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Name of the technique where you show a tense scene in the beginning and then transitioning to a peaceful first chapter
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What do you call the writing technique that shows an incredibly tense scene at the beginning, and then transitioning to a more peaceful pace in the first chapter?
The only novels that I can remember that has this kind of intro is Dan Brown's Inferno and Robert Ludlum's Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Identity.
I'm not talking about the excerpt because it could be a different scene and not really taken from the story. (but please correct me if it is the excerpt)
It's like a teaser intro, something like that. Does that mini-chapter have a name?
fiction technique
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Bwrites
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up vote
1
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favorite
What do you call the writing technique that shows an incredibly tense scene at the beginning, and then transitioning to a more peaceful pace in the first chapter?
The only novels that I can remember that has this kind of intro is Dan Brown's Inferno and Robert Ludlum's Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Identity.
I'm not talking about the excerpt because it could be a different scene and not really taken from the story. (but please correct me if it is the excerpt)
It's like a teaser intro, something like that. Does that mini-chapter have a name?
fiction technique
asked 1 hour ago
Bwrites
38827
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
What do you call the writing technique that shows an incredibly tense scene at the beginning, and then transitioning to a more peaceful pace in the first chapter?
The only novels that I can remember that has this kind of intro is Dan Brown's Inferno and Robert Ludlum's Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Identity.
I'm not talking about the excerpt because it could be a different scene and not really taken from the story. (but please correct me if it is the excerpt)
It's like a teaser intro, something like that. Does that mini-chapter have a name?
fiction technique
asked 1 hour ago
Bwrites
38827
What do you call the writing technique that shows an incredibly tense scene at the beginning, and then transitioning to a more peaceful pace in the first chapter?
The only novels that I can remember that has this kind of intro is Dan Brown's Inferno and Robert Ludlum's Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Identity.
I'm not talking about the excerpt because it could be a different scene and not really taken from the story. (but please correct me if it is the excerpt)
It's like a teaser intro, something like that. Does that mini-chapter have a name?
fiction technique
fiction technique
asked 1 hour ago
Bwrites
38827
asked 1 hour ago
Bwrites
38827
asked 1 hour ago
Bwrites
38827
asked 1 hour ago
Bwrites
38827
asked 1 hour ago
Bwrites
38827
38827
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
2 Answers
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3
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This sounds like a special case of starting in medias res, or jumping into the story during an action scene. This is usually followed by more action before a pause to reflect on how the characters arrived at their current situation but in this case the deescalation occurs very quickly.
Depending on the proper chronological order of events this may also constitute a flashback structure if the calm scene actually precedes the action that started the story.
answered 42 mins ago
Ash
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up vote
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The more classic way of describing this is called "in medias res," which often also implies the action scene is from the middle of the story, considered chronologically. But more generally, and in a modern context, this can be considered an action hook.
"Hooks" are a more recent way of conceptualizing things that rapidly and reliably draw the audience into a piece of art. In an environment of short attention spans and limitless choices, hooks have become ever more important and emphasized across a wide variety of disciplines (older works often began more gradually-- and when they had "hooks," they weren't generally called that).
answered 36 mins ago
Chris Sunami
25.8k33197
The opening scene of a narrative begun in medias res need not fit anywhere else in the narrative, Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet starts in medias res but proceeds in a direct chronological order from there on.
– Ash
30 mins ago
@Ash - Thanks, I've edited to address that. That's new info for me, I always assumed in medias res implied the middle of the story, not just the middle of the action.
– Chris Sunami
17 mins ago
It is often used to denote starting in the middle of the plot, because that's how it is often used; starting in the chronological middle and working forwards and backwards simultaneously until the whole story is told. It has been used that way since Homer wrote down the Odyssey but technically all it means is starting in the thick of the action so you're not obligated to go back and explain in detail how you got to the starting point.
– Ash
11 mins ago
add a comment |Â
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
This sounds like a special case of starting in medias res, or jumping into the story during an action scene. This is usually followed by more action before a pause to reflect on how the characters arrived at their current situation but in this case the deescalation occurs very quickly.
