If you can’t pare your entire story
down into one simple statement then you don’t understand what your story is
really about. More importantly you can’t expect your readers to understand your
story.
But first let’s
talk protagonist motivation.
The Inciting
Incident is the event that establishes your protagonist’s driving motivation
which incentivizes them out from the old world of restrictions that is Act 1
into the new world of possibilities that is Act 2 and beyond. It also
establishes the death stakes involved if they fail to achieve their end goal:
either physical, psychological, or professional death.
Physical Death is,
well, obvious. You don’t eat or drink, you die. Period. But this could also
mean hurricane survival, or paying your loan shark back plus 10% before he gifts
you a permanent pair of cement shoes weighing you to the bottom of Crystal
Lake.
Psychological
Death could be a broken heart, loss of sanity, or a funk of depression so
severe that suicide seems the only answer.
Professional Death
means just what it sounds like, losing your job and thus your means of
providing that which sustains you.
Let’s take a quick
look at motives, because 99% of all stories can be boiled down to one of the
following four:
1. LOVE: Everyone
yearns to love and to be loved, though it can also focus on grief over a loved
one lost, or the fortitude of a friendship or family ties.
2. POWER: This
includes power over self as well as power over others. Fame, money, and respect
also fall into this category. Becoming the next rock star god or the C.E.O. at
your company. Standing up against the school bully or becoming the most
powerful wizard in all of Fantasyland.
3. REQUITAL: It’s
all about gaining or giving something in return for a perceived slight, either
compensation or retaliation. Though there exists varying degrees of requital
sliding the broad spectrum from lawful justice to unlawful vengeance.
4. SURVIVAL:
Weather the hurricane. Lifeboat surrounded by hungry sharks. Stranded on a
deserted island. Poisoned with a time limit for the cure. Hunted for sport.
Diagnosed with cancer. Vindication for a false crime to earn freedom from
wrongful imprisonment in the hell of a prison seeking to crush you.
But there exists
multiple “deaths” for your protagonist along their harrowing journey to
resolving the story’s main conflict asides the main Death of deaths earned by
failing at the climax against the antagonist. Many stories have multiple
Physical near-Deaths peppered throughout the journey, and some even have the
protagonist literally dying said Physical Death only to be resurrected then
carrying on.
Psychological
Death is common during the major “All Is Lost” moment which usually takes place
round 75% into the story where the protagonist has their tools and allies
stripped away and the antagonist seemingly wins. But this Psychological Death
isn’t permanent because the story is only 75% over, though it does share the
same stages which are the five common stages of grief . . . but with that plucky protagonist twist
tacked on at the end:
0. SHOCK: initial
paralysis at hearing the bad news / experiencing the bad event. “Oh my god.”
1. DENIAL: trying
to avoid the inevitable. “This can’t be happening.”
2. ANGER:
frustrated outpouring of bottled-up emotions. “Why is this happening!”
3. BARGAINING:
seeking in vain for a way out. “I’ll do anything for a way out.”
4. DEPRESSION:
final realization of the inevitable. “There’s no way out.”
5. ACCEPTANCE:
accepting the inevitable as a new permanent stasis of life. “I give up.”
. . . but here is
where real life and story differ because then comes that plucky protagonist
twist . . .
6. INSPIRATION:
the protagonist is struck by a jolting epiphany of necessary inspiration that
you, the clever writer you are, wove earlier into your story (usually somewhere
at the beginning of Act 2 and definitely before the Midpoint), inspiring them
to continue one last and possibly suicidal fight against the antagonist. “No .
. . wait.”
7. RESPONSE: the
protagonist puts that jolting epiphany of inspiration into active motion, thus
leaving behind Act 2 and entering the third and final act of their story. “I
must go on!”
It’s the dominant
Death’s looming threat learned by the Inciting Incident from which you gain
your protagonist’s driving motivation, and they’ll do their darndest best to
avoid it at all costs. But it’s an easy thing to find, really. Just picture the
absolute worst crisis imaginable to your cherished protagonist and tell them if
they don’t do such-and-such (obviously dependent on their particular story)
then “it” WILL happen by story’s end.
