Sharon, this is also a good point. Starting in medias res is en vogue, and readers almost expect it, but it is definitely a controversial topic. While brainstorming normality today, each author will have a choice to make about how much normality to show in the beginning of the story and how much to sprinkle in later, through dialog ("We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto!"), flashbacks, through the actions taken by the characters, which indirectly tell you what those characters are generally like, and all kinds of other creative means.

So for those of us who choose to start with the inciting incident or even later action, maybe with this assignment we're just establishing normality for ourselves, the authors, before we delve much deeper into What Happens Next.

Cheers,
Michelle