How much set up is acceptable before the inciting incident?

I.M.Lost

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Sorry if this is under the wrong section, but I specifically write fantasy and feel that this question would vary from genre to genre.

I'm starting my second draft and am realizing that it's probably taking too long for the main plot to kick in. I keep hearing that you need the "hook" almost immediately. It's one of those stories where the main character's goal is to save her friend (or at least, that's how it starts). Given that the two main characters are apart the entire novel, I feel like I need to put at least a couple of scenes of them together, otherwise the reader won't have much investment in the MC's goal or their relationship.

For SFF writers, do you start with a bang and do the worldbuilding after? How much introduction do you think is acceptable before you get bored?
 

Dan Rhys

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I'm not sure the genre matters here, but I would say if you are a new writer, you have to get right to it, but, with established writers, critics and judges don't seem to care if they take half the book to get to the point. I say this from experience, because when I entered a thriller novel called The Shaded Valley in the CIBA Clue Awards in 2017, I took a few chapters to get to the main story, and my novel got nowhere in the contest, with judges complaing it took too long to get to the point. The next year, when I entered my second novel, THE LONE ESCAPIST, in the same contest, I kicked off the main story right in the first page (literally), and the novel made it to the semifinals and was published by a small publisher. The quality of the two stories, I assure you, is about equal, so it was all in the beginning that made the difference.
 

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You may not necessarily need the big hook ASAP, but you need a hook ASAP - some interest, some reason to turn the page. More than a couple of scenes of "normal life where nothing's wrong" can easily be "yawn - what's next on the reading pile?" to a reader. That's not to say you can't start with a little down time before the chaos hits, but something still needs to be happening (and, ideally, foreshadowing the trouble to come, so the reader knows there will be a reward and will keep reading... if you don't make them wait too long for it.)

And it's easy to overestimate how much frontloading you need to do. You can establish relationship through how they think about each other, the lengths they go to to be together again, flashbacks, etc.: you don't need to take forever showing them being best friends for the reader to pick up that they're best friends.
 

lilyWhite

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Your story should start with a hook, but that does not need to be the inciting incident or the "bang". It's common for SF/F stories to lead up to the inciting incident, as the reader often has to understand the nature of the world and the SF/F elements to understand the story and characters.

That doesn't mean you should keep the inciting incident waiting too long—very few books I've seen have it past the second chapter—or start off with uninteresting content. In my opinion, a good beginning sets the stage for the inciting incident: gives the reader an idea of the status-quo of the protagonist's world, the events in the beginning lead into the inciting incident, and what exposition is given is only that which is necessary to understand the world and story.
 

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Really depends on the particular story. I have read a few that incorporated inciting incident very early, but most books spend a decent chunk of the story showing us the problems in mc's normal life before the author turns his/her world upside down.

I'm starting my second draft and am realizing that it's probably taking too long for the main plot to kick in. I keep hearing that you need the "hook" almost immediately. It's one of those stories where the main character's goal is to save her friend (or at least, that's how it starts). Given that the two main characters are apart the entire novel, I feel like I need to put at least a couple of scenes of them together, otherwise the reader won't have much investment in the MC's goal or their relationship.

For SFF writers, do you start with a bang and do the worldbuilding after? How much introduction do you think is acceptable before you get bored?


How long is the current draft and where does the main plot kick in? Many refer to a "hook" as something interesting in the beginning that keeps you interested in reading the first couple pages. This is usually not the inciting incident of the novel.

Given that the two main characters are apart the entire novel, I feel like I need to put at least a couple of scenes of them together, otherwise the reader won't have much investment in the MC's goal or their relationship.

Without knowing more about your story, I can't provide helpful feedback, but from what you've mentioned it does sound like you need some scenes at the beginning so we understand the problems in their normal life before the friend is kidnapped or whatever. Otherwise, why would the reader care if she saves her?

That doesn't mean you should keep the inciting incident waiting too long—very few books I've seen have it past the second chapter

If we are talking about the inciting incident as the catalyst that incites the mc to take on the main problem of the story, my recollection is not great, but it seems to usually happen a bit later, around 10% or more into the story. Then perhaps the mc debates whether to accept it or not for the rest of act 1, or gets ready etc until they finally start and take the story into act 2.
 
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Girlsgottawrite

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This is a great question. It's something I struggle with a lot too, and I think the answer is... it depends.

In my experience, sci-fi, fantasy and pretty-much most genre books are expected to get to the inciting incident early because they are (supposed to be) story driven and readers want to get to the meat of the story. Literary books , on the other hand, are given more leeway because they're more character driven. It can be really frustrating to those of us who want a greater focus on character in our fantasy... but I digress.

