Re-thinking the Inciting Incident
All new screenwriters are taught that the inciting incident in a feature screenplay should occur at the end of the first sequence after the character’s normal world is established (somewhere around page 10).
The standard theory is that this catalytic event is an unforeseen disruption to the course of the protagonist’s life: a literal or metaphoric ‘stranger’ who rocks up out of the blue and upsets the status quo. The implication is that the character is then sent on a wild, unexpected journey that had previously never occurred to them to pursue.
So okay, that holds true for a story like ET in which finding an alien in the garden shed was definitely not in Elliot’s plan for his evening. Or Billy Elliot turning up for his boxing lesson and being roped into a ballet class instead.
But this rigid structural approach is not the only way to manage the inciting incident.
1) Not every inciting incident needs to be a bolt from the blue
In many films the inciting incident is a direct result of something the character themselves has already set in motion before the film started and we join their story.
In The Ballad of Wallis Island Herb McGwyer arrives on the island because Charles has specifically invited his musical hero to his home to perform. In Little Miss Sunshine Olive is already practising her routine and Mum has previously promised that they’ll go to the pageant if she gets in.
In Stephen Merchant’s Fighting With My Family the inciting incident is Zak and Saraya securing an audition for WWE. Their process of applying is already underway before we meet them in the present: as audience we learn they’ve sent in an audition tape when they chase for a response around minute 6, and then the acceptance call comes at minute 16.
2) It’s not necessary for the character to be pursuing something entirely different before the inciting incident shifts or sharpens their focus.
In the films listed above the disruption doesn’t subvert the characters’ goals, rather it progresses something the characters were already working towards. We’re watching their story enter a new phase rather than start from scratch.
In Jaws Chief Brody has moved from New York to Amity because he wants to police somewhere where one man can truly make a difference. That’s his drive. The shark attacks provides the specific problem for Brody to tackle and through which he will prove that it’s possible to have a meaningful impact.
3) The inciting incident doesn’t have to happen to a character. It can be a quiet, simple choice that the character makes themself.
Screenwriting theory defaults to disruptive external events as story starters, but many characters invite change into their lives by opting in to a new opportunity.
In CODA (a script we study in detail on our Script Reading for Film & TV Course) Ruby initially signs up for choir because the boy she likes is taking that extracurricular. The choir class will prove to be ‘the stranger that comes to town and shakes up the protagonist’s life’ but the inciting incident itself is just a tiny choice motivated by a desire to hang out with Miles.
4) The inciting incident can’t do all the work of setting a story in motion.
It’s often taught that the inciting incident creates a problem that the character then needs to deal with. Which suggests that everything is hunky-dory until this narrative bomb is dropped on them that they must urgently diffuse.
But you generally can’t rely on an inciting incident to generate all the problems you’ll need to sustain a feature film. In Eric Gravel’s heart-pounding Full Time single-mum Julie is desperately trying to get to an interview to secure a better job. The inciting incident is the start of a transport strike in Paris, which makes it impossible for her to navigate the city. But Julie’s life is already beleaguered with barely manageable stresses before the strike is announced: the inciting incident is the final layer of pressure.
It’s important that the first act of your feature seeds all the fractures and tensions that exist in the character’s world which will blow up into real conflict and obstacles once the story gets underway. The inciting incident may perhaps be thought of as the last straw that threatens the precarious balance of the character’s life.
5) It’s also not necessary to hold back the inciting incident until mid-way through the first act.
Jaws opens with the first swimmer getting attacked, the first part of a split inciting incident.
Similarly in Rye Lane, the inciting incident is immediate. It follows the two-part or split approach common to Romantic Comedies: the set-up of Dom and Yas talking from their separate toilet stalls on page 1 leads to the subsequent meet cute in the art gallery on page 5 when Yas recognises Dom’s shoes.
If your script is simply treading water with a character who is waiting for their story to get underway, then consider bringing the inciting incident in as soon as possible.
6) Conversely, if what’s happening in the story world is already entertaining enough to hook us, then the specific inciting incident that will shape the character’s journey can be delayed.
In Shaun of the Dead, Act One is sprinkled with clues about the ‘unknown virus’ but the inciting incident that kicks Shaun’s own journey off is when Liz dumps him, which doesn’t happen until 18 minutes in. Very close to the end of the first act.
Of course not every story will fit exactly to the standard model. What’s important is to study films films with similar story designs to the script you’re working on and examine which approaches work best and why.
But whether the inciting incident is an opportunity the character embraces or one they try to flee from, it’s the character’s active response to this new feature of their lives that cements its significance.
The inciting incident itself doesn’t fully kick the story off, it’s when the character decides how they want to deal with it and what outcome they are seeking that the story really gets underway.