The Inciting Incident

[The Dark One]

It depends of course on the story. My three published books all have the Incident at different points - one right at the beginning. One about 10 pages in (the hero receives a letter addressed in his own handwriting from a place he's never been while breaking up with his girlfriend over the phone, just after he was forced to resign from his job). The third, just published occurs about 60 pages in but there are numerous small incidents across several threads which give the story its momentum until a couple of threads come together and the main action explode off the page.

At least, that is my hope.

 

[wordwalker]

One problem with "inciting incident" as a concept is that if you trust the idea too much it can become an excuse to delay, not just that transition, but too much of the story itself. By all means the MC can take a while (100ish pages does work an upper maximum, sure) to fully commit or for the side character to bring the action around to the MC. But the more you do that, the surer you have to be that the scenes before then keep pulling the reader forward. I like to think there might not be an early II, but that's if I work to make every scene along the way an incitement to at least the next scene, even it's three chapters of red herring before his home village blows up.

Every scene needs to keep the reader eager to read on; The Thing not happening yet just means you have other gears to shift up through on the way.

 

[Devor]

I like to think there might not be an early II, but that's if I work to make every scene along the way an incitement to at least the next scene, even it's three chapters of red herring before his home village blows up.

That makes me wonder, does anyone know if there's similar lingo to "Inciting Incident" and some of the others mentioned when looking just at scene or chapter structures? I'm only aware of scene/sequel, which is pretty broad.

 

[wordwalker]

That makes me wonder, does anyone know if there's similar lingo to "Inciting Incident" and some of the others mentioned when looking just at scene or chapter structures? I'm only aware of scene/sequel, which is pretty broad.

Good question. Within a scene I think it's just called buildup, and Scene/Sequel is very general.

On the other hand for coordinating more scenes there's

But the inciting incident is also known as "The Door of No Return." It's the part of the first act where something happens to rip the protag out of their comfy little world and into the real story.

According to my understanding this isn't the case. The inciting incident is what starts things in motion. For example. In Star Wars it's when Luke and Uncle Owen purchase the droids. This is not the end of the first act. The end of the first act of Star Wars is when Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru are killed and Luke decides to go with Ben.

So we have Inciting Incident (there's trouble/opportunity out there!), Call To Adventure (MC can help) and Refusal Of The Call (Not me!), then Door of No Return aka The Call Knows Where You Live (You don't get a vote, MC!). And by the Star Wars example, even the Inciting Incident is only when the situation begins to cross the MC's path, so personal buildup and other-viewpoint events like Vader capturing Leia's ship could still happen before that. The Door might also be split into the realization that changes the MC and the action (entering Mos Eisley and selling the speeder) that locks him into his new life-- which of corse have plenty of scenes between them too.

Not that everyone has to think in those terms, but it's a useful breakdown to consider. Any others?

 

[Chessie]

Actually, with how you've described it, there is still plenty of room for story and tension before the incident happens. And I think readers are pretty bright in the sense that they catch on to what that incident is specifically.

 

[Addison]

The inciting incident, while the real fire-under-character's-butt of the story, doesn't have to be something external or pivotal to the main plot. There are as many layers to character as there are for the story itself. So the inciting incident could deal with the overall story (he hears the prophecy, sees the assassination, witnesses the plague etc) or it could be something interpersonal (little boy struck by mother, brother betrayed by brother) which would also be something internal, a feeling of trust, placing a wall between the character and the old safe place which spurs them to the place of main-plot events.

Really think, as the inciting incident is the character's door of no return. It's not the plot's door of no return.

 

[wordwalker]

Really think, as the inciting incident is the character's door of no return. It's not the plot's door of no return.

Not a bad rule. That however many layers and branches may be going on, this is the one that to the character (and for a reader looking for Theme stuff) made the difference.

 

[GeekDavid]

I've been thinking, another way of leading up to the Inciting Incident might be to have smaller incidents happen to the MC leading up to the Big Inciting Incident. That would kind of make the Inciting Incident the proverbial "last straw" that pushes the MC out of his comfortable life and into the life of the adventure that the story is about.

 

[Lawfire]

Really think, as the inciting incident is the character's door of no return. It's not the plot's door of no return.

Very true. In a multiple protag/POV, novel such as GRRM's A Game of Thrones (1st book not the HBO series), there is an inciting incident for each character. Some incidents happen later than others. Granted it is a series, but the book could stand alone.

 

[Addison]

Not a bad rule. That however many layers and branches may be going on, this is the one that to the character (and for a reader looking for Theme stuff) made the difference.

Exactly. Like Harry Potter for example. He got his letter but he didn't have to take it. When things were getting scary at Hogwarts he could have went to the Durselys, but he didn't. Hogwarts was his home. When Hagrid came with the letter it wasn't just "Congratulation, you're a wizard off to training!" For Harry it was more "Congratulations, I'm taking you away from this horrid place so you can wear clothes that fit, make friends, sleep in a real bed and get full meals." That is what spurred Harry out of that shack, not the magic.

 

[Devor]

Exactly. Like Harry Potter for example. He got his letter but he didn't have to take it. When things were getting scary at Hogwarts he could have went to the Durselys, but he didn't. Hogwarts was his home. When Hagrid came with the letter it wasn't just "Congratulation, you're a wizard off to training!" For Harry it was more "Congratulations, I'm taking you away from this horrid place so you can wear clothes that fit, make friends, sleep in a real bed and get full meals." That is what spurred Harry out of that shack, not the magic.