Depending on the proper chronological order of events this may also constitute a flashback structure if the calm scene actually precedes the action that started the story.
answered 42 mins ago
Ash
4,331428
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
This sounds like a special case of starting in medias res, or jumping into the story during an action scene. This is usually followed by more action before a pause to reflect on how the characters arrived at their current situation but in this case the deescalation occurs very quickly.
Depending on the proper chronological order of events this may also constitute a flashback structure if the calm scene actually precedes the action that started the story.
answered 42 mins ago
Ash
4,331428
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
This sounds like a special case of starting in medias res, or jumping into the story during an action scene. This is usually followed by more action before a pause to reflect on how the characters arrived at their current situation but in this case the deescalation occurs very quickly.
Depending on the proper chronological order of events this may also constitute a flashback structure if the calm scene actually precedes the action that started the story.
answered 42 mins ago
Ash
4,331428
This sounds like a special case of starting in medias res, or jumping into the story during an action scene. This is usually followed by more action before a pause to reflect on how the characters arrived at their current situation but in this case the deescalation occurs very quickly.
Depending on the proper chronological order of events this may also constitute a flashback structure if the calm scene actually precedes the action that started the story.
answered 42 mins ago
Ash
4,331428
edited 36 mins ago
answered 42 mins ago
Ash
4,331428
answered 42 mins ago
Ash
4,331428
answered 42 mins ago
Ash
4,331428
4,331428
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
The more classic way of describing this is called "in medias res," which often also implies the action scene is from the middle of the story, considered chronologically. But more generally, and in a modern context, this can be considered an action hook.
"Hooks" are a more recent way of conceptualizing things that rapidly and reliably draw the audience into a piece of art. In an environment of short attention spans and limitless choices, hooks have become ever more important and emphasized across a wide variety of disciplines (older works often began more gradually-- and when they had "hooks," they weren't generally called that).
answered 36 mins ago
Chris Sunami
25.8k33197
The opening scene of a narrative begun in medias res need not fit anywhere else in the narrative, Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet starts in medias res but proceeds in a direct chronological order from there on.
– Ash
30 mins ago
@Ash - Thanks, I've edited to address that. That's new info for me, I always assumed in medias res implied the middle of the story, not just the middle of the action.
– Chris Sunami
17 mins ago
It is often used to denote starting in the middle of the plot, because that's how it is often used; starting in the chronological middle and working forwards and backwards simultaneously until the whole story is told. It has been used that way since Homer wrote down the Odyssey but technically all it means is starting in the thick of the action so you're not obligated to go back and explain in detail how you got to the starting point.
– Ash
11 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
The more classic way of describing this is called "in medias res," which often also implies the action scene is from the middle of the story, considered chronologically. But more generally, and in a modern context, this can be considered an action hook.
"Hooks" are a more recent way of conceptualizing things that rapidly and reliably draw the audience into a piece of art. In an environment of short attention spans and limitless choices, hooks have become ever more important and emphasized across a wide variety of disciplines (older works often began more gradually-- and when they had "hooks," they weren't generally called that).
answered 36 mins ago
Chris Sunami
25.8k33197
The opening scene of a narrative begun in medias res need not fit anywhere else in the narrative, Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet starts in medias res but proceeds in a direct chronological order from there on.
– Ash
30 mins ago
@Ash - Thanks, I've edited to address that. That's new info for me, I always assumed in medias res implied the middle of the story, not just the middle of the action.
– Chris Sunami
17 mins ago
It is often used to denote starting in the middle of the plot, because that's how it is often used; starting in the chronological middle and working forwards and backwards simultaneously until the whole story is told. It has been used that way since Homer wrote down the Odyssey but technically all it means is starting in the thick of the action so you're not obligated to go back and explain in detail how you got to the starting point.