The best way around this is to give us something juicy up front to start things off, maybe something that foreshadows what's to come. In my book, the inciting incident isn't until page 40, but I've got a lot going on in those first 39 pages to keep the reader engaged (I hope). Really, all readers want is to be excited to see what comes next. Writing formulas are good tools, but they shouldn't be considered gospel.

There is a you tube channel I like called Just Write. He does an episode on Rocky and how it goes against writing formulas. Basically, he argues that by taking the time to develop his characters, Stallone made us more invested in their stories. It's really fascinating to watch. Rocky: Why You Don't Need Writing Formulas

I hope you like it! :)
 
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WrenWrites

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Like everyone says, you need some sort of something exciting to hook people right away, even if you don't get to the actual plot for a bit. One thing you can do is have a killer first sentence/paragraph and then backtrack a bit. "The alien killed me on a Monday," type thing and then go to the normal parts of Monday--they now have some inherent tension because you know the alien is going to show up and kill the narrator. Of course, you still don't want to drag the normal Monday parts out too long, but by telling the reader up front that you are going somewhere exciting, you can buy yourself a bit of time.

Flashbacks would definitely be a good way for you to establish the relationship between your main character and her friend.
 

SVenus

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The inciting incident will probably happen sooner in a thriller than an epic fantasy, but for your first novel you'd want to get to it sooner rather than later.
 

Chronodendron

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Sooner rather than later was the advice I was given as well.
Personally, I don't mind slow starts. I rather get to know the characters first, otherwise I find it hard to care about whatever happens to them. That being said, I took everyone's advice. Time will tell if it was the right thing to do or if I should have kept my original opening.
 

Elle.

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Sorry if this is under the wrong section, but I specifically write fantasy and feel that this question would vary from genre to genre.

I'm starting my second draft and am realizing that it's probably taking too long for the main plot to kick in. I keep hearing that you need the "hook" almost immediately. It's one of those stories where the main character's goal is to save her friend (or at least, that's how it starts). Given that the two main characters are apart the entire novel, I feel like I need to put at least a couple of scenes of them together, otherwise the reader won't have much investment in the MC's goal or their relationship.

For SFF writers, do you start with a bang and do the worldbuilding after? How much introduction do you think is acceptable before you get bored?

I think a lot of the time writers over-estimate the amount of information a reader need to connect or enjoy a story.

Actually their relationship could be the hook in the sense that if the reader straight away see the length someone will go save their friend without prior knowledge, readers will likely go “I want to keep reading because I want to find out what kind of relationship can get someone to risk their life for.”

I personally think that readers prefer to discover things as they read along and piece things together rather than being fed all the info beforehand.

There need to be a balance between starting and moving the plot forward and characterisation. They need to happen at the same time.
 
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Lone Wolf

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Given that the two main characters are apart the entire novel, I feel like I need to put at least a couple of scenes of them together, otherwise the reader won't have much investment in the MC's goal or their relationship.

I wouldn't think you necessarily need scenes with them together for this. In theory you could have a story about Fred's quest to save Jane and not even have Jane actually seen in the story until the crucial rescue bit. You don't need to know or care about Jane per say, we just have to know it's important to Fred and to care about Fred enough to want what he wants. While clearly saving Jane is important to Fred through the lengths he's going to, you can season it lightly with his thoughts about her, flashbacks, short comments about why she's important, his dread of losing her or letting her down.
 

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Given that the two main characters are apart the entire novel, I feel like I need to put at least a couple of scenes of them together, otherwise the reader won't have much investment in the MC's goal or their relationship.

Story structure is a larger question, and I think you can get away with just about anything as long as it's got a hook to make the reader turn the page.

But for this: I'd expect you could find ways via your MC's behavior to show how much her friend means to her without necessarily showing us the two of them together. If the only purpose of the early scenes is to demonstrate a bond, then yeah, I'd expect you could jettison them.

But it's impossible to say without reading. Execution is everything.
 

Will Collins

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Right away if you're a new writer. The famous guys get to take their time.
 

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Really depends on the particular story. I have read a few that incorporated inciting incident very early, but most books spend a decent chunk of the story showing us the problems in mc's normal life before the author turns his/her world upside down.

That doesn't quite mesh with my experience; at the very least, the vast majority of books I read foreshadow very early on, and rarely dither in "normal life" excessively before things go haywire. There's always some hook in there to keep me turning pages, or I don't turn pages. Could you list some examples of books that spend a "decent chunk of story" just in normal life before Big Bad Things happen?
 

PostHuman

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That doesn't quite mesh with my experience; at the very least, the vast majority of books I read foreshadow very early on, and rarely dither in "normal life" excessively before things go haywire. There's always some hook in there to keep me turning pages, or I don't turn pages. Could you list some examples of books that spend a "decent chunk of story" just in normal life before Big Bad Things happen?

