The Inciting Incident: How to Fire Up Your Story's Conflict (Writing Advice) 

This cures my writer's block. I thought my inciting incident was X because it kicks off the plot, but it's Y that kicks off the main conflict

My favorite inciting incident...Finding Nemo. For me, what makes it so good is the opening hook sets Marlin up to understandably be an overly paranoid overprotective father and the inciting incident is literally his worst fears realized as his kid is kidnapped and taken to a place he literally can't even go.

So the inciting indecent in two of my favorite movies would be: 1: Buzz Lightyear arriving in Andy’s room 2: Mr incredible listening to Mirages message

One of my favorite inciting incidents is from Kurosawa's film "Stray Dog" where the protagonist, a newly promoted homicide detective, gets his gun stolen while riding a bus. Unlike a lot of other inciting incidents, it happens right at the start of the film, but it really effectively sets the tone of the film.

Somehow I never get tired of you using "somehow".

I know I go on about Game of Thrones a lot but I think it’s clever how the inciting incident for most of the initial conflict is (spoilers) the death of Jon Arryn, but this happens before the story even starts, I think the true on-page inciting incident is Bran being thrown out the window, especially as this takes away his ability to walk and leads him down a path of magical discovery.

Stephen King's The Mist. The opening hook is the storm that brings down the tree into the protagonist"s garden. The Inciting incident is getting trapped in the mall with the other people in just as the mist envelopes the town. That really kick starts the story.

Somehow Brandon McNulty returned.

Eventually, I would love to see a playlist that goes from Hook to Dénouement.

Matching cut with 'Somehow palpatine..' was awesome

One of my most favourite inciting incidents is from Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and it interestingly obeys every point you made. 1) We see the everyday life of Puss. He is going from town to town and party to party. "Who is your favourite fearless hero ?"He fights the henchmen of the city Mayor and then fights a giant monster. This shows his everyday life as a heroic outlaw. 2) Then we are introduced to the conflict. Puss has lost 8 of his lives and is down to his last. The village doctor suggests him to retire but Puss ignores it and goes to a bar to have drinks. 3) The conflict gets started by a Wolf, the physical embodiment of Death. One of the best DreamWorks villains and cinematic villains too. We see how Puss who took down a giant monster is unable to fight Death. Anyways, Death manages to bleed Puss (who had never been touched by a blade). 4) Then we get Puss's internal conflicts. He starts fearing about his life and makes the choice to retire and be a lap cat of Mama Luna. 5) Then this conflict gets resolved at the end of the movie. Puss values his last life and instead of running away stands his ground against Death. Death no more sees in Puss, the reckless and arrogant legend who took his lives for granted. He lets Puss live his last life but before leaving tells him that he will meet again. To which Puss replies in Spanish "Yes, to Death".

The inciting incident for Knives out is Benoit asking the nurse a question about the murder, and plot point 1 is her answering the question. The beauty of that is there is an entire flashback scene between the question and answer, which really adds a lot of weight to it

The Big Lebowski. They peed on his rug, man.

My favorite definition of "Inciting Incident" is that it's either a Threat or Chance for the Protag, in terms of their Character Arc! It upsets the status-quo and gives the Protag the chance to decide whether to jump into Act 2 or have that "refusal of the call" moment; which is a beat that is by no means necessary for every character!

My favorite inciting event is in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The scene where Roy Neary is lost at a railroad crossing and the UFO spotlights his truck…which creates the psychic connection that compels him to travel at all costs to the destination where the UFO mothership will land.

always interesting to map the contents of your videos onto my own work - at the moment, I feel like my hook, inciting incident, and choice follow each other in quick succession. Bing bang boom

My favorite inciting incident comes from Dean Koontz Frankenstein series, the really begins when the two detectives come across a new murder victim that's not human (two hearts, extra or enhanced body parts or even thicker bones) and one of the detectives goes to the victim's apartment and while investigating is brought face to face with the original monster, only in this particular series it's Victor Frankenstein who's creating more enhanced humans to slowly make the world in his ideals of perfection that the two detectives are thrust into along with Deucalion (the original monster). Great read if you're interested in horror mysteries.

