{"id":493189,"date":"2022-04-08T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-08T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/?p=493189"},"modified":"2023-03-22T13:58:17","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T13:58:17","slug":"in-medias-res","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/in-medias-res\/","title":{"rendered":"In Medias Res: Definition, Tips, And Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Want to start your novel off with a bang? Use in medias res<\/em> to create a dynamic opening<\/a> that grabs your reader and sets the table for exciting scenes in later chapters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this guide, we\u2019ll define in medias res<\/em>, look at some example openings that employ it, and discuss how you can use in medias res<\/em> in your own writing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s get right into it! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is In Medias Res?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In medias res<\/em> is a Latin phrase meaning \u201cin the middle of things\u201d. In the context of writing and literature, it refers to a story that begins partway through its plot, with the missing events filled in later through dialogue, flashbacks<\/a>, or other techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opposite term is ab ovo<\/em> or ab initio<\/em>, which mean \u201cfrom the egg\u201d or \u201cfrom the beginning\u201d. A story that begins at the natural beginning of its plot\u2014shortly before the inciting incident<\/a>\u2014is beginning ab initio<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, in medias res<\/em> is a decision you make about the order of telling your story; specifically, whether to start at the beginning or to start elsewhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Like all literary terms, there\u2019s a certain grey area here. The roots of almost every story reach back further than the opening cha<\/a>p<\/a>ter<\/a>, to encompass the backstories<\/a> of the characters involved. But generally, starting in medias res<\/em> means that the inciting incident happens before your opening scene.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important not to confuse in medias res<\/em> with the idea of excitement or action. Remember that the term refers to where<\/em> you start telling the story, not how<\/em>. (For example, imagine a mystery novel that opens with two rank-and-file police officers acidly criticising a murder investigation that has gone off the rails two weeks in, where the murder itself is the inciting incident of the plot. This would be in medias res<\/em>.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To expand our understanding of in medias res<\/em>, let\u2019s look at a few examples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples Of In Medias Res<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Each of these openings uses in medias res<\/em> to achieve different goals and to begin at a different point in the plot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tell-Tale Heart<\/em><\/strong><\/a> By Edgar Allan Poe<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

(Note: This is quite a short story. If you\u2019re not already familiar with it, consider reading it before you continue, so you can appreciate the full impact of the in medias res<\/em> opening.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tell-Tale Heart<\/em> opens with a dialogue between an anonymous narrator and another unnamed character. The narrator begins by insisting that they are sane, then immediately reveals that they have committed a murder for no clear reason: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture \u2014 a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees \u2014 very gradually \u2014 I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.<\/em> <\/p>\nThe Tell-Tale Heart<\/em> by Edgar Allan Poe<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The narrator goes on to tell the story of how they murdered the old man, concealed his body, and ultimately gave themselves up to the police. In other words, the entire plot has occurred before the opening of the story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By beginning in medias res<\/em>, Poe structures the story for the maximum dramatic impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opening with the conversation between the narrator and the unknown listener creates the opportunity for the narrator to emphatically state that they are sane. This, followed immediately by a confession to a meaningless murder, sets us on edge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, because the murder is a past event witnessed only by the narrator, we are forced to receive the story directly from them, which exposes us to their disturbed thought processes. Finally, this structure allows the story to end with the confession. This is the true dramatic climax of the story, and the moment which throws into question the extent of the narrator\u2019s sanity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Had the story been told in linear form, Poe could still have forced us to receive it from the narrator, and could still have concluded with the dramatic climax of the confession. But would the impact of the story be the same if it hadn\u2019t opened with the narrator\u2019s insistent claim to sanity? It\u2019s that opening paragraph that creates the feelings of revulsion and anticipation that give the rest of the story its impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosewater<\/em> By Tade Thompson<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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I\u2019m at the Integrity Bank job for forty minutes before the anxieties kick in. It\u2019s how I usually start my day. This time it\u2019s because of a wedding and a final exam, though not my wedding and not my exam. In my seat by the window I can see, but not hear, the city. This high above Rosewater everything seems orderly. Blocks, roads, streets, traffic curving sluggishly around the dome. <\/p>\nRosewater by Tade Thompson<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Rosewater<\/em> opens with the narrator, Kaaro, at what could initially be mistaken for a normal job. In the paragraphs that follow, we learn that Kaaro\u2019s anxiety over somebody else\u2019s wedding is due to his abilities as a telepath. (Kaaro is employed by the bank as a security measure against \u201cwild\u201d telepaths who try to steal the personal data of customers.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we read further, we learn that the biodome, an alien structure that emerged in the centre of the city years prior, is the source of the telepathic powers possessed by some residents. Kaaro is one of only a few people who have entered the biodome; this history is central to Kaaro\u2019s character arc and to the book\u2019s plot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By beginning in medias res,<\/em> long after the dome\u2019s arrival, Thompson creates a sense of mystery around the biodome, its arrival years beforehand, and Kaaro\u2019s relationship to it. Had the story been told in a linear fashion, the dome, which has been accepted as a fact of life by the city\u2019s residents, would feel equally mundane to the reader. Inverting the order of events allows the eventual revelations about the dome to have a dramatic impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Killing Floor<\/em> By Lee Child<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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I was arrested in Eno\u2019s diner. At twelve o\u2019clock. I was eating eggs and drinking coffee. A late breakfast, not lunch. I was wet and tired after a long walk in heavy rain. All the way from the highway to the edge of town.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I saw the police cruisers pull into the gravel lot. They were moving fast and crunched to a stop. Light bars flashing and popping. Red and blue light in the raindrops on my window. Doors burst open, policemen jumped out. Two from each car, weapons ready. Two revolvers, two shotguns. This was heavy stuff. One revolver and one shotgun ran to the back. One of each rushed the door.<\/em> <\/p>\nKilling Floor by Lee Child<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Killing Floor<\/em> opens with protagonist Jack Reacher being arrested at gunpoint in a small-town diner. Accepting the arrest with a strange calm, while also refusing to speak, Reacher is taken to the police station and interrogated. There, the reader learns that a murder has been committed and a suspect matching Reacher\u2019s description was seen leaving the scene. The reader also learns (assuming that Reacher is a reliable narrator) that Reacher is definitely not the murderer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By beginning in medias res<\/em>, Lee Child accomplishes several things: <\/p>\n\n\n\n