In medias res (Latin: “in the middle of things”) is the technique of beginning a narrative in the middle of the action rather than at the chronological beginning. Homer’s Iliad opens in the ninth year of the Trojan War, not with Paris’s judgment or Helen’s abduction. The reader is dropped into a conflict already underway and must orient themselves through context, exposition, and inference.
In medias res works because it prioritizes engagement over orientation. A story that begins “John was born in 1952 in a small town in Ohio” asks the reader to wait for the story to begin. A story that begins “John pushed open the door and found the apartment empty — furniture gone, clothes gone, the only thing remaining a note on the kitchen counter” has already begun. The reader’s questions (Whose apartment? Why empty? What does the note say?) pull them forward.
The technique creates two structural requirements:
- Backstory must be delivered later. The information that a chronological opening would have established upfront must be woven into the narrative through flashback, dialogue, interiority, or contextual detail. The challenge is delivering this information without stopping the story’s momentum — without the exposition dump that in medias res was designed to avoid.
- The opening must be self-sufficient. The reader doesn’t yet know the characters or situation. The opening scene must be compelling on its own terms — vivid enough, strange enough, or tense enough that the reader commits to learning the context rather than demanding it upfront.
In medias res is the default opening strategy in commercial fiction, film, and copywriting (where the headline drops the reader into a problem or promise). Literary fiction uses it selectively, sometimes preferring a slower opening that builds atmosphere or establishes voice. The choice depends on what the story needs the reader to feel first: urgency (in medias res) or immersion (chronological opening).
Related terms
- plot — in medias res reorders the plot’s chronological sequence
- exposition — must be delivered differently when the story starts in the middle
- flashback — a common tool for filling in backstory after an in medias res opening
- hook — in medias res is one of the strongest hooking techniques
- pacing — in medias res accelerates the opening pace