Brad Johnson is an author and blogger who helps writers discover their niche, build successful habits, and quit their 9-5. His books include Ignite Your Beacon, Writing Clout and Tomes Of A Healing Heart. For strategic content and practical tips on how to become a full-time writer, visit: BradleyJohnsonProductions.com.
Exactly fifty years ago, noted futurist Alvin Toffler wrote one of the most widely read books about the future called Future Shock. It was a legendary work, and the inspiration for the team at the Abundant Future Institute to seek out 50 top futurists to each contribute a chapter to a book celebrating Toffler’s vision and offering new thoughts for a new era. I was honored to be among those who added their insights to the curated selection.
The book is now available on Amazon and my contributed chapter is titled “The Non-Obvious Appeal of Vicarious People.” Here’s an excerpt …
I once purchased a tweet from Kim Kardashian.
Admitting I bought a forgettable endorsement from a forgettable person on a forgettable platform hardly seems like an appropriate story to share in a book co-authored by some of the world’s foremost thinkers on the future. But it points to a seeming contradiction in my interests: For someone who has spent most of his professional life trying to not-so-gently nudge companies and leaders back toward embracing their humanity, I have an unusual fascination with fake things.
I attribute this interest to my experiences working in advertising for the first decade of my career, before I shifted my focus toward trying to predict and describe the future. While I was developing creative persuasion strategies to sell everything from orange juice to cloud computing, I became a student of human behavior.
The team I used to lead would regularly talk to people and pore over reports from global analytics firms to develop consumer insights. Our goal was to create “personas” that would neatly describe large categories of people in terms of their beliefs, passions, and motivations—no matter how mundane or unexpected.
Why do people pick up the second magazine from the rack instead of the first? Why do they worry about climate change yet still buy bottled water? And why do they mistakenly place so much trust in false information, manipulated media, and fabricated celebrities?
It was this last question that fascinated me most: In a world of near-perfect information, why do certain people hold such power to influence us despite sometimes being demonstrably fake? We trust and follow people who are famous simply for being famous, or believe in the experiences of perfect strangers who post product and experience reviews online. We get duped over and over again by self-serving politicians and fame-chasing celebrities.
Thanks to the internet, we have plenty of resources that should allow us to instantly debunk any half-truth or anyone peddling half-truths. Fact-checking is at our fingertips. Despite this easy access to information, somehow people continue to be easily and deeply manipulated on a daily basis.
This invisible force is a potent fixture of our culture, but it isn’t new. Writers have been exploring and imagining its effect for much of the past century.
In Manipulation We (Often) Trust
In 1928, in his seminal book Propaganda, Edward Bernays described the “conscious and intelligent manipulation” of the masses by governments, mostly achieved through imperceptible methods of persuasion designed to keep citizens in line.
Nearly a quarter-century later, noted science fiction luminary Frederick Pohl imagined a future where advertising agencies manipulated public perceptions and capitalism ruled the world in his dystopian novel Space Merchants. Both believed outside entities like governments or organizations shaped what we believe to further their own ends.
In 1970, Alvin Toffler extended this idea to suggest individuals were influencing us, too. He used the term “vicarious people,” such as artists, television personalities, and even fictional characters, to describe the outsized effect that both people and fictional characters were having on our identities and personalities. We model our behavior after theirs and increasingly use their examples to moderate our own beliefs and shape who we are.
As politicians preach more xenophobia, online influencers chase views, and the media curates sensationalism, we the people get assaulted by the fake all around us. And sometimes we reflexively create it ourselves through what we share online.
How can we live in a future where we might overcome—or at least better manage—this parade of fake personalities to become better versions of ourselves instead of indulging our darker impulses? To start, we will need to more deeply understand the nuances behind it. I have spent considerable time trying to do exactly that, usually by doing something that most futurists are loathe to do: focusing primarily on the present.
Over the past 10 years that our marketing agency has been focused on B2B marketing, there have been many changes: From the advent of marketing automation and social media to the growing popularity of interactive content, ABM and influencer marketing.