Not sure where to
find yours?
Let’s have a
look-see at what drives us all at our cores, shall we?
Basic human needs
can be broken down into orders of magnitude:
1. air
2. water
3. food
4. clothing
5. shelter
6. physical
comfort
7. emotional
companionship (other humans / pets)
8. spiritual
purpose
There’s also the
Rule of Three when it pertains to physical survival: three minutes without air,
three days without water, three weeks without food . . . you die.
There’s also
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:
1. Physiological.
Food, water, and shelter are our most basic needs. Without them, it’s unlikely
we’ll pursue any goal other than attempting to fulfill these needs. (breathing,
food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion).
2. Safety. Once
our basic needs are met, most people look toward building a life in which they
feel safe from emotional and bodily harm and in which their needs are met on a
more stable, ongoing basis. (security of body, of employment, of resources, of
morality, of the family, of health, of property).
3. Love &
Belonging. With safety and security established, inner well-being becomes the
next major need. People begin to seek out strong relationships that will help
them maintain mental and emotional well-being, confidence, and a strong sense
of self. (friendship, family, sexual intimacy).
4. Esteem. Once
one has established their sense of belonging, they’ll begin to look toward
fostering a sense of accomplishment and pride in their personal and / or
professional lives. (self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others,
respect by others).
5.
Self-Actualization. With all other needs met, people finally turn their eyes
toward achieving their fullest potential, working to bring their biggest dreams
to life. (morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of
prejudice, acceptance of facts).
External motives
are physical, preying upon the bodily needs and / or the security of the
protagonist or those they love, such as: food, water, warmth, shelter;
establishing financial security; escaping an abusive relationship; protecting
others from harm, or acting in self-defense; saving the world from an evil
power; surviving a natural disaster.
Internal
motivations occur within, preying upon the protagonist’s beliefs, mindset, or
emotions, such as: struggling to achieve one’s life passion; finding love or
friendship; experiencing spiritual enlightenment or satisfaction; avenging one’s
self or a loved one; living up to family or social expectations; atoning for a
past misdeed; overcoming bad habits; exploring new territory; inventing
something new; fulfilling a prophecy or rebelling against it.
Driving motives
could stem from personal fulfillment, fear or peer-pressure, guilt or
insecurity, or just plain old curiosity. But it needs to establish a clear
(keyword) DESIRE in your protagonist as well as a particular statement in your
reader. After the Inciting Incident, your reader, if asked, should be able to
recite the following statement without hesitation:
“(insert
protagonist) must (insert story’s main goal) or else (insert story’s death
stakes).”
Because, and here
I’ll quote John Truby, author of ‘Anatomy of Story’, who said it best:
“Without desire
there is no story. And desire is the main reason why almost all television
shows are set in the cop, lawyer, and doctor arenas. These jobs give their
shows a simple and repeatable desire line that tracks the episode every week.
Catch the criminal. Win the case. Save the life. But of course this is
extremely limiting. Most people don’t spend their daily lives solving crimes,
prosecuting bad guys, and saving lives.
“A story only
becomes interesting to the audience after the desire comes into play. Desire
drives the story, and is intimately connected to need. In most stories, when
the hero accomplishes their goal, they also fulfill their need. Need has to do
with overcoming a weakness within the character. Desire is a goal outside the
character. Need and desire have different functions in relation to the
audience. Need lets the audience see how the hero must change to have a better
life, but it remains hidden, under the surface. Desire gives the audience
something to want along with the hero. Desire is on the surface and is what the
audience thinks the story is about.”
John Truby’s basic
hierarchy of desire shows the complete continuum of wants from highest level of
desire to lowest:
1. Save the world
2. Save the
republic
3. Bring justice
and freedom
4. Gain Love
5. Find the truth
6. Catch a
criminal
7. Explore a world
8. Achieve
something
9. Win the battle
10. Take revenge
11. Survive or
escape
But maybe you’re
still unsure as to what your protagonist’s desire is.
Okay.
Here’s a random
list of 25 protagonist motivations in no particular order that, by Inciting
Incident’s end, your protagonist might seek:
1. Restoring your
or another’s name or reputation.
