Always start your story in the middle

An old but essential writing adage is ���Start your story in the middle.��� That is, rather than give background information about how the story���s main conflict came to be, instead start it by dropping the reader right into the hornet���s nest.

This technique is called in medias res, a Latin term for ���in the middle.��� It dispenses with the story���s background and start with the action already underway (or ���in the middle��� of the story). An excellent example of this is Homer���s ���The Iliad,��� which starts in the waning days of the Greek war with the Trojans rather than covering the 10-year siege before the final battle. This helps focus the story���s plot on a character resolving one significant central problem.

Some writers consider this approach disorienting and so avoid it. While that response may be true for some young readers, almost anyone who���s at least a teenager has read or seen acted out so many stories that they won���t be confused. If anything, the uncertainty will make them read on to find out what���s happening.

For example, starting a story in which a naval ship comes upon a sister craft that has mysteriously been attacked is more interesting than starting with exposition about the search for it. Yes, the ���story��� technically began with receiving orders from the admiralty to look for the ship, but rarely does anything that���s particularly interesting occur during the search. Given this, starting the story at the moment that the crew sees the listing ship can be emotionally evocative and set in motion a lot of action, conflict and suspense as the harrowing rescue gets underway. This likely is more important in a short story than a novel.

Readers will learn what is going on, who the main characters are, and the setting as this action unfolds. Not only is that a more economical way to deliver what otherwise would be considered exposition, it���s also more interesting.

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