In media res: is it a genre requirement?

[pjthompson]

Here’s another writing question for you: does every genre story have to start in media res?

I think it may be a genre preference, and I do often enjoy stories that begin with a burst of speed, throwing the reader into the water and forcing them to swim or drown. Certainly, if you’re writing urban fantasy or paranormal romance or space opera or some such sub-genre, you’re probably going to want a quick immersion in plot.

But those aren’t the only kind of stories, and some of my favoritest stories in the world have not begun with a bang and a pop. They’ve built slowly, meandered through interesting character and setting introductions, created magic with language, ever so many lovely loads of language, and eventually, yes eventually, wandered up to the plot and politely shaken hands before throwing it to the mat and beginning the wrestling match.

I’m not sure those kinds of stories are in fashion anymore. But I would be interested to know what you think on the subject. This is another of those personal preference things, and there is no wrong or right answer, I don’t think. There is just what is, and what you think, and what the market will bear.

Or what the reader will bear.

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

Comments

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

I think that's it's the current vogue, and something that is recommended on a lot of agents' & editors' blogs (in my experience).

[pjthompson]

Oh, I know that. I guess I'm just wondering if there's any room left for that other kind of writing.

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

It'll come back around eventually. :)

[pjthompson]

Hopefully. :-)

[hominysnark.livejournal.com]

I like both kinds, as long as they're well-written. Which is pretty much the obvious answer. But I do think it depends on the kind of story being told, and the kind of writing style the author has.

I'm actually thinking of Sarah Monette's Mélusine, in which she successfully pulls off both. It starts out with a prologue in which one of the two main POV characters simply tells a story. It's a cautionary tale, and a damn fine story in and of itself. But the first chapter starts off in media res from the other protag's POV and it gets exciting really quickly. (And in a neat trick, ties back in with the story in the prologue.)

So I think it boils down to the ultimate cop-out answer -- it depends.

[pjthompson]

lol--no, that's not a cop out answer because it does depend. There isn't a wrong or right answer except what you said: as long as it's well-written.

[marycatelli]

I've talked with people who thought that the only form of hook was action.

But I have read, now and again, books that started with something else and still intrigued me enough to read on, so it's not impossible to get them published nowadays.

[pjthompson]

I think that's true. It has to be hooky in some way, but that doesn't always mean action. Intrigue, character, setting can all be hooks. It's the quality of the writing that counts.

[frigg.livejournal.com]

I like both, but it does seem to be the current fad to start with a bang.

[pjthompson]

Yes, it does. I have to think there's still room for the other, given the right agent and the right editor.

[kmkibble75.livejournal.com]

I don't think you need a quick grab into the plot, but you do need a quick grab somewhere on the first page. It could be a red herring, I guess, but if it's just hum-drum, it won't work.

I once read the opening to Fletch used as an example, I believe, which is a series of straightforward simple sentences describing how he got dressed in the morning until it states why he's getting dressed, which is to collect on a million dollars. I'm not even sure if that's the main plot, but it's catchy enough to stick in my head for more than a few years.

No bullets fired or anything exciting, just something to catch your attention.

[pjthompson]

I know it's possible because I've been hooked by it myself, I just wonder if the audience has become so ingrained with it that they won't accept anything else. Or agents and editors.

[jmeadows.livejournal.com]

I think you can do both at the same time! Introduce the character and grab me into the story all at once. (Robin McKinley does a great job of this.)

It's just *hard*. And I suspect a bang and pop is easier for most people to pull off, so it's what gets recommended more often than not. (Kind of lazy all around, but there you go.)

[pjthompson]

I suspect you may be right. Well-written and catchy character, setting, etc., is a harder thing to do. Darned writing! :-)

[cathemery.livejournal.com]

This is one reason I don't choose a book on the basis of the first page/paragraph(s).

I look at the cover, I flip it open, I read some random page. If I want to turn the page, that's good. If I don't want to stop reading, that's better.

Sometimes, as a reader, I find that a beginning that is bang and pop feels like the easy way out. I think the real key is to start with something interesting. And as we keep saying over and again, you can't please everyone, and "interesting" is different to different people.

In *my* library there is certainly room. :)

[pjthompson]

Yes, the bang/pop does feel like the easy way. To capture a reader through mood or character is much harder and takes more work. I remember starting off my third novel with a real whizbang opener and posting it to OWW. Nothing else I'd posted there at the time had such an opener, and one of my regulars actually complained that it was that way. The opener, he felt, was false advertising, as it didn't really represent what followed in the rest of the story. So...

Perhaps you and I are not the only ones who don't need in media res. :-)

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Been thinking about this off and on since you posted it because, as you know PJ-Bob, I'm revising and currently gnashing my teeth over my opening.

As I'm sure you've figured out over the years, I'm an old-fashioned gal. I don't feel particularly drawn to the trend of bang and pop. Truth be told, I'm a little wary of it and it's inherent contrivedness (yes, I'm declaring that a new word). Oh, I know all fiction is contrived, but bang and pop can too easily go that extra--and, in my opinion, unneeded--mile.

I'm just as drawn by mastery of language or an image of something that doesn't fit the ordinary or my expectations. I don't mind being drawn in quietly. To me, an "unfashionable" story opening goes more with being invited into someone's world/home/story, rather than stepping through the door only to have a pie thrown in my face.

Pie in the face can be fun, but believe me, I don't need or wish it for every reading experience.

[pjthompson]

I think, maybe, certain sub-genres are more tolerant of a leisurely opening than others. High fantasy would be one, I think. There are other things in high fantasy that can hook a reader, like worldbuilding, interesting characters, etc. But that has to be done right, too.

If you're looking at urban or PR, then it almost seems a requirement to be thrown right into things. Even though, yes, I think it sometimes feels very, very contrived. I'm reading a novel now that had a weird and contrived feel to the opening. I kept reading and fortunately it was a better novel than the opening suggested so I've settled into it, but I almost put it down.

Then again, sometimes bangpop can be false advertising. If you'll recall the original opening of Shivery Bones, Miq-Bob, it seemed to promise an actiony whizbang novel, but it really wasn't that kind of story except at the beginning and the end. The rest was more contemplative and in my case, I think the popbang may have worked against me in the marketplace.

Impossible to say, since I wasn't riding along in the minds of the agents and editors who read it. Impossible to say in any of this, really. We just have to do the best work we can in the way we think it must be done and hope it finds an audience.

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

I definitely agree that bangpop is so much the norm for certain genres as to be taken for a requirement...until someone comes along and successfully pulls off another kind of opening. :P Then maybe we'll see a new trend.

In the meantime, how to read the waters? As you said, we can't be in agents' minds, so I guess the best thing to do is swim the current as we see fit, either with or against or across. :P

[pjthompson]

Exactly so.