In life, every action causes a reaction. That reaction will then cause another reaction. And so on and so forth. So it is with story.
One event (known as the “Inciting Incident” causes the next event, and that event causes the rest of the chain reaction. For example, in The Wizard of Oz, the Tornado (inciting incident) causes Dorothy to run away from home and get lost in the storm, hitting her head on a shutter and going “over the rainbow” into the land of the subconscious to face her demons. But once she’s there, Mr. Baum doesn’t get to introduce another tornado. That would be a coincidence.
In Little Miss Sunshine, Michael Arndt introduces each family member, then boom! In comes the phone call to change all their lives forever. That one phone call sets in motion a powerful engine of events linked by the principle of cause and effect. Mr. Arndt doesn’t get to have another phone call out of the blue to move his story forward. That would be cheating.
Kaui Hart Hemmings has written a great book called The Descendants, soon to be a major motion picture starring George Clooney. In her story, the main character visits his wife in the hospital where she is languishing in a coma caused by a boating accident. Sounds dramatic, huh? But wait. This is only the backstory. The real story begins when the main character learns his wife was having an affair. This discovery leads to the more discoveries which lead to the ultimate transformation of the protagonist. Excellent writing and solid structure. One event drives the entire story.
In any of these examples, the writer knows: you only get one coincidence and that comes at the beginning of your story. That event is the first domino that topples all the other dominoes. And there can only be one first domino. That’s your inciting incident.
Tags: Characters, Inciting Incident, Screenwriting, Writing Tips
Wonderful journey and experience.
Just wanted to drop in and say how much I appreciated your writing. I’ve saved the link so I can visit again. Cheers