I like this very much. Sometimes I will mildly disagree on a point or two, but this is pure gold. In my own novel, the protagonist witnesses a murder after a job interview. This upsets their life. Then halfway through the first act, they get pushed through the door of no return. Good stuff, Brandon. Thank you.

The inciting incident that lead to two young boys burning down their house on the 3rd of October, 1911 is my favorite. It's messed up, it has thematic significance, philosophical depth and it makes perfect sense that two young kids would try something like that given their situation.

This was great! Thank you especially for pointing out how the inciting incident and the climax should typically act as a call-and-response - in my opinion that absence of a strong connection between the two is what separates a satisfying conclusion from an annoying/listless one.

Hey , Brandon, great video as always. How about Good vs. Bad video on inciting incidents. If for clarity more than anything else.

A specific moment in a lucid dream becomes the Inciting incident in the story I'm working on. The reason for the lucid dream is because it ties into the theme aspect. And the irony is that the resolution is an awakening.

I liked the video, you've got a great speaking style. I'm sure you already know your audience, but I thought I might provide some helpful "meta" feedback for the sorts of people who find and follow your channel. I'm neither a writer nor an aspiring writer. My guess is that your channel was recommended to me because I've watched lots of other videos that are about technical analysis of movies/shows. I really enjoy story and I feel that I enjoy story better when I have a better grasp of what's going on and what the author/director/whomever is trying to do. I like this channel because you use examples to make your points from movies and shows, and in doing so you wind up providing a sort of technical analysis of those things. I came into your channel through the "good/bad" series, and in that series you do a really good job of explaining *exactly* what line of dialogue or part of the scene related to the point you were making. I'm the sort of viewer who will keep watching your content so long as it is specific enough that I can follow you. The reason I say that is because sometimes your analysis is probably specific enough for a technical audience, but not for a non-technical audience like myself. For example, the last video I watched of yours was ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hNgilEe9Bk4.htmlsi=GAJN6nvuHvlUoi2b where you talk about writing great dialogue. At 1:30 you talk about the conversation between Michael and Kay and you say that there's "attack and defend" in that conversation. If I go back and watch it and try to look for that, I can sort of see what you mean. What would be helpful for someone like me is for you to say, when your voiceover comes back on, "Kay attacks Michael by ... and Michael defends with ..." It would probably only add a second or two per example to your video's runtime, but it would help people like me to get more from what you are saying. I should also say, I don't mind at all that I'm not your target audience and it seems it would be a mistake to lose focus on providing helpful writing advice for aspiring writers as your primary audience. I'm just suggesting a way that your videos might appeal to a broader audience. I haven't been on your Patreon (assuming you have one but I don't see a link?), but I'd expect your target audience to be more apt to sign up for webinars with live Q&A after or workshops. People in the demographic like me would be more apt to buy your book but not necessarily join a community or webinar. On that note, I'm surprised you don't talk more about your own writing on the channel? This is a talk about inciting incidents and, generally speaking, inciting incidents happen so early that telling the inciting incident is spoiler-free. You could throw in a line like, "In one of my books, 'The Half Murders', the inciting incident is X. It works because of Y. If you're interested in that book, I'll include a link in the description below," and then move on. Perhaps because books are written and this is a visual media? ChatGPT can make some pretty amazing photorealistic images to depict scenes that you could show during a line like that. Anyway, for what it's worth, thought the feedback might be helpful.

I love the transformation in Michael Corleone after the attempt on his father's life in the Godfather. Michael crosses the Rubicon and knows that he has to take over the family business, AND seek vengeance.

pls make a video on how to build up power of characters like from weak to strong to super strong etc and pls take manga and anime examples too

One of my favorites is from the Battlestar Galactica opening miniseries: the Cylon attack/fall of the Colonies. Honestly, I'd be hard-pressed to come up with a better 3 hours of television.

