Inciting Incident Question

Kristy101081

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
129
Reaction score
10
Location
Austin, Tx.
Ok, I'm probably going to get the mickey torn out of me for asking this question, but hey, I'm still learning, so I can ask...right?

Here's the question: can the inciting incident be related to the B story, or does it strictly relate to the A story?

My understanding is that the inciting incident is anything that causes the character to take action - well to consciously make the choice to take action. As I'm writing my script, I keep running into the fact that the status quo for my protag is unsettled by something that falls within the B story. It fits what's happening with the story overall, but I just wondered if, structurally speaking, that was correct.

Thanks!
 

LIVIN

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 7, 2007
Messages
924
Reaction score
140
Location
At a computer?
So, you're asking if the return of the supposedly dead husband can be the inciting incident? I must admit I wonder how this is an inciting incident for recovering a micro-chip to stop WWIII. That being said, I think it's possible.
 

nmstevens

What happened?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 25, 2006
Messages
1,452
Reaction score
207
Kristy101081 said:
Ok, I'm probably going to get the mickey torn out of me for asking this question, but hey, I'm still learning, so I can ask...right?

Here's the question: can the inciting incident be related to the B story, or does it strictly relate to the A story?

My understanding is that the inciting incident is anything that causes the character to take action - well to consciously make the choice to take action. As I'm writing my script, I keep running into the fact that the status quo for my protag is unsettled by something that falls within the B story. It fits what's happening with the story overall, but I just wondered if, structurally speaking, that was correct.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

It's kind of hard to say, speaking strictly in the abstract because, of course, the "B" story isn't a thing that's independent of the "A" story in any case -- I mean, let's be clear. We're not talking A and B stories as in a weekly series, where you have the A story, meaning the crime and the B story meaning the personal story that's going on in the lives of the detectives that really just run parallel and the two hardly even intersect at all.

You're talking about a feature where you're referring to A and B stories in terms of Main and sub-plots.

Well, sub-plots serve main plots.

So there's no reason why an inciting incident can't be located in a sub-plot.

For that matter, there's no reason why an inciting incident can't be located in a prologue in which the main character is completely uninvolved.

The point is, the inciting incident is the event that throws the main character off his normal trajectory.

But that event may actually be something that happens far away, maybe even in a very distant time and place from where we come to meet the hero.

He may not even know about it until well after it happens. Often we, the audience know about well before the hero does. Then we get to say -- uh oh, he doesn't know that this coming -- but we do.

What, for instance, is the inciting incident in Saving Private Ryan?

It's the decision, in the War Office, that they've got to send somebody to save the remaining Ryan son, who's stuck behind enemy lines.

That is the incident that is going to completely change the trajectory of Tom Hanks and all the others. That's the moment when it happens, even though, at that moment, Tom Hanks is blithely unaware of it.

NMS
 

Kristy101081

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
129
Reaction score
10
Location
Austin, Tx.
Hmmm, interesting point NMS.

For those with questions, the supposedly dead fiance works for SIS and was assigned to assassinate the protag five years earlier because her parents were involved with the chip, but fell in love with her. He got yanked from the case, "committed suicide," and moved on with his life thinking never to see her again. The suicide was done in such a way that the protag believed it was her fault. She has thrown herself into work and been completely cut-off from social interaction, other than to kill her targets when necessary. When he returns, he's got a very pregnant wife in tow, and it's a double blow for the protag - but, SIS has asked the CIA to let him join the case - they're concerned the missing chip is going to turn into a world war. As England is a major ally, the CIA could hardly refuse the request. So, his return is really part of the B story, but it wholly serves the A story.

Most of this stuff is back story and won't be laid out as it is above, but England never wanted the chip to exist in the first place. They wanted it destroyed, despite the fact that it was initially created as a means to help those with Autism communicate with others. So, that was the reason they wanted to assassinate the protag, her parents, and the scientist who invented the chip - but the fiance screwed up the plans, as it were, and the CIA recruited the protag to work for them and took the scientist into custody. Her parents died in a car crash, part of SIS's doing.

Still, now that I think more on this, and especially since NMS reminded me of Saving Private Ryan, I believe that this scene - while important - is not the inciting incident. So, thanks for the advice everyone! NMS, thanks for the reminder!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.