Staying on top of trends and best practices requires continuous innovation, education and cycles of marketing optimization. The reward for this continuous effort is staying one step ahead of the competition in the form of quality and performance.
Events play a big role in the ongoing effort to draw on the collective wisdom of the B2B marketing industry and last week TopRank Marketing wrapped up speaking and attending our 8th B2B Marketing Exchange conference. In case you missed the conference, here are a few highlights:
Award Winning B2B Influencer Marketing – I am very proud to say that our clients dominated the influencer marketing category of the B2BMX Killer Content Awards.
Dell Outlet was a finalist with a campaign featuring small business influencers advocating on video, audio and test for the value of refurbished computers. Alcatel Lucent Enterprise was the influencer marketing category winner with an innovative awards campaign featuring influencer judges that generated millions in sales pipeline.
Connecting the Dots Between ABM and Influence – For the 8th year in a row I had the opportunity to present at B2BMX and in 2020 it was about how ABM marketers can leverage influencer marketing to improve the performance of their programs. Josh Nite liveblogged the presentation here.
The First Ever B2B Influencer Marketing Study – At B2BMX we announced the launch of the first B2B influencer marketing research study that aims to provide B2B marketers with a single source of data when it comes to business influencer marketing strategies, tactics, budgets, trends and future plans. Whether you’re just thinking about influencer marketing, have only piloted or are engaged with an ongoing program, we invite you to take the survey here: State of B2B Influencer Marketing Study 2020.
Break Free B2B Marketing – Susan Misukanis and Josh Nite from our team spent much of the conference interviewing top B2B marketing executives from brands including on how they’re “breaking free” in their marketing. Interviews include senior marketing executives from Dell, Oracle, 6sense, SAP, ON24, Johnson Controls and more. Be sure to subscribe to TopRank Blog and catch Season 2 of Break Free B2B.
Insights From Top B2B Marketing Speakers – When I present at conferences, especially B2B events, I try to attend presentations and below are a few highlights:
Customers Are Your Best Marketers
Vinay Bhagat – Trust Radius: What content can customers relate to better than content created by other customers? When you do awareness campaigns, reviews can make them more effective. To optimize customer reviews, ask questions that draw out your solution differentiators. Review can support lead generation activities by supporting buyer intent data, retargeting, content, nurture, website and landing pages. Adding reviews to a trial page increased conversions by 20%.
Innovative Conversions Strategies Anamaria Alba, Dell Technologies: Dell needed something that would break through the noise and get the attention of IT buyers. The solution was to develop a Tech Score to meet the need of getting truly qualified, high quality leads. A Tech Score is an interactive assessment oriented demand gen product that requires users to self identify pain points, providing them the right content at the right time. Using the Tech Score has resulted in 3X higher more ROI and 5-10% higher conversions.
A Modular, Multi-Touch Approach To Campaign Strategy Christine Cornwell – Equifax: Start with evergreen high value content, then figure out how you can pull it apart into snackable formats and work with your martech stack for publishing and promoting that content. Don’t retire content, reuse it.
Katie Fisher – JLL: Use a platform like Adobe to organize content, repurposing, and syndication. Be sure to listen to and learn from your partners about what’s reasonable and impactful for your marketing.
The Power of Experiential B2B Content
Ryan Brown – Ceros: If the goal for marketers is to create things that are memorable to people, we must realize how much opportunity there is to avoid the mediocre middle. To start on the experiential content journey create content by thinking about what experience you want your customers to have, vs. making content and then adding experiential elements to it.
Darios Eslami – VMware Cabon Black: Experiential content is not just for prospect engagement but it’s a great internal tool to make you think about how you’re delivering all of your content. Commitment to thoughtful marketing, engaging opportunities and experiential content. If we can’t invest time into great experiences for our clients we can’t expect them to give us their time back.
Sharon Shapiro & Paige Gildner – Bluecore: Experiential content is at the intersection of content an design. It’s essential to engage content and design early and often on programs. With experiential content, you have access to data about how users interact with elements of a content experience. From those data insights, future experiential content can be customized according to customer preferences.
