Essentials Course: Inciting Incident

Essentials Course: Inciting Incident -

Photo credit: Flickr justonlysteve

as over the years I became a specific tracer, I thought now was a good time as ever to write about certain key plot elements, starting with my favorite :. the inciting incident

The inciting incident is the moment or event that changes the life of your character and puts them on the path that is the rest of the book. It is when Harry starts receiving the acceptance letter to Hogwarts, when Clary sees Shadowhunters kill a demon in a club, and when the test results of the faction Tris are inconclusive, making divergent.

The reason why I like the inciting incident is double so first of all, it's the first thing I figure out when plotting. Usually, the inciting incident is where my idea of ​​the story comes from it is the spark that triggers the rest of brainstorming discovering the rest of the book. Second, the inciting incident is the first real taste of what awaits you in the rest of the book.

The inciting incident is, in any case, an optional path point. Without a life changing event to catapult our characters in one direction or another, there is not a story. Do not believe me? Let's take a look at the examples above

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (JK Rowling). If Harry has never been accepted at Hogwarts, he would have continued to live in the cupboard under the stairs at Privet Drive, hidden from the world, in a depressing life rather boring. free Hogwarts Harry, it turns out, is not truly epic series of seven books fodder.


• City of Bones (Cassandra Clare): Had Clary never seen the Shadowhunters, she would never have begun to question the reality she knew, she would not met the hidden, paranormal world of Shadowhunters and angels and demons and werewolves and vampires and magicians and all the exciting stuff that makes the Mortal Instruments series so interesting.


• Divergent (Veronica Roth): Tris test showed the expected results (that is, it belongs to Abnegation, or another single faction), it would choose a faction and lived a normal life regardless of the faction of his choice. The end.

As you can see, without encouraging their respective incidents, the above stories are not really novel worthy stories. But the incident that changes the protagonist's life comes the fascinating stories that we all love and adore. And that's the power of the inciting incident.

What examples of incidents incentive can you think of your favorite books, movies or TV shows?

Twitter sized bites:

Working on a field for your WIP? Writer @Ava_Jae discusses the importance of the inciting incident. (Click for tweeter)

Do you know your call to WIP incident? Here is why it is so important to identify early on. (Click for tweeter)