– Ash
11 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
The more classic way of describing this is called "in medias res," which often also implies the action scene is from the middle of the story, considered chronologically. But more generally, and in a modern context, this can be considered an action hook.
"Hooks" are a more recent way of conceptualizing things that rapidly and reliably draw the audience into a piece of art. In an environment of short attention spans and limitless choices, hooks have become ever more important and emphasized across a wide variety of disciplines (older works often began more gradually-- and when they had "hooks," they weren't generally called that).
answered 36 mins ago
Chris Sunami
25.8k33197
The more classic way of describing this is called "in medias res," which often also implies the action scene is from the middle of the story, considered chronologically. But more generally, and in a modern context, this can be considered an action hook.
"Hooks" are a more recent way of conceptualizing things that rapidly and reliably draw the audience into a piece of art. In an environment of short attention spans and limitless choices, hooks have become ever more important and emphasized across a wide variety of disciplines (older works often began more gradually-- and when they had "hooks," they weren't generally called that).
answered 36 mins ago
Chris Sunami
25.8k33197
edited 11 mins ago
answered 36 mins ago
Chris Sunami
25.8k33197
answered 36 mins ago
Chris Sunami
25.8k33197
answered 36 mins ago
Chris Sunami
25.8k33197
25.8k33197
The opening scene of a narrative begun in medias res need not fit anywhere else in the narrative, Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet starts in medias res but proceeds in a direct chronological order from there on.
– Ash
30 mins ago
@Ash - Thanks, I've edited to address that. That's new info for me, I always assumed in medias res implied the middle of the story, not just the middle of the action.
– Chris Sunami
17 mins ago
It is often used to denote starting in the middle of the plot, because that's how it is often used; starting in the chronological middle and working forwards and backwards simultaneously until the whole story is told. It has been used that way since Homer wrote down the Odyssey but technically all it means is starting in the thick of the action so you're not obligated to go back and explain in detail how you got to the starting point.
– Ash
11 mins ago
add a comment |Â
The opening scene of a narrative begun in medias res need not fit anywhere else in the narrative, Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet starts in medias res but proceeds in a direct chronological order from there on.
– Ash
30 mins ago
@Ash - Thanks, I've edited to address that. That's new info for me, I always assumed in medias res implied the middle of the story, not just the middle of the action.
– Chris Sunami
17 mins ago
It is often used to denote starting in the middle of the plot, because that's how it is often used; starting in the chronological middle and working forwards and backwards simultaneously until the whole story is told. It has been used that way since Homer wrote down the Odyssey but technically all it means is starting in the thick of the action so you're not obligated to go back and explain in detail how you got to the starting point.
– Ash
11 mins ago
The opening scene of a narrative begun in medias res need not fit anywhere else in the narrative, Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet starts in medias res but proceeds in a direct chronological order from there on.
– Ash
30 mins ago
The opening scene of a narrative begun in medias res need not fit anywhere else in the narrative, Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet starts in medias res but proceeds in a direct chronological order from there on.
– Ash
30 mins ago
@Ash - Thanks, I've edited to address that. That's new info for me, I always assumed in medias res implied the middle of the story, not just the middle of the action.
– Chris Sunami
17 mins ago
@Ash - Thanks, I've edited to address that. That's new info for me, I always assumed in medias res implied the middle of the story, not just the middle of the action.
– Chris Sunami
17 mins ago
It is often used to denote starting in the middle of the plot, because that's how it is often used; starting in the chronological middle and working forwards and backwards simultaneously until the whole story is told. It has been used that way since Homer wrote down the Odyssey but technically all it means is starting in the thick of the action so you're not obligated to go back and explain in detail how you got to the starting point.
– Ash
11 mins ago
It is often used to denote starting in the middle of the plot, because that's how it is often used; starting in the chronological middle and working forwards and backwards simultaneously until the whole story is told. It has been used that way since Homer wrote down the Odyssey but technically all it means is starting in the thick of the action so you're not obligated to go back and explain in detail how you got to the starting point.
– Ash
11 mins ago
add a comment |Â
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