Fiction's Inciting Incident and Point of No Return: Life Changing Events, by Kristin Holt

by Kristin Holt

In fiction, “Life Changing Event” (LCE) is often referred to as the Inciting Incident, the situation/occurrence that kicks the story ball into play. Overlapping with the Inciting Incident is a component of fiction called the Hook—action/situation that snags the reader’s attention and holds it long enough for the reader to care about the hero and what he wants.

We’ve all read one too many books where the supposed Hook and/or Inciting Incident were not inherent to the story and plot. A random, disconnected, flashy beginning or an attention-grabbing action scene that is not an integral part of the story is a rip-off and one of the big reasons why readers abandon books.

All readers know what comes after the initial story set-up (Hook and Inciting Incident). Circumstances get worse, pressures on the hero grow, and before too many pages pass by, he reaches the Point of No Return.

Some might argue that this is actually the LCE. Personally, I don’t think it matters if it’s one or the other or both.

The Point of No Return is the event/catastrophe/circumstance that our hero cannot ignore, plunging him into the quest. The character’s life is irrevocably changed. His world is kicked out from beneath him and nothing will ever be the same again.

The character figures out merely reacting to circumstances is no longer enough.

It’s not a “hey, if you get a chance…”, not a suggestion. It’s not an invitation.

He’s provoked, compelled, 100% in.

He must engage.

Otherwise, the event would not be a LCE (Life Changing Event—emphasis on the changing).

LCE’s demand a character to take action. No more simply floating along living day by day, reacting to the conflict the bad guys (and good guys) toss in his way.

The best of fiction shows us the character—belief system, capacities, flaws, strengths—by putting them through a LCE and allowing readers to see them react and act. The reader hears the character’s thoughts and words spoken.

The writer might have the character do something tremendously risky or illegal, mean-spirited or callous—but that’s perfectly okay because the reader understands the character and exactly why he does what he does.

Make the stakes high enough, crank up the pressure, and readers find themselves rooting for the character, caring about what he cares about, turning pages well after midnight, and vested in the character’s success and eventual triumph.

The reader “falls in”, lives and breathes the story through the point of view character. The reader lives vicariously, experiencing the emotional highs and lows, the risks, danger, falling in love (all the best parts of the selected genre).

It’s all connected. The character’s LCE is the Hook, Inciting Incident, Point of No Return. Plot points and huge setbacks (such as death of a mentor) will inevitably count as more LCE’s. Everything matters, is woven together, and nothing extraneous detracts from the thrill of the roller coaster ride. The reader’s recliner disappears under the power of the written word. Bedtime comes and goes, and despite the fact she must get up in a short six hours, the reader can’t set the book down.

Gifted, highly skilled, experienced authors make it look easy.

I know it's not.

What authors do you enjoy reading because Life Changing Events at the beginning of their books bring characters to life and make for a powerful read?

Kristin Holt, USA Today Bestselling Author writes Sweet Victorian Romance set in the American West. She writes frequent articles about the nineteenth century American west--every subject of possible interest to readers and amateur historians. She contributes monthly to Sweet Americana Sweethearts (first Friday of each month) and Romancing the Genres (third Tuesday of each month). 

Sweet Romance Appropriate for All Audiences

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All About Choices

When I’m stuck in a loop on one of my ideas (some people call it writer’s block) it’s often because my characters refuse to do what I require. Something in their world is just not quite right. They are missing a motivation, or a skill, or an item that would make things flow again.

At one point in Botanicaust, my characters faced yet another “flight from the bad guys.” I wrote it. And re-wrote it. Ho hum. The two of them had escaped before. They’d do it again. There was no growth or movement. It was just a plot moment, and I want my scenes to always do more.

I watched some TV. Played a game. I even actually cleaned my house.
What if my characters didn’t escape, after all? What if they died? What if I had to introduce something fundamental in this scene that needed to be included in further scenes? So I watched another movie. Ate some chocolate. Sulked.

Would this scene even work in this story? They had to get away from the bad guys, of course. But what would make the reader anxious they might not succeed?

The scene needed more tension. Higher stakes.

So I started asking questions. What would my hero value enough to raise the stakes? What if he had to choose who to save? And who, besides the heroine, would he consider gut-wrenching to lose?

Kids. There were children in the manuscript earlier I’d conveniently written out, and I realized I still needed them. My main character needed more people to protect, people he had to make choices between.

So I reintroduced the children, and they played a major role in the rest of the manuscript. Not only that, but they have become the main characters of my next book in the Botanicaust world.

If I had skipped the flight scene, I would not have enriched the rest of the story with these characters. Or I would have been forced to squeeze them into later scenes for continuity, and it would have felt unnatural. This scene with the children became one of my favorite sections in the whole book.

Do you have a favorite character moment you’ve read or written recently?
© Tam Linsey, 2011. All rights reserved.