A huge thank you to Andrew Gaffney and the team at B2B Marketing Exchange for the opportunity to present at this excellent event. The Scottsdale, Arizona location, the presentation content, the food, the full exhibit hall and after conference networking events were all first rate.
B2B Marketing is not a place for marketers to “coast” and staying relevant means investing in education like B2BMX and expertise like the fountain of knowledge found amongst long time B2B marketing specialists like TopRank Marketing.
Eight More Event Opportunities to Boost Your B2B Marketing Smarts in 2020
March 9, 2020 Webinar Panel
Are you ready to transform your B2B marketing?
Featuring Joel Harrison for B2B Marketing, Doug Kessler from Velocity Partners, Me, and Mark Bornstein from ON24 Registration info here
March 19, 2020 Convergence Summit Minneapolis Lunch Keynote: In Search of Trust: How Authentic Content Drives Customer Experience Agenda and registration info
March 24, 2020 Pubcon Florida B2B Influencer Marketing Workshop Register here
March 25, 2020 Webinar
Top B2B Marketing Challenges, Trends and Best Practices for 2020 Register here
Can a podcast lend an important human voice to our otherwise robotic digital brands? Here’s what the data says. A website has some limitations when it comes to growing your brand. A website has to wait until someone comes to visit. It’s like that kid always hoping someone will sleep over. You can’t send it […]
Whether you’re a new writer just starting to develop a submission strategy, an experienced author with some publication credits who would like to hone your existing strategy, or a writer whose submission process could use a complete overhaul—it’s time to review the fundamentals. At Writer’s Relief, we know it’s important to review the basics in order to make targeted, effective writing submissions that will boost your odds of getting published.
In this installment of our “Ask Writer’s Relief” series, you’ll find the best writing submission tips, tricks, and hacks from some of our best articles, as well as a few great resources we’ve found on the Internet.
Ask Writer’s Relief: “What’s The Best Advice For Making Successful Writing Submissions?”
Below is a list of informative articles—some written by our staff, others taken from various sources—that can help you improve your writing submission strategy.
If Your Writing Submission Strategy Isn’t Getting You Published, Try This. Here’s a wake-up call, writers: It takes more than great writing to get published! You also need a smart writing submission strategy. This article reviews most common submission strategy problems—and the fixes that work.
The Submissions Checklist Every Writer Should Use. The experts at Writer’s Relief have created the essential checklist you’ll need to prepare submissions that will get results. Make sure you’re hitting every point on this list!
Submission Strategy Hacks For Writers Who Hate Making Submissions. Writers love to write—but many writers hate researching and preparing submissions to send out to literary markets. These submission strategy hacks will make the process easier (or at least bearable) while still boosting your odds of getting published.
How To Submit Your Writing To A Literary Journal. This article by MasterClass explains the six most important things to consider when submitting to a literary journal—besides the need for a thick skin.
Submittable For Writers: How To Easily Submit Writing to Magazines, Publishers, And Contests. It may seem like Writing Submissions 101, but if you’re going to make submissions to literary journals, you need to have a good understanding of Submittable: the submission management system for the literary world. This article from the Author Learning Center explains the benefits and use of Submittable for writers.
Question: What is your best advice for writers making submissions to literary agents and editors?
Over the past 10 years that our marketing agency has been focused on B2B marketing, there have been many changes: From the advent of marketing automation and social media to the growing popularity of interactive content, ABM and influencer marketing.
Staying on top of trends and best practices requires continuous innovation, education and cycles of marketing optimization. The reward for this continuous effort is staying one step ahead of the competition in the form of quality and performance.
Events play a big role in the ongoing effort to draw on the collective wisdom of the B2B marketing industry and last week TopRank Marketing wrapped up speaking and attending our 8th B2B Marketing Exchange conference. In case you missed the conference, here are a few highlights:
Award Winning B2B Influencer Marketing – I am very proud to say that our clients dominated the influencer marketing category of the B2BMX Killer Content Awards.
Dell Outlet was a finalist with a campaign featuring small business influencers advocating on video, audio and test for the value of refurbished computers. Alcatel Lucent Enterprise was the influencer marketing category winner with an innovative awards campaign featuring influencer judges that generated millions in sales pipeline.
