In Medias Res

It feels logical that a story should start at the beginning. Dorothy living peacefully at her house in Kansas before being swept away to Oz. Peter Parker trying to navigate high school before getting bitten by a radioactive spider. The beginning is the beginning for a reason, right? It sets up the characters, the setting, and the situation. 

But what if we started smack dab in the middle?

In medias res is Latin for in the middle of things and as a literary device it means just that – opening a story not at the chronological beginning but rather right in the middle of the action. All of the initial exposition, character explanation, and background information is bypassed to drop the reader into the middle of a pivotal scene in the story.

You might be asking, “Why would you want to start in the middle of a story where the reader will have no idea what is going on?” But see, that is the point of in medias res.

It builds tension and mystery right off the bat.

Take 2008’s Iron Man as an example. The movie opens with a military caravan making its way through Afghanistan. Tony Stark is chatting with the soldiers in his vehicle. Then the vehicle in front of theirs explodes. Shots are fired. Soldiers are gunned down. Stark escapes the vehicle only to suffer grievous injury from a rocket exploding next to him. The opening sequence ends with Stark being held for ransom by a terrorist group. It’s only after the title sequence that the story skips back to the beginning to provide context. 

This action-packed opening is fast-paced and immersive. It draws the watcher into a high-tension situation and leaves them with a ton of unanswered questions. Who is Tony Stark? How did he get here? Why is this happening to him? What is going on? Questions that a viewer will need to keep watching to get answers to. 

An in medias res opening brings the reader directly into the story with an engaging action scene while also giving them a motivating reason to keep reading: unanswered questions. It can be an impactful way to introduce a reader to a story without providing a lot of  information up front. The important background, context, and development is then gradually revealed throughout the rest of the story.

It is a subversion of expectations.

Readers typically won’t expect an author to start a story in the middle. The unexpectedness of a not-at-the-beginning beginning can be a fun way to play around with the traditional story structure. Throwing the reader into the middle of the action without the typical influx of initial information generates intrigue, engagement, and excitement similar to that of a good unexpected twist. 

Tips and tricks for using in medias res.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind if you decide to open your story in the middle.

• Choose a pivotal or major scene that has importance in the overall story. Even though you are starting in the middle, the chosen scene still needs to be relevant to the story’s plotline. This is how you bring the reader in and establish important characteristics of the story. 

• It can be beneficial to have your major plot points planned out beforehand. Starting in the middle means you, as the writer, need to know how the story got to this point and why it is important to the overall story arc. That can be hard to do if you don’t understand the story arc as a whole.

• Enter the scene late and leave early. Don’t linger in the opening scene too long as readers can become frustrated with the lack of context and information as to why they should care about what is going on. Using in medias res means that you don’t have the luxury of that initial exposition and set up. There is no time to build up your reader’s interest in your characters. Bring the reader into the scene and transition out of it in a timely manner. 

• Don’t forget to fill in that missing context and background information as the story progresses. There are a ton of ways to do this. Flashbacks, dialogue, time jumps, multiple POVs, and moments of exposition are all examples. Pick which one or combination works well for your story and weave them in throughout. Don’t be afraid to use multiple methods; just make sure the choices make sense for your story. 

• Avoid info-dumping. Info-dumping is loading the reader up with a lot of exposition all at one time. You might be tempted to put all of that missing context in after the opening scene or in large chunks throughout the story. Info-dumping can be frustrating to a reader and can drag your story’s pace down. Try to keep the exposition in digestible pieces and woven into the story rather than in large chunks.

  
  

Not all stories will benefit from an in medias res opening. Sometimes starting at the beginning is the right choice and that can be just as impactful and engaging for the reader. But sometimes, tossing the reader into the deep end and letting them learn to swim can be an interesting and exciting way to bring a story to life. 

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About the author: Emily Leclerc has always been a voracious reader who reads more than is probably healthy. Emily loves writing across genres and has recently decided to switch career paths to become a developmental editor. Participating as a judge is one of Emily's first steps towards that goal.