I do recall reading some novels with very early inciting incident, but the ones I can think of off the top of my head happen later. past few I've read recently:

Recursion

  • inciting incident 13% (Barry has false memory experience)
  • act 2 break 25% (Barry goes into the past)

Dark Matter

  • inciting incident 10% (Jason sent into parallel universe)
  • act 2 break 30% (parallel Daniela killed, Jason tries to find a way back home)

Prey

  • inciting incident 14% (Jack finds nanotech device in nursery)
  • act 2 break 27% (Jack takes helicopter to nanomaterials plant)

My Sister's Keeper
  • inciting incident 11% (Anna's mom served with medical emancipation papers)
  • act 2 break 20% (Anna tells the judge she doesn't want to donate her kidney)
 

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It really depends on the story. Conventional wisdom says you should introduce your primary protagonist and have the inciting incident as early as possible, likely within the first chapter. I think this is probably a good rule of thumb for hooking readers.

However, I can think of successful fantasy novels, even ones published by debut authors in the last decade or two, that take much longer--including some epics that have multiple protagonists, each with their own inciting incident that are introduced over several chapters and where it might take a sizable chunk of the book before the interconnectedness of their separate arcs becomes clear to the reader.

If a novel takes a slower path, it needs to be written in a way that keeps the reader turning pages. Whether it's something about the narrative voice, the character themselves, the world or an initial situation (even if it's not really an inciting event), it needs to be especially fascinating to the reader.

Some successful debut novels that do slower burns include Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart. The little details about the world and its interesting mythology and culture, plus the character's intriguing situation kept me turning pages, along with the author's prose.

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie is another. The way the author immersed me in the opening viewpoint's character's voice and perception kept me hooked, and he did the same in subsequent chapters with new "main" characters. I don't generally like books that open with a combat scene, because when I don't have anything invested (yet) in the character or situation, it's easy not to care why the person is fighting for their life. But this one worked for me, even without much initial context.

Robin Hobb's novels tend to have slower starts, though the inciting incident is often pretty early, it's not always clear what it is. Her later novels tend to start much slower than the original Farseer trilogy did, though, so that may not be helpful (since she was already a pretty well-liked author by then).
 

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I do recall reading some novels with very early inciting incident, but the ones I can think of off the top of my head happen later. past few I've read recently:

Recursion

  • inciting incident 13% (Barry has false memory experience)
  • act 2 break 25% (Barry goes into the past)

Dark Matter

  • inciting incident 10% (Jason sent into parallel universe)
  • act 2 break 30% (parallel Daniela killed, Jason tries to find a way back home)

Prey

  • inciting incident 14% (Jack finds nanotech device in nursery)
  • act 2 break 27% (Jack takes helicopter to nanomaterials plant)

My Sister's Keeper
  • inciting incident 11% (Anna's mom served with medical emancipation papers)
  • act 2 break 20% (Anna tells the judge she doesn't want to donate her kidney)


Can't speak to the other 2 but Prey and My Sister's Keeper's story still start and hook the reader from the start:

Prey: why is Jack a househusband what kind of big power job does his wife have (unusual set set and power dynamic in a story)

My Sister's Keeper: why is Anna a "designer baby and conceived in a lab

Also a classic 3-act structure has Act I normally take about 25% of the story so those examples roughly follow the guidelines.
 

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Can't speak to the other 2 but Prey and My Sister's Keeper's story still start and hook the reader from the start:

Prey: why is Jack a househusband what kind of big power job does his wife have (unusual set set and power dynamic in a story)

My Sister's Keeper: why is Anna a "designer baby and conceived in a lab

Also a classic 3-act structure has Act I normally take about 25% of the story so those examples roughly follow the guidelines.

Yes, they were both great page-turners IMO. These days it seems any novel that doesn't hook the reader with some interesting setup or tension on the first few pages is already dead in the water. There is also often some early foreshadowing / parallels with the end.

What I understand OP refers to as "inciting incident" is usually a bit later, some specific call to action or whatever it is that starts the engine, invites the mc to take on what they are going to do in Act 2. It can be very early, but in most books I recall off hand this doesn't occur until after the reader understands the world and problems in the mc's normal life, perhaps 10% or more into the story. Then there is some kind of debate about it or getting ready before act 2.
 
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I read some of the replies but not the whole thread.

I think in fantasy you need the fantastical elements early--and that can be the hook.

Even favorite fantasy books of mine that I thought did not kick into the 'real fantasy' straight away--looking at them analytically--they do in fact all have a good dose of fantasy right up front.

No coyness. If you have dragons, bring 'em on. Magic, vampires, whatever your fantasy is--we need the fantasy up front, if not the inciting incident.