Connecting the Dots Between ABM and Influence – For the 8th year in a row I had the opportunity to present at B2BMX and in 2020 it was about how ABM marketers can leverage influencer marketing to improve the performance of their programs. Josh Nite liveblogged the presentation here.
The First Ever B2B Influencer Marketing Study – At B2BMX we announced the launch of the first B2B influencer marketing research study that aims to provide B2B marketers with a single source of data when it comes to business influencer marketing strategies, tactics, budgets, trends and future plans. Whether you’re just thinking about influencer marketing, have only piloted or are engaged with an ongoing program, we invite you to take the survey here: State of B2B Influencer Marketing Study 2020.
Break Free B2B Marketing – Susan Misukanis and Josh Nite from our team spent much of the conference interviewing top B2B marketing executives from brands including on how they’re “breaking free” in their marketing. Interviews include senior marketing executives from Dell, Oracle, 6sense, SAP, ON24, Johnson Controls and more. Be sure to subscribe to TopRank Blog and catch Season 2 of Break Free B2B.
Insights From Top B2B Marketing Speakers – When I present at conferences, especially B2B events, I try to attend presentations and below are a few highlights:
Customers Are Your Best Marketers
Vinay Bhagat – Trust Radius: What content can customers relate to better than content created by other customers? When you do awareness campaigns, reviews can make them more effective. To optimize customer reviews, ask questions that draw out your solution differentiators. Review can support lead generation activities by supporting buyer intent data, retargeting, content, nurture, website and landing pages. Adding reviews to a trial page increased conversions by 20%.
Innovative Conversions Strategies Anamaria Alba, Dell Technologies: Dell needed something that would break through the noise and get the attention of IT buyers. The solution was to develop a Tech Score to meet the need of getting truly qualified, high quality leads. A Tech Score is an interactive assessment oriented demand gen product that requires users to self identify pain points, providing them the right content at the right time. Using the Tech Score has resulted in 3X higher more ROI and 5-10% higher conversions.
A Modular, Multi-Touch Approach To Campaign Strategy Christine Cornwell – Equifax: Start with evergreen high value content, then figure out how you can pull it apart into snackable formats and work with your martech stack for publishing and promoting that content. Don’t retire content, reuse it.
Katie Fisher – JLL: Use a platform like Adobe to organize content, repurposing, and syndication. Be sure to listen to and learn from your partners about what’s reasonable and impactful for your marketing.
The Power of Experiential B2B Content
Ryan Brown – Ceros: If the goal for marketers is to create things that are memorable to people, we must realize how much opportunity there is to avoid the mediocre middle. To start on the experiential content journey create content by thinking about what experience you want your customers to have, vs. making content and then adding experiential elements to it.
Darios Eslami – VMware Cabon Black: Experiential content is not just for prospect engagement but it’s a great internal tool to make you think about how you’re delivering all of your content. Commitment to thoughtful marketing, engaging opportunities and experiential content. If we can’t invest time into great experiences for our clients we can’t expect them to give us their time back.
Sharon Shapiro & Paige Gildner – Bluecore: Experiential content is at the intersection of content an design. It’s essential to engage content and design early and often on programs. With experiential content, you have access to data about how users interact with elements of a content experience. From those data insights, future experiential content can be customized according to customer preferences.
A huge thank you to Andrew Gaffney and the team at B2B Marketing Exchange for the opportunity to present at this excellent event. The Scottsdale, Arizona location, the presentation content, the food, the full exhibit hall and after conference networking events were all first rate.
B2B Marketing is not a place for marketers to “coast” and staying relevant means investing in education like B2BMX and expertise like the fountain of knowledge found amongst long time B2B marketing specialists like TopRank Marketing.
Eight More Event Opportunities to Boost Your B2B Marketing Smarts in 2020
March 9, 2020 Webinar Panel
Are you ready to transform your B2B marketing?
