Progress! Inciting Incident

Post 4

My goal of writing 1,000 words a day was a bold one. I haven’t been able to make that work. But I have been writing consistently every day, making progress in the story. I’m currently in chapter 3, and I just finished writing the inciting incident a few days ago.

If you’re not familiar with the Inciting Incident, it is the initial event that turns the main character’s world on its head, after which all subsequent events lead to the climax. Author and lecturer Robert McKee came up with the term “Inciting Incident” to describe this initial event that changes everything after, though it’s known by other terms, as well. Joseph Campbell, in The Hero With a Thousand Faces, calls it the story’s Call to Adventure.

Inciting Incidents have 5 main criteria. If it doesn’t meet these criteria, it’s just a standard, lower-case event. A story without an inciting incident isn’t really a story; it’s just a series of scenes or events linked by character or world. Caveat: There’s nothing wrong with writing just scenes. Scenes are often the most fun part of writing, after all. But without the conflict that is activated by the inciting incident, the characters have no true goal and thus, no actual story.

The 5 criteria for an inciting incident are:

1. It occurs early in the story, generally within the first 5-15 percent of the story. It is the event that changes the main character’s world, after all. Or, as Joseph Campbell might say, calls them to adventure.

2. It interrupts the main character’s life. Their lives are not the same after the inciting incident.

3. It is out of the main character’s control.

4. It’s life-changing. The main character won’t be the same after experiencing this event.

5. It’s so urgent that the character cannot ignore its summons or effect.

A great, simple example of an inciting incident is from the “Mission: Impossible” series. When the characters receive that recording that says, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” - that’s the story’s inciting incident. The characters may choose not to accept the mission, though they always do; there wouldn’t be a story otherwise. All the events that follow that mission acceptance (the call to adventure) lead to the story’s climax. See how easy that was?

My story’s inciting incident occurs at the end of chapter 2, roughly 7000 words in. If I’d met my goal of writing 1,000 words per day, I’d have gotten there within the first week of writing. Instead, I got there in the 3rd week. Despite the delay, not too shabby.

While the inciting incident is a big piece of the puzzle, it’s far from the only piece. There’s still lots more to come. And I’ve still got lots more to write. But at least the call to adventure is out there, and my protagonists have accepted it.

Here’s an updated snapshot of my writing progress - in word count form - so far:

Way behind my word count goals, but sticking with it. My protagonists have heard the call to adventure and answered. Now, the real fun begins.