Writer's Workshop: The Start of Something New · 1:38pm Nov 30th, 2015
For today's lesson, we'll be talking about two fancy-pants Latin terms that define ways to open a story: ab ovo and in medias res. One of those you've probably heard of, the other... probably not. XD On the other hand, for how famous in medias res is, I have a feeling people have some misconceptions about it. So let's dig in, and I'll try and clear the air.
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Let's start with ab ovo, or in English, "from the egg." This is the kind of story that starts with a blank slate. Think like the movies that start with scrolling text, or a book that begins, "Everything was peaceful in my hometown." There's a certain gentle serenity to an opening like this; it lets you start with character development or worldbuilding before you really knuckle down into the plot itself. The other side of the coin, though, is the infamous "I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock blaring" opening. Remember: write what's important. We really do not need to see every second of your main character's morning routine. Just because you're not starting straight in the action doesn't mean you can't start somewhere interesting.
So now let's get into the more interesting of the two: in medias res, or "in the middle of things." There are two different ways I see this term used. Let's call them the "James Bond" method and the "flash-forward" method. (Technically, only the flash-forward method is actually in medias res, but I'm gonna come back to that.) In the James Bond method, you start the story with action, unlike the ab ovo, where you start peacefully. Every James Bond movie starts with him in the middle of an earlier mission, so you could be forgiven for thinking this is in medias res. Technically, it's not. What it is, though, is much more exciting than the ab ovo method. We've automatically got something to grab our attention, and it won't let go until the scene ends. This is why so many websites and books will tell you "always start in medias res." They're trying to say that you need a good hook to get readers reading. (Now, I disagree with this: I think you can hook readers with really good ab ovo. But it is much harder, so don't try it unless you're really skilled.)
The other form of in medias res, the flash-forward, has its own curiosities. This is where we see some part of the story that happens later, only at the very beginning. For example, Megamind starts with the eponymous character falling from a building, complaining that his day has been sucky and now he's going to die. Then it rewinds all the way back to the beginning. We're certainly hooked now, with that most powerful of tricks: a mystery. We want to know how the characters got to where they were in the flash-forward. What's more, this gives us the same benefit as the James Bond method, as we get to front-load the story with action without having to, you know, start the story with action.
So... which one should you do? Should you just start every story you write in the middle of action, in medias res? But what if you're story isn't really that exciting, and you don't actually have anywhere to jump to? Does that mean you're stuck in ab ovo and have to start at the very beginning with boring backstory? No, don't despair just yet. It's time for my huge Act II twist: these two distinctions don't matter. Seriously, it doesn't matter if you start with action or with backstory, with a flash-forward or with scrolling text. Everything before the inequity is just filler and fluff. So I suppose the answer to the question is rabbinical: Why are we here? Show us that.
Maybe we're here for the epic setting and worldbuilding. If so, then start your story by showing just how awesome the setting and worldbuilding are. "It is a period of civil war..." "Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria..." If you're going to do this, then your worldbuilding had better be epic. I think I want to talk about this in a future Workshop, but make sure to strike a balance between revealing facets of your world's culture and creating an engaging story. Too much of the former, and we'll get lost in all the fancy names we don't know; too little of it, and we won't know what makes your story unique.
Or maybe we're here for the Main Character. In that case, your first scene should show us the most salient details about that character: their job, perhaps, or their chief character trait. Think about the opening to "Raiders of the Lost Ark" or "Boast Busters." In both of these, the actual plot isn't set up until past that first scene. What we see instead is some vignette of the character's strengths and/or weaknesses.
Perhaps we're here for the central conflict. This would be time for your smash cut, your in medias res. Ponies almost never does this, so I'll have to think of a different example. Think of, say, "Reservoir Dogs," where we start after the bank heist, and immediately we're thrown into the question of who the rat is. This can be very disorienting, which was probably the point in "Reservoir Dogs." But imagine starting a story with something like, "It's Hodgkin's Lymphoma. You have 3 months at most to live." That'll hit hard.
We could be here for the tone. This is kind of like the previous few, but the way the story opens should reflect that tone. Like... like "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" or "Magic Duel." Just that serious-turned-goofy tone at the start, or the pulp-fictiony foreboding tone. This is probably the vaguest, so I wouldn't do this unless you have a really strong idea for the tone you can deliver quickly and clearly.
We could be here for the... Influence Character? Maybe? This would probably be really hard; the readers might get confused and think the Influence Character is the Main Character. Yeah, that's probably why nobody ever does that. In any case, it might be an option.
We could be here for the writing style, I guess, or the format of the writing, like "House of Leaves" or "A Void." But now we're just splitting hairs. I think you're getting the idea. Whatever you're trying to sell for this story, put that front and center. One last word of advice: whether you're going ab ovo or in medias res, get to the inequity as soon as possible. The inequity is the beginning of the conflict, and conflict is what actually matters in the story. Sure, it's fun to start with your story with explosions or textdumps, but the central conflict is the point of your story, so you need to get there before your readers get bored and start wondering when the story actually starts. And if you don't know what the inequity of your story is... heaven help you.
(Must remember to plug AP's blog...)