0:02 In most genres, the Inciting Incident is when the Antagonist creates a problem that the Protagonist must resolve in the Climax. Therefore, in the Hero's Journey, the Inciting Incident is the Call to Adventure. As for rom-coms, the Inciting Incident is the Meet Cute when both Protagonists meet each other for the first time. Boy MEETS Girl is the Inciting Incident while Boy GETS Girl is the Climax. As a result, most Inciting Incidents are bad events for the Protagonist because the Antagonist creates a problem except for rom-coms since Meet-cutes are good things for the Protagonist. Therefore, Incident Incidents can be either good or bad for the Protagonist depending on the genre.

Another fantastic video. Like a previous commenter, I thought it was to kick off your plot. Thank you for clarifying this. Love your videos!

John Wick, to me, was a masterpiece of an inciting incident

The Lion King's inciting incident doesn't happen until the midpoint (you know which part I am talking about). I am doing this for my own book, which borrows the same basic plotline. I always write a book with the mindset of writing a screenplay, which is why I prefer to write shorter novellas as opposed to long, full novels

Thank you so much for this video. It really helped clear some mental blocks i had for my own story and now in itching to get writing again!

My favourite inciting incident comes from the comic book series "Out of the Blue", written by Garth Ennis. The story starts with a radio communication failure, which leads to the main character, a second world war pilot, colliding with another plane on the runway upon arriving to his new unit... This ends up landing him in deep trouble with his new commanding officer, setting up the very character-driven conflict. A brilliant piece of writing I'd highly recommend.

Fav IC: Hmmmm... hard to pick one. 1 -- *Hopscotch* -- when Walter Matthau's field-agent/spy character is benched for a desk job by his workplace nemesis. 2 -- *The Final Countdown* -- when The ship goes through the storm. 3 -- *The Silent Partner* -- when Elliot Gould's nebbish bank teller figures out that he's about to get robbed, and rigs it so he gets the money. This, by the way, is a rare example of a movie being much much better than the book. 4 -- *Other Peoples' Money* -- when Larry The Liquidator finds out New England Wire And Cable is worth much more as the sum of its parts, rather than as a thriving company. 5 -- *Infinity War* -- when Bruce Banner crashes the Sanctum Sanctorum: "He's Coming!" And, similarly, in *Endgame* -- when Scott "Antman" shows up on the doorstep of the Avengers Headquarters with the notion of time travel to fix things.

Very informative. This might be your best video - and that’s saying something cuz it’s a really high bar

Perfect timing! I'm having trouble getting my own story started. Thanks a lot, Writer Brandon!

WONDERFUL 🎉!!!

Great video, I feel like I have a handle on inciting incidents but this video helps lay them out in a less confusing way. I'll be returning to this video when editing my current WIP!

In Jurassic Park it's when Nedry meets Dodgson.

In Alien, when John Hurt gets plastered in the face by the baby alien, that set me on edge throughout the film, right to the very end.

I like the moment in Rogue One where Jin's father dies.

Stanley Yelnat's family curse is a good inciting incident this came from the book Holes

Well this certainly gives me a lot to ponder. I am currently retooling a series of stories that I wrote in another universe/setting into something new. I am now wondering if my inciting incident is really what I thought it was. p.s. I really appreciate your videos. You give good, concrete information that is easy to understand (even if it is not easy to incorporate into a new pursuit). Thank you.

thanks so much i’ve been waiting for this one!

My favorite inciting incident is Lysa Arryn's letter to Catlyn Stark about the murder of her husband which instantly puts Ned into a dilemma (he was sure not to go to King's Landing before that)

First favourite inciting incident that comes to my mind is the one from The Godfather, for some reason... maybe it's seeing it in your video. No but more seriously, it's just perfect: the all powerful Don Corleone gets shot and is at death's door. And right before we know his most dangerous enforcer has been murdered.

This all seems SO formulaic.

_From Disk Till Dawn_ The incident feels like it happens halfway through the movie.

