What Does Medias Res Mean?

So what does Medias Res mean?

Medias Res means: “Into the middle of things.”

Honestly, I had never heard of it before.

Per the usual, I’m just reading along and stumbling into the nine-millionth word I need to look up.

In the case of a story, this is referring to where a reader or viewer is introduced.

For example, you could tell a story: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7.

Or you could tell a story: 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 1 – 2 – 7

One of my favorite movies done this way is The Usual Suspects.

Kevin Spacy plays a small time criminal who gets twisted up with some bad people. Only through stories told while sitting in a dingy police office, do we learn the truth.

The Latin of it did remind me of Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc.

I simply love learning something new.

You’ve probably heard the phrase in medias res, which means “into the midst of things.”

-Stephen King, On Writing