What does term 'in medias res' mean?

Five Great Quotations about Poetry Writing prompt: Describe any object

What does term 'in medias res' mean?

Q: While reading one of the self-published books about plotting a novel, I came across the term “in medias res” in the section on the book’s opening lines. What does this term mean?

The term is Latin for “in the middle,” and many editors and book critics would say that novels should dispense 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

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