I was thinking about the movie Speed when listening to this video. I've come to the conclusion that the initial elevator scene is the hook and the bus exploding later on is the inciting incident. Which is brilliant, the initial hook introduces characters, builds the world and establishes the conflict between the protagonist and the villain but the main protagonist life doesn't get turned upside down until the bus blows up (inciting incident).

When Conan the Barbarian is purchased by the rich fighting boss from the owner of the mill to use him as one of his gladiators.

Another great video. Thank you

A common inciting incident is when a protagonist or co-protagonist arrives in the setting. Such as the T800 arriving in 1997 Los Angeles, Cady Heron arriving from Africa, Fiamma arrives at the boarding school from Spain.

Here's a question: does a story have to have an inciting incident? A story I'm working on has a main character who is ambitious, and as soon as he is old enough to leave home he does. So the story does not start by some incident that kicks him out onto his adventure, but an action he chooses himself to see the world.

Excellent video as always!

So helpful, thanks Brandon!

Somehow the Palpatine has returned clip always seems to make a guest appearance :D

One of my favorites Tuco and Blondie coming acorss bill carson in the good the bad and the ugly.

I might be a little confused, but if I'm understanding this right, then I think my favorite has to be Babylon 5. The inciting incident, though, I believe doesn't happen until the end of the first season when a major side character that is the center of a lot of conflict resolutions in the first season is murdered, and it shakes up pretty much the whole galaxy. Or maybe the inciting incident is when Mr. Morden shows up looking for someone powerful to recruit as a pawn in the coming war.. I'm not sure which one it would be. Is it possible for a story to have TWO inciting incidents, especially for Babylon 5 which has two separate yet connected over-arching main plots? The Mr. Morden one happens part way through the first season, so that's probably the most likely, but either way, the protagonist doesn't make the decision to get fully involved until about halfway through the second season, and doesn't find out what Mr. Morden was even doing there until even later.

Rocky's inciting incident, accepting the fight with Apollo Creed, doesn't happen until almost halfway through the movie.

Hi! You make very interesting videos and I love your content! I was wondering about non conventional storytelling techniques like non-linear or unreliable narrator. Can you make a video about movies that don’t follow the typical 3 act structure where each scene doesn’t necessarily happen after the previous scene?

For favourite inciting incident, Men In Black comes to mind.

Hey man, I've been listening to your writing advice for a while now even though I don't really have aspirations to make a book; it's just nice to hear good advice on writing during this time when movies and TV shows and even video games are at an all-time low. How can I buy your books and give you the biggest cut of the revenue?

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on dystopian future settings. I'm working on a book now about a dystopia, and while I've already decided on my ending (in fact, I pretty much started from the ending and worked backwards), I would be interested in hearing your thoughts about whether you feel that tragic endings are necessary for stories that are intended as cautionary tales.

Thank u for your plot insights! I'm eager to read your books! I've been writing a series... Could you give us some hints on writing long narratives? Like in the Netflix series format?

In an alternate reality Zak Synder watched this vid and made Rebel Moon good.

i came here expecting to learn that my current plot was gonna need a rework only to realize id already set up an inciting incident thats followed thereafter by a choice of my main protagonist that he doesn't want to make, but feels he has to make

Cool Stuff I dont want to watch to many helpful tips until after I finish my book because right now It just plays like a movie in my head and Im documenting it. I did however think of a cool ending and wrote it down but Im not sure if thats how the story will end yet. This trick only works when I write on my E-Ink tablet or paper and pen. It kind of creeps me out like how does my brain do this lol.

I don't know whether you've ever read John Wyndham's "The Day Of The Triffids," but if you have, what is the inciting incident? Is it the start of the story where William Masen wakes up in the hospital and finds the whole world (almost) has gone blind? (No "normal" has been established yet.) The "normal" is explained in flashback in chapter 2. The incident surely shakes up his life. Is it when he meets Josella and realizes the triffids are taking advantage of the situation? (Chapter 4) Is it when Coker raids the gathering of sighted people and kidnaps some of them? We're way past the 25% point here, and Coker changes sides and joins the protagonists soon after. I know you can't respond to every comment, but I am confused. The most inciting incident seems to be the beginning of the story when Masen finds the world has gone blind, even though no normal has been established yet. That's the most life-shaking event in the story, even though the story has just started. Any chance you can clear up my confusion?

