created. The standard move in this case would be to thank the people who played a role in the writing. However, do not overuse the enumerations, they will be completely uninteresting to those who are not personally acquainted with the specified people (and therefore to the greater mass of readers). To avoid this, you can use the following technique: "The work began thanks to …, without him I would not have come up with the whole concept", "Some chapters and characters were completely rewritten according to advice … and it really turned out better." Not only will you give credit to the people who deserve it, but you will also give the reader a behind-the-scenes look at the development and change of work.
Step 4
Make the foreword part of the text. The approach is somewhat non-standard, but it has a place to be. For example, Hermann Hesse, in his Glass Bead Game, prefaced a lyrical hero's monologue describing “the reasons for writing the book”. This technique will allow you to highlight a certain part of the text, which is necessary for full understanding, in a separate paragraph, thereby giving it a "special position".