(I mean, some contractual promise to the reader, anyway.)
 
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Samscript

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You don't need a hook in the first chapter, but it certainly helps. You definitely don't need the inciting incident until page 30 or so. But what you need is tension/conflict. If you're just writing exposition; it's going to be very dull for readers.

Make your conflict interesting by the end of the first chapter. It doesn't need to be the main conflict; in fact, it probably shouldn't be. But make it worth reading.

One of the reasons why novels move around so much in time and space is because information needs to be conveyed, but not necessarily in the beginning. Even if you think you need to set up the characters' relationship, try putting that in chapter 2 or later. And make sure you illustrate their relationship through conflict. The conflict doesn't need to be with one another, but give them something to struggle with. It's through that adversity, that character can shine.

And always, always, try to find conflicts that are peculiar, strange, different, original, unique. Try to avoid just throwing a monster on the page for them to battle or a war no one cares about. Make the conflict fresh or meaningful.
 

litdawg

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Story structure is a larger question, and I think you can get away with just about anything as long as it's got a hook to make the reader turn the page.

But for this: I'd expect you could find ways via your MC's behavior to show how much her friend means to her without necessarily showing us the two of them together. If the only purpose of the early scenes is to demonstrate a bond, then yeah, I'd expect you could jettison them.

But it's impossible to say without reading. Execution is everything.

I was scrolling through the responses looking to see if someone addressed the OPs stated reason for a slow start. Glad to see LizMonster hit it. For what it's worth, remembered happiness is always more melancholy and idealized than experienced happiness. That's the key to 90% of romantic poetry (i.e. from the literary movement of romanticism, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, etc). You can get quite a bit of mileage out of lost Eden, rather than a direct depiction of edenic existence.
 

ubriel

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It really depends on how far in you think you are before the main event takes place. Maybe just cut all but two or three of the best friend/relationship building scenes. Leave only two or three pages worth of the best stuff. Readers "get" friendships so just a few really good examples of their interactions can serve sometimes better than a whole chapter of it.
I have seen very good small arcs as openers to the main story that serve to "hook" the reader's interest before delving into the main plot. This can serve to initiate world building as well as giving you time to establish the motivation of the characters. The best in my opinion are not related to the main plot (or only loosely related) so they don't really serve as foreshadowing or telling the whole story in short form. I don't personally like that.
You can also take your time with it and reference a similar or streak of incidents like headlines in a paper or the guy on the corner looking haggard and handing out "have you seen this girl" flyers.
Consider carefully inserting two thirds of the world/relationship building you currently have into someplace after the event as flash-backs or reminiscence. Having flash-backs can work but I agree with the other post saying it can turn melancholy.
I hope that helps.
 

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Sorry if this is under the wrong section, but I specifically write fantasy and feel that this question would vary from genre to genre.

I'm starting my second draft and am realizing that it's probably taking too long for the main plot to kick in. I keep hearing that you need the "hook" almost immediately. It's one of those stories where the main character's goal is to save her friend (or at least, that's how it starts). Given that the two main characters are apart the entire novel, I feel like I need to put at least a couple of scenes of them together, otherwise the reader won't have much investment in the MC's goal or their relationship.

For SFF writers, do you start with a bang and do the worldbuilding after? How much introduction do you think is acceptable before you get bored?

You might consider some non-linear storytelling. This is a way of having the bang early but still making the reader care. You can depict the "before the hook" and "after the hook" chapters interspersed, possibly with one of them in reverse order (a la memento). Or just plain old flashbacks.
 

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I started a book a few days ago where the inciting incident happened within the first few pages. It was a bit of a jolt. I didn't really have a chance to get to know anything about the character before she started acting and reacting to all hell breaking loose.
 

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I read something that I liked recently, where the person said "the first chapter is promise to the reader about what they book is about." Or something like that. Not sure where I heard it, I've been ingesting a lot of plot things lately.
But what it boiled down to was the first chapter doesn't need the main event, but it does have to reflect what that will be. You can't put a huge dragon race, and then have the main plot be about studying ancient tombs in a dusty attic. Yes, it's exciting ,but it's a trick.
The first chapter needs a conflict or it's boring. Going to school is boring, rushing to school because if I'm late one more time I'll be suspended, more interesting, and tells you a lot about the character.
You also don't need to show the two people together to show their relationship. Someone takes the main character's locket, and it's was a gift from their best friend. They have to fight to get it back, reflecting their fight to get their friend back and, ideally, you can even sneak in some of the useful skills the main character has that will be useful. - The guy was a lot bigger than me, but I'm fast. Later that speed is valuable.
If their every day life is easy and fun you have to wreck (at least a little bit )really fast because it's boring.