Why You Cannot Simply Open with the Inciting Incident

It does not matter if you are planning to querying agents or going the indie route; you have likely heard the advice to skip right to the Inciting Incident. You've been told that people do not have attention spans anymore, and therefore you need to cut all that "unnecessary" and "boring" introduction and hook the readers (and agents) with the Good Stuff(tm).

But I would like to make the argument that by skipping to the Inciting Incident, you are removing necessary components for the development of your characters and shortchanging yourself the opportunity to have a full and rich Character Arc for your protagonist.

In order to make this argument, I do need to do some groundwork to ensure we are all on the same page. Now, I do not care if you are a plotter, a planner, a planter, a pantser, or exist across the spectrum depending on the day. We all rely on story structure, whether we spend a month meticulously planning out Plot Points before even penning the first chapter or if we pound out 100k words in a haze of coffee and ice cream over the course of a weekend and then spend months doing heavy revisions to make the draft into a diamond.

Story structure has always existed and will always exist. Some of us know it intuitively after a lifetime of voraciously consuming all the books in the local library, and some of us learned it through mentors and classes. Even House of Leaves has a structure.

And it is that structure that is disrupted when you open with the Inciting Incident.

Fair warning, I'm about to talk about things like Plot Points and Character Arcs and other structural elements of story. I know some will push back and say that these things to too formulaic and are just making all stories feel the same. But I would argue that there are only seven stories, and we've been telling them and retelling them over and over for tens of thousands of years. There is nothing new since the Epic of Gilgamesh. What makes a story unique is the teller, and the experiences and views they bring to it.

Also, all this is my opinion. I'm not the writing goddess (yet), so feel free to take or leave this advice! I'm not your mom, I can't tell you what to do. So if you walk away from this going, "That's a load of bullcrap," by all means, consider this a load of bullcrap. I'm not your editor or beta reader; you aren't obligated to consider what I'm saying.

With that out of the way, I'm going to do a quick and dirty breakdown of some of the key components of story that need to be addressed here.

Character Development

We all love characters. They are our CHILDREN, and if anyone hurts them, there will be hell to pay.

Except when we hurt them... With traumatic pasts, difficult challenges, and insurmountable odds.

We enjoy choosing their hair color and eye color and filling out stat sheets like we are about to roll up to a Pathfinder game.

But Character is more than just how tall they are and what their favorite ice cream flavor is. Characters need to have interiority.

The Emotional Wound / The Ghost is a concept in character development that will influence everything from their flaws to their beliefs, and ultimately the internal needs and wants the character has and the arc they will journey through alongside the plot. The Emotional Wound is an event that happened prior to the events of the book, and like a phantom, it haunts them in ways they might not even see. This can be something like ‘fired without cause from a job they loved by a boss they thought was a friend’ or something like ‘lost the battle to a dragon and caused a village to be destroyed.’

They can have multiple emotional wounds, but there will be one Main One that they must work through over the course of the story.

This Wound is something they will be battling against for the majority of the story. It might be related to the Plot, but it doesn't have to be. But the Plot will give them the tools to figure it out, and them overcoming the Wound will give them the tools to solve the Plot. It's a symbiotic relationship.

The Wound will also give a character a Lie: something they believe wholeheartedly but is ultimately false. The fired data analyst might now believe she is not smart, or maybe she will believe that everyone will betray her eventually. The failed dragonslayer may believe she has no business being a hero and all she does is bring destruction. But solving the Plot will require that they learn that the Lie is false.

Unlearning their Lie will be the heart of their Character Arc; the internal journey of two steps forward and one step back that is interwoven in the story with the Plot. All of the characters in a story care about destroying the Dark Lord, but only the Protagonist has to learn that she isn't a harbinger of destruction.

The Wound will also be the root cause of all the Flaws that will make solving the Plot even harder. By the end, they might still have some Flaws, but they will be aware of them and willing to work around them or through them. They might have other flaws (lower case), too, like not enjoying pineapple on pizza, but the Wound will be their biggest opposition; they won't even realize all the ways in which they've built their life around nurturing the Lie until it is repeatedly holding them back from solving the Plot.

These Flaws might be things like the data analyst procrastinating right until the deadline or the adventurer refusing to put together a party or ask a healer to join her. The analyst might then also be cold to those around her as she's afraid of being hurt by betrayal again and the adventurer refusing to make connections because she's afraid that she will just get companions killed.

But both will need to learn how to make friends and allies if they are to solve their respective Plots.

I'm not saying the Emotional Wound needs to be the very first thing you figure out for your Protagonist or main characters. But it should definitely be something you figure out sooner rather than later.

Why is this important to the central question of Inciting Incident placement? I promise, I'm getting there. Let me cook a little more.

Story Structure

Shakespeare wrote in the 5 Act Structure. Many screenwriters swear by the 3 Act Structure. Some speak of Story Circles or Plot Dots or Pyramids or Saving Cats or maybe even Romancing the Beat. But it doesn't matter which structure you follow; you need to nail the opening act if you want readers to keep reading.