Featuring Joel Harrison for B2B Marketing, Doug Kessler from Velocity Partners, Me, and Mark Bornstein from ON24 Registration info here
March 19, 2020 Convergence Summit Minneapolis Lunch Keynote: In Search of Trust: How Authentic Content Drives Customer Experience Agenda and registration info
March 24, 2020 Pubcon Florida B2B Influencer Marketing Workshop Register here
March 25, 2020 Webinar
Top B2B Marketing Challenges, Trends and Best Practices for 2020 Register here
You might have heard that you need to start a story with a bang, that you need to begin with deep conflict.
Or perhaps you’ve heard literary agents say they want to be hooked by a story in the first few pages.
But what does that actually mean? How do you start a story well?
The answer is the inciting incident, one of the six structural elements of an effective story.
In this article, you’ll learn the definition of the inciting incident, see how it works in a story, show the inciting incident types and examples, and imagine how to use it to write stories of your own.
Definition of Inciting Incident
The inciting incident is an event in a story that upsets the status quo and begins the story’s movement, either in a positive way or negative, that culminates in the climax and denouement.
Inciting incidents have four criteria:
Interruption. Inciting incidents are an interruption in the character’s normal life.
Out of the protagonist’s control. Inciting incidents are not caused by the character and are not a result of the character’s desires.
Early. Inciting incidents happen early in the story, sometimes in the first scene, often within the first three to four scenes.
Other story structure frameworks call the inciting incident by different names, including the call to adventure (Campbell), the catalyst (Snyder), the hook (Wells), simply the problem (Miller), and my favorite, the exciting force (Freytag).
The only term I don’t think is helpful is the hook, since it combines the inciting incident, which holds a structural place within every story, with the hook, a device to capture the reader’s attention in the first pages of a story.
A good story might not have a hook and still work as a story, but without an inciting incident, a story won’t move, and without movement it will cease being a story and become a series of events.
We’ll talk more about what the inciting incident is and is not. But first, let’s talk about how the inciting fits into the dramatic structure.
Where the Inciting Incident Fits Into the Dramatic Structure
Before we go into more detail on what the inciting incident is and share examples of how it’s found in stories, let’s talk about the six elements of the dramatic structure that are found in every effective story. They are:
Exposition
Inciting Incident
Rising Action
Crisis
Climax
Denouement
The inciting incident is the second element, directly after the exposition. It is also the moment when the plot begins to move. Prior to the inciting incident, during the exposition, the plot doesn’t rise or fall. It is the inciting incident that begins this process of change.
How Long Is the Inciting Incident?
The inciting incident is technically just a moment or a single event, and this moment is almost always set into a single scene.
While the inciting incident scene may require several scenes to set up, those prior scenes are usually part of the exposition.
The Inciting Incident Is More Than a Want or Need
Some gurus say that the character’s desire or need is enough for an inciting incident.
Dan Harmon, the screenwriter and creator of the show Community, developed a framework called the Story Circle theory. There are many things to like about this structure, which on the surface seems perfect for episodic stories like television sitcoms and also film series.
Here’s how Dan Harmon describes the basic structure of the Story Circle:
Draw a circle and divide it in half vertically.
Divide the circle again horizontally.
Starting from the 12 o’clock position and going clockwise, number the 4 points where the lines cross the circle: 1, 3, 5 and 7.
Number the quarter-sections themselves 2, 4, 6 and 8.
Here we go, down and dirty:
A character is in a zone of comfort,
But they want something.
They enter an unfamiliar situation,
Adapt to it,
Get what they wanted,
Pay a heavy price for it,
Then return to their familiar situation,
Having changed.
Did you spot the inciting incident in there?
“But they want something.”
Here’s Donald Miller’s definition of story in A Million Miles in a Thousand Years:
“A character who wants something and is willing to go through conflict to get it.”
Yes, desire is important in any story. It’s just not the inciting incident.
According to an article in Wired, Dan Harmon apparently got the idea for this structure after watching and rewatching the film Die Hard, among other things.
But is that how Die Hard works? John McLane just wanted something? And he got it?
No, the story doesn’t begin because of John’s desires. It begins because of an interruption. Alan Rickman and his German friends come in with guns and take everyone hostage. John may have wanted to live and to save his wife, but that comes later.
