Member-only story
FICTION WRITING AND STORYTELLING
Fix Your Dull Writing with a Powerful Inciting Incident
Start Strong ➡️Finish Strong
An inciting incident is the narrative’s first significant event, and this scene is a force that drives the ripple effect defined as — the many consequences triggered by the inciting incident.
A Real-Life Inciting Incident
To better understand a story’s inciting incident and its ripple effect, let’s consider a real-life example:
Do you ever think about a past event and wonder where or who you would be today if it hadn’t happened?
Let’s suppose that today you’re married and live on a farm in Montana. What if twelve years ago you were sick with flu and you couldn’t go to your friend’s housewarming party where you met your spouse?
🤔Would you be single today or would you be with someone else?
🤔Would you live in Montana where you both moved to raise chickens and breed horses or would you still live in your home state in a small house?
🤔Would you hold the beliefs you and your spouse share today?
🤔Would you look the same as you do now?