Most structures call for Scenes and Sequels; sometimes called Action Scenes and Sequel Scenes. Scenes are the basic building blocks of story. When you change settings, points of view, or time, you usually end one scene and start another.

Scenes are mini-stories. Each scene needs to have the point of view character pursuing a goal, and either failing or achieving a false victory and then setting a new goal; the continues from page one until the end of the story.

But the difference between Action Scenes and Sequel Scenes is the nature of the goal. Action Scenes have Plot Goals. Sequel Scenes are based around internal goals and progressing the character arc; they are reactive whereas Action Scenes are pro-active.

Different genres might have more or less of either type; a sword and sorcery story might have more action scenes while a contemporary romance story might have more sequel scenes.

But Action Scenes of the major Plot Points are usually paired with equally important Sequel Scenes.

Many structures have an All Is Lost moment. These are usually Action Scenes where the Protagonists experience a crushing defeat that makes them believe there is no way to victory. In Sci-Fi, this might be the imperial forces destroying the rebel base and taking out key revolutionary leaders with a powerful space laser that no one knew they had. In Paranormal Romance, this might be the moment the Council of Vampires demands that Lady Carmilla give up her human pet and forbids Carmilla from ever seeing her now-ex girlfriend again in a heart-wrenching 3rd Act Break Up.

But the following scene is usually a sequel scene known as The Dark Night of the Soul. This is a scene where the protagonist realizes how the Lie might have led to this All is Lost Moment and resolves to address their Lie. They might not address it the right way, it will take them the rest of the story to work through it, but this is a pivotal turning point that marries character and plot.

You might be thinking, "Okay, okay, okay, are you going to keep yapping or get to the point yet?"

Dear writer, I ask that you stay with me for just a little while longer, I am almost done cooking.

Settings

If you have studied story structure, you may have come across Act 1 being set in the Normal World or Ordinary World while the Protagonist passes through the Point of No Return (Plot Point 1) and enters the Extraordinary World in Act 2.

Despite how the words sound, Normal and Ordinary are not synonymous with Boring and Unremarkable. They are descriptions of the world through the lens of the protagonist. Our Adventurer's Normal World might still have dragons and evil sorcerers and a distinct lack of indoor plumbing. But if she gets reverse-portaled into Washington, DC, suddenly a Metro system is extraordinary even if you and I, as readers, are absolutely sick of single tracking on the Red Line.

In most story structures, the Inciting Incident happens around the 12% mark with Act 1 finishing at 25%. But just because you are cutting the time spent in the Ordinary World in half when you move the Inciting Incident to Page 1, doesn't mean you are cutting out boring stuff.

The Protagonist feels safe in their Ordinary World, regardless of if it's full of hydras or automobiles. It's Ordinary to them. It's not the whole world, but it's their whole world. That doesn't make it boring or uninteresting. It's vital if we want to know who they are.

Okay. I believe we are ready.

The Hook vs the Inciting Incident

The Hook is a sequel scene masquerading as an action scene. It's all about establishing the character; hinting at their Emotional Wound, showing off their Flaws, and showing them at their absolute worst. It's a way to make the reader say, "Wow, this girl is a train-wreck. I have to see where this goes." You are Hooking the reader by making them want to know more about your Protagonist.

The Inciting Incident is about the Plot. It's an Action Scene masquerading as a Sequel Scene. It's not about drawing the reader in—the reader should already be invested—it's about drawing the Protagonist into the Plot.

Let me say that again.

Hook: Investing the Reader In the Characters and therefore the Story as a Whole. Happens on Page 1.

Inciting Incident: Investing the Protagonist in the Plot. Happens halfway into Act 1.

The Hook might hint at the plot, but it's set in the World of your Protagonist–The Normal World. The Plot happens in the Extraordinary World; but the Plot is slowly intruding on the Ordinary World or trying to pull the Protagonist into the Extraordinary World.

The Inciting Incident is the Plot telling your Protagonist, "You gotta get over here and if you won't, I will force you."

The Art of the Hook

There are a few strategies for making the Hook work. One of my favorite is to show the Protagonist having the worst day of their life (so far).

Example: The village is beset upon by beholders; the beholders don't need to be part of the Plot or maybe they are just a hint that the Plot exists just outside the border of the village. But it absolutely ruins the Protagonist's attempts to shear the sheep. That's what your Protagonist is concerned about: shearing her sheep. The beholders are another annoyance, but it's not a personal annoyance. It doesn't draw her into the Plot.

By showing A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, you are showing off the Flaws of your Protagonist. She gave up adventuring, now she just has sheep. She could help the village guards fight the beholders, but she's left that behind. She could ask her neighbor for help wrangling her sheep back into the pen, but that would mean talking to people, and she doesn't do that anymore. She's surly, she's grumpy, and she only gives her little sheep dog a cursory pat on the head rather than heap praise on him for chasing the sheep into the barn.

You get to show the Protagonist at their worst when the stakes are low in their familiar world. How will they handle it when the stakes are higher? How will the handle it when they are no longer safe in the Ordinary World but have been plunged into the unknowns of the Extraordinary World?

