silver Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 My daughter is doing Classical Writing Homer, and she will be soon be covering the writing project where she has to start a story in media res (start in the middle of the action, then flashback to tell how the hero got into that mess). Does anyone know of a picture book or short story that I can have her read as an example before we tackle her doing it herself? Or even an episode of a kids TV show on Netflix or Amazon Prime? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macmacmoo Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 Would The Day Jimm's Boa Ate the Wash be an example or is it more of a reversal? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 Yeah, I think that one is a backward retelling rather than starting in the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 Charlott'es Web starts with "Where is Pa going with that Axe?" (or something similar) By the end of the first chapter, the line makes sense. Holes is a novel that starts somewhat in the middle, with the boy on the way to work camp. We find out much later in the story how that started, and there are other stories that start in the middle and wrap around to the beginning in that book. Maze Runner is similar, but may not be appropriate. Ender's Game also, also might not be appropriate for all readers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 I was hoping for shorter works that we could read in a sitting, but I can go with one of those if I can't find anything shorter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 Holes is one of my absolute favorite middle school reads. What about the opening scene of Ratatouille? Or this Simpson's episode? The Simpsons does this regularly. Though the original pilot did feature an opening scene of the family eating breakfast where we get a feel for all their personalities. This was toned down when the episode was turned into the first season finale. In terms of actual stories where this applies, there's "The Telltale Head" which begins with Bart and Homer walking down the street with the head of the statue of Jebediah Springfield, before an angry mob chases them. Cue episode-length flashback. That was taken from this website: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InMediasRes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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