Another top rate video.

Favorite inciting incident? Maybe Harry's name popping out of the Goblet of Fire. As I think about it though, it doesn't appear that story had a Plot Point #1. Harry is never given a choice about entering the Tournament or the larger conflict.

Even though it never pays off, I like the inciting moment in the movie Road Trip (2000) when Josh realizes his friend mailed the sex tape instead of the video message.

So the inciting incident is the moment when, but the protagonist's choice to engage, the story would abruptly end.

Ty I love your videos. They've been extremely helpful.

I got a question and I wouldlike to know if you could make a video about it I am thinking about my novel I want to write AndI do not know how to pick my characters names up How does a wrtier choose the name of his novel characters? Please would you help me? Thank you so much for your channel Always the best

Do you have any advice for how to protect your manuscript legally during the feedback and editing phase? Have there been any cases of a beta reader stealing an early draft of a book and trying to pass it off as their own to a publisher? What legal recourses are there if this happens? Or am I just being paranoid?

What do you guys think about two inciting incidents, that incite to two different goals, one happens in chapter one, and the other in chapter two, is it too much?

12% of a 1000-page book is on page 120. I had my inciting incident there, and it was already way too late. At least for modern goldfish-attention times.

The Godfather's Inciting Incident is difficult to pinpoint, because the main character in that isn't Vito or Michael, it's the "Godfather." The role is the main character, and it starts shifting to Michael once Vito is shot.

I just calculated, if my story ends up being 600 pages my Inciting Incident is around 15%. I have more than one protagonist though so getting them to the same event together took 3% longer. My question for you though: Violence. How do you balance internal thoughts during it vs speed of actions giving no time to think. That's the point I'm at now. My Inciting incident is an all out melee out of nowhere (at least from our heroes' POV).

Wait, so, the first plot points aren't considered Plot Point 1? I don't quite get that terminology.

His Foster parents death was the incident. Not the first girl he saw in a hologram! 😅

1st thing that popped in my head: 👁 T H E. E C L I P S E. 👁 -------👄------- In BERSERK

How do you give your characters certain resources or make them meet people without it all seeming like luck.

I'm not 100% I've got this right, but is it fair to say that the inciting incident in "Godzilla Minus One" is when our protagonist Shikishima meets the young woman Noriko and her adopted baby in the streets of Tokyo?

"Somehow...." LOL.

Nice vid

I'd love you hear your thoughts on when your antagonist isn't a person, or a living thing at all.

With the 12% mark being the norm, what's the latest point you've ever seen an inciting incident take place?

I'd love a video on falling action

👍👍

Do you alter your approach regarding inciting incidents when writing short stories, Brandon?

Favorite inciting incident of all time? Ep. 1 of Attack on Titan. #iykyk

The inciting incident in my graphic novel serves to draw the protagonist in, but isn't answered by the climax. It happens when she visits a tavern at the beginning of the story and interferes with some bigoted town guards who are harassing a kobold (who becomes the deuteragonist) and gets knocked unconscious and arrested, and when she wakes up in a dungeon her warhammer (which belonged to her grandfather) is gone. So at first her motivation for getting involved in the conflict is self-centered (she wants her hammer back) but then she's compelled by her sense of justice to help the tritagonist save the city. She does end up getting her hammer back but what started as the inciting incident becomes a subplot, as saving the city is more important. Maybe I'm a better writer than I give myself credit for... PS I think you accidentally used an AI picture of R2-D2 on your thumbnail, it looks...off.

🎅🏿

What was your inciting incident for creating this channel?

Wooo

Frieren goes to Himmel's funeral.

Sad to see you too started using AI garbage for thumbnails. Don't wish you to have your work sotlen or used against your consent one day, but it is sad that you as a writer don't grasp the subtlety of this issue.

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