The way a story or play might begin, as when a story begins in the middle and then flashes back to the cause of a character's trouble or perdicament. The writer may begin the play, story, poem, or novel by jumping into an ongoing stream of action which is considered a powerful writing technique in any language.
The benefits of beginning a story, play, or poem in medias res, or "into the thick of it", are not limited to the opening pages. The same technique can be applied to each new "beginnings" in chapters of a novel, acts in a play, or stanzas in a poem.
The in medias res technique does not work for every story, novel, play, script, or poem. Certain works may simply require a more methodical approach; however, the in medias res can create a hook that grabs the readers' attention from the very beginning.