The inciting incident in Die Hard is an early, urgent interruption that is outside of the character’s control.
Sometimes your desires can become very urgent, can even interrupt you, but it is still in your control whether to take action on them or not.
Inciting Incidents Can Be Positive or Negative, But They Are Always Interruptions
Some story gurus call the inciting incident “the problem.” (Miller, by the way, has since changed his definition of the inciting incident to “the problem,” moving away from a character’s desire.)
Others call it something more positive, “the call to adventure,” for example.
But these definitions, while helpfully specific, contradict each other. Because the truth is the inciting incident can be negative in some stories (a problem) and positive (an adventure) in others.
Often they are both positive and negative!
Some stories have negative inciting incidents, like Die Hard. For John McClane, the protagonist, the inciting incident was hardly a positive thing.
Other stories have inciting incidents that are largely positive. In most love stories, the inciting incident takes the form of a “meet cute,” a moment when the couple at the heart of the story first meet and have an emotional connection—which sometimes looks like attraction and sometimes hatred.
This is an example of a positive inciting incident, a happy interruption.
It is true that problems always result from the inciting incident, but inciting incidents don’t always look like a problem at first. In fact, they can sometimes look like the best thing that ever happened to a character.
Inciting Incidents Are Tied to the Core Value in Your Story
Different types of stories have, at their core, different values, and the value at the core of a story will alter the inciting incident.
This sounds more complicated than it is.
You may have heard that stories need conflict, but as we’ve said elsewhere on The Write Practice, the kind of conflict stories need is not just more arguing or car chases. The kind of conflict stories really need comes from values in conflict.
There are six core values that come into conflict in stories. Here they are mapped to the types of stories you might be trying to tell:
Action/Adventure story: Life vs. Death
Mystery/Thriller/Horror story: Life vs. a Fate Worse than Death
Love story: Love vs. Hate
Performance/Sports story: Accomplishment vs. Failure
Coming of Age story: Maturity vs. Naiveté
Morality story: Good vs. Evil
A love story, with the core value scale of love vs. hate, will have an inciting incident that looks very different than a fantasy adventure story with the core value of life vs. death.
Those inciting incidents will look still different than a thriller with the core value of life vs. a fate worse than death.
10 Types of Inciting Incidents
As writers throughout history have told millions of stories, these inciting incidents have grown to find similar structures, and even have gotten names based on how they work.
Here are the ten types of inciting incidents based on the six story values:
1. Call to Adventure/Death Plus MacGuffin (Action/Adventure stories: Life vs. Death)
“Your mission, should you choose to accept it,” the self-destructing tape says.
For adventure and action stories, the protagonists are invited to some kind of adventure or mission.
Sometimes they are invited by a victim (in the case of Luke Skywalker), a mentor (in the case of Frodo), or a villain (in the case of Mr. Incredible).
The person doing the inviting matters less than the fact that an adventure or mission is beginning.
A final version of this inciting incident is the “Death Plus MacGuffin,” when a minor character dies, leaving a clue or piece of a MacGuffin—which is a kind of talisman object that the protagonist has to hunt for over the course of the rest of the story.
Stories with this inciting incident include:
Crowdsourcing Paris by J.H. Bunting (that’s me)
Saving Private Ryan
The Lord of the Rings
Disney’s The Incredibles
Every Star Wars film
And more!
2. Death of a Loved One/A Great Crime Against Me (Action/Adventure stories: Life vs. Death)
An alternative to the direct call to adventure is the “death of a loved one” inciting incident, which spurs the protagonist to get revenge or find justice.
Stories that are primarily revenge plots have a version of this inciting incident. I call it “A Great Crime Against Me,” in which some horrible act is done against the protagonist, forcing him or her to vow revenge.
Stories with this inciting incident include:
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Braveheart
Batman Begins
Kill Bill
3. Show Me the Body (Mystery/Crime/Thriller/Horror story: Life vs. a Fate Worse than Death)
What’s worse than death? Being brutally tortured before you’re gruesomely murdered.
That’s what’s at heart in most thrillers, mysteries, or horror stories.
