In a story, the inciting incident is the event that sets the plot in motion. It is the turning point that takes the protagonist from their everyday life and throws them into conflict. Without the inciting incident, there would be no story to tell.
Put as simply as possible, the inciting incident is an event that occurs, in relation to your protagonist, near to the beginning of your story, which sets that story moving in a different direction. The word 'inciting' is used because the event which occurs incites your protagonist towards a new course of action.
The inciting incident is the first main event that sets the story in motion.
Structurally speaking, the Inciting Event is what fully initiates the story's conflict, while the Climactic Moment is what fully resolves it. As such, they frame and define the entire story.
The Hook is the first thing that catches your reader's interest and draws them into your story. The Inciting Incident is an event that sets the story in motion and puts your protagonist on an irreversible path toward the story's climax.
In a story, the inciting incident is the event that sets the plot in motion. It is the turning point that takes the protagonist from their everyday life and throws them into conflict. Without the inciting incident, there would be no story to tell.
A hook is an opening statement (which is usually the first sentence) in an essay that attempts to grab the reader's attention so that they want to read on.
Michael Hauge's “Six Stage Plot Structure” describes a “major setback” (what others call the “crisis”) at the end of Act Two, followed by a “final push” in Act Three involving “living one's truth with everything to lose”. This leads to a “climax”—the final turning point of the story—followed by an “aftermath.”
The climax is reached when the protagonist takes the last step to resolve a conflict or reach a goal. The result of this step or action is the turning point. The turning point begins to lead the reader to the final outcome or resolution of the conflict.
Climax is the point at which the conflict reaches its greatest height and the crisis, or turning point in the action occurs.
The inciting incident is an event that creates a problem or conflict for the characters and sets in motion a series of increasingly significant events that constitute the main events of the story. The inciting incident marks the end of the exposition and the beginning of the rising action.
The inciting incident is the event that ignites the story's plot and starts the protagonist's transformative journey.
1. The set-up: The first act typically starts with exposition—one or more scenes that establish the world of the story. The set-up should set the tone of the film and show the audience what your protagonist's ordinary world looks like before their journey starts.
instigate, provoke, goad, spur, arouse, exhort; fire; induce.
A central conflict and climax refers to a story's inciting incident, its central conflict that advances the plot's points, and how the story's climax is resolved. Here, the central conflict is defined as when a main character's strongest desire is met by an equally strong internal or external obstacle.
The terms are often used interchangeably, and while they work in tandem, they fulfill different functions. Suspense creates questions in the audience's mind—and it's the engine of every “unputdownable” story. The fuel that powers it is tension—creating conflict, obstacles, friction—and it belongs on every single page.
The opposing force created, the conflict within the story generally comes in four basic types: Conflict with the self, Conflict with others, Conflict with the environment and Conflict with the supernatural.
The basic types of conflict in fiction have been commonly codified as "man against man", "man against nature", and "man against self." Although frequently cited, these three types of conflict are not universally accepted.
Setting is the physical and social context in which the action of a story occurs. The major elements of setting are the time, the place, and the social environment that frames the characters.
The rising action is the second of six essential plot elements, which comes right after the opening of a story, otherwise known as the exposition. It is usually made up of a series of events that lay down breadcrumbs, ask questions, and set roadblocks and conflicts that must be overcome.
The resolution is the end of the story. It occurs after the CLIMAX. It is when you learn what happens to the characters after the CONFLICT is resolved.
A narrative hook (or hook) is a literary technique in the opening of a story that "hooks" the reader's attention so that he or she will keep on reading. The "opening" may consist of several paragraphs for a short story, or several pages for a novel, but ideally it is the opening sentence.
A hook in a fiction text is a sentence or section that makes the reader really stop, and wonder at the book. It should set the narrative apart from others, and intrigue the reader as to what is coming next.