I'm a little confused, on a technical level that may not really matter except to be, y'know, technical.

Was the inciting incident in Harry Potter when Hagrid showed up with a letter, or was it the first letter that arrived with the first owl that Harry never got to see? I would've thought that the first letter was the Inciting Incident, and that Hagrid was the call to action. And that there's a whole second II/CoA when they discover that things are amiss at Hogwarts.

The reason I ask is that, every once in a while, it's helpful to know these distinctions when people are talking about them.

 

[Penpilot]

It's when Hagrid arrives. The first letter can't be the inciting incident. The inciting incident must have the protagonist participating in it in some form. There they must make a choice knowingly or unknowingly that starts the plot moving.

Here's a link that explains it in different terms. Write On!: The Basics: The Inciting Incident

 

[Addison]

Exactly, the letters are what make the reader-and character-interested in a given and growing situation. Hagrid coming is a person and event that can drastically change Harry's life. Which is what happens.

Thanks for the link Pen Pilot.

 

[Helen]

IThe inciting incident must have the protagonist participating in it in some form.

Not necessarily.

There they must make a choice knowingly or unknowingly that starts the plot moving.

Not necessarily.

It's when Hagrid arrives.

Not necessarily.

Here's a link that explains it in different terms. Write On!: The Basics: The Inciting Incident

The link is looking at it, more or less, as the push into two.

That's only one way of looking at it. It's often not placed there at all.

 

[Penpilot]

Instead of just saying, "Not Necessarily", how about giving your reasons for saying this. Without your reasons, it adds nothing to the discussion. What's your understand of an inciting incident and how does it differ?

 

[Addison]

Last night I listed all the incidents in the first two chapters and really studied them until I found the inciting incident. Everything else was build-up, but luckily I found it.

 

[Chessie]

After reading the article posted here by Penpilot, I'm a bit closer to clarity on this subject. However, I have a question. So the article breaks it down fairly easy, stating that the inciting incident can be any event that changes the character's life and sets the rest of the story in motion. I'll come clean here: I have two events which could be that incident, but I'm not sure which one to choose. They will both be in the story but I want to be clear on which is THE one.

1. Zyna volunteers herself to take the tonics to the southern town that has a disease outbreak. The reason why this is important is because it takes her to the next level of the story, where she's robbed by a group of bandits wanting the tonics she's carrying.

2. Zyna's dog sled is robbed by bandits. They kill her dogs, steal the tonics and the rest of her possessions, thus leaving her stranded in a winter filled wilderness. Imo, this is where the real story begins.

But you see, either of these events could be the inciting incident. Reason I'm having troubles deciding is because of how I'm wanting to frame the first act & the first couple chapters. What do you guys think?

 

[Penpilot]

It's the first one. There, he makes a conscious choice which brings him to that point where he's robbed. If you take my Star Wars example. The first one is equivalent to Luke getting the droids.

 

[Addison]

When I was examining my incidents I had trouble too. At the same time, as I usually do, I was also watching a movie on youtube. That time it was a horror/thriller, "Husk". I had a little trouble with the story so I looked at Husk and tried to find what the inciting incident was. If one thing in the beginning didn't happen that prevented the story from happening what would it be? For "Husk" it was the murder of crows crashing into the windshield which, in turn, sent the car off the road into a ditch. Without the crows the characters would have made it safely to the lake house for fun. They wouldn't have been stranded, gone through the corn field and be killed off.

So I looked closely at what my story was about. I looked at Who when Where at When to do What for Why and How. So look at your story closely Chester. What is the story really about? Then look at the incidents closely. If incident one doesn't happen could another scenario arise in consequence which somehow gets Zyna to a position to be victim of the second incident? That's how the other beginning incidents were in my story, and every story. I could make it so my character doesn't go into his step-father's study, but that would mean the step-father's building emotions would explode by his own means (and not deflate when my protag confronts him with his discovery.) The step-father's explosion would propel my protag to the next incident just as easily as the study.

If that's confusing, I apologize. Basically, really examine the core of the story, each layer, then the incidents and how they attribute. If one can be dismissed yet the character still goes on to your story, then that's not the inciting incident.

 

[Helen]

stating that the inciting incident can be any event that changes the character's life and sets the rest of the story in motion.

It's when Hagrid arrives. The first letter can't be the inciting incident. The inciting incident must have the protagonist participating in it in some form. There they must make a choice knowingly or unknowingly that starts the plot moving.

The inciting incident doesn't have to involve the protagonist. Nor does the protagonist have to make a choice. Those are arbitrary rules you or somebody have made up.

Also, Chesterama's quote could well apply to the first letter, as it happens at home. So the first letter could be the inciting incident.

Basically, really examine the core of the story, each layer, then the incidents and how they attribute. If one can be dismissed yet the character still goes on to your story, then that's not the inciting incident.

But that could apply to many stages. If Leia didn't send R2, there wouldn't have been a journey. If R2 didn't disappear, Luke wouldn't have left. If Luke's aunt and uncle hadn't been murdered, he wouldn't have left.

What's your understand of an inciting incident and how does it differ?

There are lots of events which move a story forward - each with it's own specific name, depending on context.

Any one of them is attributed the label "inciting incident."

Some people think the first trigger is the inciting incident.

Others think it is the catalyst, as per say, Snyder's page 11/12.

Others, like you, suggest it is the thing that takes you into Act 2, which would be more like Snyder's "break into two."

Others link it to one of the other events.

It doesn't really matter as long as you understand the purpose of all the events and why they're there.