And nearly all of these stories, when they’re done well, begin with the discovery of a dead body, kicking off the search to solve the murder, or the hunt for/escape from the monster.
Stories with this inciting incident include:
Every detective story ever
Jaws
Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
Occasionally, these types of stories don’t start with a dead body but with some kind of mystery. Most Sherlock Holmes novels, for example, don’t start with a body, but the structure remains the same.
4. The Haunted House/Forbidden Object (Mystery/Crime/Thriller/Horror story: Life vs. a Fate Worse than Death)
A type specific to horror stories is the “haunted house” or “forbidden object” inciting incident.
This is when the characters stumble upon something eerie, whether a place or an object, something they know they shouldn’t interact with, but they choose to do it anyway (or are forced to).
This eerie thing can be a place, an object, or even a person.
Stories with this inciting incident include:
The Haunting of Hill House
Poltergeist
Locke & Key
5. Meet Cute (Love Story: Love vs. Hate)
The couple meets for the first time, and an emotional connection is made. Often something embarrassing happens. Frequently, they hate each other.
Whatever happens, sparks fly.
Stories with this inciting incident include:
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
Frozen (the inciting incident in the subplot)
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Every Hollywood Romcom
6. Betrayal (Love Story: Love vs. Hate)
There are two types of love stories: one in which the couple gets together and the other in which the couple separates.
In the stories in which the couple separates, the inciting incident almost always include some kind of betrayal, usually an infidelity.
Stories with this inciting incident include:
Kramer vs. Kramer
Betrayal by Harold Pinter
Heartburn by Nora Ephron
Note: No one likes these stories, especially me, so that’s why there are so few examples. Sorry!
7. The Tournament (Performance/Sports story: Accomplishment vs. Failure)
In stories involving the performance of some skill or talent, or a sports story involving a sports team or individual, the inciting incident involves entry into some kind of tournament or competition.
Stories with this inciting incident include:
Pluck by J.H. Bunting (my forthcoming novel!)
Miracle
Remember the Titans
Paper Lion by George Plimpton
8. Here There Be Dragons (Coming of Age story: Maturity vs. Naiveté)
Coming of age stories often have an inciting incident involving something that is outside of the protagonist’s current worldview.
Perhaps it’s the existence of magic or the kindness of a stranger or an opportunity to enter a new social class.
Whatever it is, it throws the protagonist into confusion and shows them how little they understand the world.
Stories with this inciting incident include:
How to Train Your Dragon (film)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Note: Since coming of age is rarely the main plot of a story, more often an internal plot, these will not usually be the main inciting incident.
9. Principal’s Office (Coming of Age story: Maturity vs. Naiveté)
Another approach to the coming of age story involves the character getting into trouble early on, often in a school setting. This forces the character to begin the process of reflecting on his or her life and making changes.
Stories with this inciting incident include:
Good Will Hunting
The Breakfast Club
10. The Temptation (Morality Story: Good vs. Evil)
In morality stories about the forces of good vs. evil, the inciting incident often involves some kind of temptation of the protagonist, asking them to betray their conscience for the sake of some benefit or greater good.
Stories with this inciting incident include:
The Dark Knight
Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe
The Inciting Incident Is Simple: Just Throw Rocks
Whenever the idea of trying to tell a story gets too complicated, I come back to this one simple piece of writing advice that’s over 100 years old. You might have heard of it. It goes:
That’s it. That’s all you have to do in your inciting incident. Just put your character up a tree so they can be an easy target for rocks. It’s not complicated.
Don’t get overwhelmed by all of the different types of inciting incidents or the terminology.
Just figure out how to put your character up a tree so that you can start throwing rocks.
Not too hard, right?
What type of story are you trying to tell? What is one of your favorite inciting incidents from other stories in that type? Let us know in the comments.
PRACTICE
Let’s put the inciting incident to practice using the following creative writing exercise:
Choose one of the types of inciting incidents above. Then, in one sentence, outline an inciting incident for a story.
Finally, set a timer for fifteen minutes and start writing your inciting incident scene.
When your time is up, post your practice in the comments section for feedback. And if you post, be sure to give feedback to at least three other writers.
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Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
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