The contrast of showing how they behave when they are safe and the stakes are low can't be made when you move the Inciting Incident up to Page 1.

The Inciting Incident is showing you what the Story Stakes are in general, but also what the Stakes are for the Protagonist specifically. But if the reader has no idea who the Protagonist is, they have no reason to care. They might not know exactly what the Emotional Wound is yet, but they've seen enough Flaws to make an educated guess. But with the Inciting Incident on Page 1? They have no idea if the Flaw is something meaningful or just flavor.

The Hook is the first scene to establish the Character Arc whereas the Inciting Incident is the first scene to fully establish the Plot and the Stakes.

While Character Arc and Plot are siblings, they are not interchangeable: they are the two halves that make the Story. You cannot do all that you need to do to establish Character during the Inciting Incident.

The Inciting Incident is an invitation to the Protagonist to get involved in the Plot. Again, the Plot might be happening on the periphery of the Protagonist's awareness, but they are trying to ignore it, or the resent it, or they are doing their best to avoid it. It's not personal for them yet. They have no Stake in solving the Plot. The Inciting Incident is when the Protagonist is given a Stake. But in order for that Stake to matter to the reader, they have to know who the Protagonist is.

Typically, there will be some sort of Refusal of the Call–the Inciting Incident is a Call to Action or a Call to Adventure. The Refusal of the Call is that moment where the character, despite knowing they now have Stakes, either says, "Sorry, my aunt and uncle need me on the farm," or has something else prevent them from undertaking the adventure even though they want to.

This Refusal is usually a sequel scene where the character works though their Lie and assesses their Flaws and considers just how safe they feel in their Ordinary World and what it would mean to Enter the Plot and journey to the Extraordinary World. But even this Refusal will fall flat if it hasn't been built up by showing how the Protagonist acted first in the Hook and then in the Inciting Incident.

A pattern should be apparent to the readers—even if it's not apparent to the Protagonist. But by skipping straight to the Inciting Incident, the Refusal of the Call loses half of its weight.

Without the Hook and the Refusal of the Call, the Character Arc will never get off the ground. It won't matter how the Protagonist acts or doesn't act throughout the rest of the book, because we will not truly have witnessed them and their actions back in their Ordinary World when they have nothing to lose yet.

The Hook is to establish the following: • Character Motivations • Character Values • Character Flaws • Character Goals • Hinting At the Emotional Wound The Inciting Incident is to establish the following: • The Problem of the Plot • What happens if the Plot is not solved or hinting at it • What happens if the Plot is solved or hinting at it • Why the Protagonist is someone who can help solve it • Why the Protagonist should *want* to solve it. You cannot establish all of those items in the same scene. And you need time between the Hook and the Inciting Incident to further flesh out the Character before throwing them into the deep end.

That doesn’t mean the Hook can’t have action just because it’s a sequel scene; it can still open in media res, that is, in the middle of some action. But just because it has action doesn’t mean that’s the main purpose of the Hook, and it certainly doesn’t make in media res synonymous with the Inciting Incident.

Character development doesn't have to be boring; it's not just exposition. It's a thousand tiny things going wrong that make it more and more clear to the reader that the Character needs to either change (dynamic character arc) or change the world (flat character arc); possibly both.

If you want your readers to truly fall in love with your characters, root for them, cheer them on, cry when they stumble and grin when they succeed, you cannot skip the Hook and go right for the Inciting Incident.

Bonus: Symmetry

This is a bit of an advanced tactic for people who really enjoy plot structure. But in many story structures, there is a symmetry between the first half of the story and the second half—each Plot Point is a mile marker on the journey, and the first mile marker and final mile marker are often mirrors of each other.

If the Hook shows the Protagonist unhappy at a desk job she hates in her Ordinary World fending off any and all love interests, the Resolution might show her running her own business with her brand new wife while they laugh together in the corner office over the deal they just landed. The New Ordinary World of the Protagonist is a sharp contrast to where she started. Without the hook, the Resolution does not have anything to compare or contrast against, and the ending of your story may fall flat. The two are both sequel scenes focused on the character's emotional journey.

The Inciting Incident is usually paired with / the mirror of the Final Battle. It shows how the stakes of the Plot and how they escalated from the time the Protagonist is pulled in until the Protagonist solves the Plot. But when you move the Inciting Incident to Page 1, it cannot properly mirror the Final Battle. I know that everyone is telling you that readers have no attention span and that you must move your Inciting Incident to Page 1; you can fill in all that boring character stuff later.

But the character "stuff" isn't boring: it's the heart of your story. Even plot-heavy stories rely on the characters to keep people interested and make them invested. You can have the most original and exciting plot in the world, but if you haven't established your characters and gotten the readers invested in their internal journey, they won't stick around. Moving the Inciting Incident to Page 1 is not how you combat dwindling attention spans. Note: I am just an author who has read a ton of books and studied creative writing. I am not God, this is not a commandment. I am not your editor or your beta reader. These are all just my opinions, not an attack on anyone or anything. This is not a personal slight against anyone. I just have strong opinions.