Group 5: In Medias: Exposition, Flashback, Narrative Pace

1. Group 5: In Medias: Exposition, Flashback, Narrative Pace Brooke Campbell

2. Medias • “in the middle of things”; the technique of beginning a story in the middle of the action. • Ex:The Odyssey, starts off with most of Odysseus’ journey already finished, so the story is told in flashblacks

3. Exposition • The use of authorial discussion to explain or summarize background material rather than revealing this information through gradual narrative detail. • For example, • "Susan was angry when she left the house and climbed into her car outside.“ • That sentence is telling the reader about Susan, i.e., using exposition.

4. Flashback • A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events--usually in the form of a character's memories, dreams, narration, or even authorial commentary • (such as saying, "But back when King Arthur had been a child. . . ."). Flashback allows an author to fill in the reader about a place or a character, or it can be used to delay important details until just before a dramatic moment.

5. Narrative Pace • Narrative pace is the rate at which a story moves. • example, if the author takes several pages to describe the setting, the narrative pace is slow. Punctuation and word choice also can speed up or slow down the narrative pace. • Narrative pace is NOT what is actually happening. For example, during an action scene, the narrative pace is not neccesarily faster- you're only more motivated to read faster. However, using accessible vocab (instead of really long words) during such scenes can help speed up the narrative pace.