2. Escaping
justified or wrongful confinement or imprisonment
3. Avoiding
financial ruin.
4. Overcoming
abuse and learning to trust again.
5. Beating a
diagnosis or condition.
6. Reconciling
with an estranged family member.
7. A widespread
disaster (zombie apocalypse / alien invasion / disease outbreak).
8. Escaping an
obsessed killer.
9. Caring for an
aging parent.
10. Overcoming
addiction.
11. Protecting one’s
home or property.
12. Carrying on a
legacy.
13. Seeking out
one’s biological roots.
14. Escaping
invaders.
15. Becoming the
best at something (particular skill or talent)
16. Having (or
trying to have) a child.
17. Escaping
homelessness / poverty
18. Helping a
loved one see they are hurting themselves and others.
19. Obtaining
shelter from treacherous elements.
20. Escaping a
dangerous life one doesn’t want.
21. Pursuing
justice for oneself or others.
22. Realizing an
unfulfilled dream.
23. Coming to
grips with mental illness.
24. Rescuing a
loved one from a captor.
25. Catching the
criminal who framed you.
And how do you
establish your protagonist’s particular chosen desire?
Through the
Inciting Incident, silly!
Imagine it as a
three-step process:
1. Before
2. During
3. After
Step One is your
protagonist before the Inciting Incident, and is used to establish an emotional
connection so that when the Inciting Incident happens to the protagonist we
empathize with them. Without this necessary step the protagonist is a complete
stranger we know nothing about and we won’t feel anything for them when the
Inciting Incident hits them hard and changes their world forever. If your best
friend of thirty years told you their mother died during a hit-and-run from a
drunk driver, you would empathize with their pain of loss because you know them
well. But if I told you some guy you never knew was killed by a drunk driver in
a country you’ve never been to, you might pretend a little sympathy for all of
about five seconds before moving along in your daily routine and never think
about it twice.
Step Two is your
protagonist’s Inciting Incident which establishes their desire, however
wonderful or cruel you make of it, as well as the death stakes involved.
Step Three,
obviously, is the protagonist dealing with the consequences of the Inciting
Incident, debating what they can possibly do about it, maybe trying to shove
their problem off onto someone else they believe better equipped at dealing
with it, maybe even ignoring it while hoping it just goes away on its own . . .
but one of the key points to any great Inciting Incident is that it disrupts
the protagonist’s world in as permanent a way as possible so that eventually,
no matter how hard they try ignoring it, things only get worse until they
finally decide to do something about it.
Ergo: DESIRE.
Because the point
of an Inciting Incident is to prove that the protagonist is ill-equipped at
dealing with it. Otherwise they would just handle the situation as they would
any other and problem solved and story over. The point of Act 1 is to present a
flawed protagonist who eventually strives into Act 2 where they shed their old
flaws and bad habits for new virtues and skills so that during Act 3 when they
face the Inciting-Incident-on-steroids that is the story’s climax they are a
changed person better equipped at dealing with it.
Because adversity
builds character, and the events that happen to your protagonist between
Beginning and End are the adversity that causes protagonist change which forges
them into a better protagonist . . . otherwise those events have no reason to
exist.
We all have
desires in our lives. Each night I desire sleep, and every morning I desire
coffee. But these desires, though relatable as all protagonist desires should
be, are not life and limb. Apply a risk-to-reward ratio then make it a doozy.
Your Inciting
Incident should punish your protagonist’s possible failure at story’s end with
one of the three deaths: physical, psychological, or professional. If it doesn’t
then your story has weak if any conflict and needs not be told because it’s the
worst thing possible: a cold pad of boring on a stale piece of no-consequence
toast. And nobody wants to eat that.
Though understand
this: whatever death stakes your Inciting Incident presents your protagonist,
those stakes must be raised during the Midpoint of their story. How and why is
up to you and your particular protagonist and their particular story.
But for quick
example let’s assume your protagonist is a lawyer because everyone loves
lawyers and nothing bad has ever been said about them. Trust me. No need to
Google it.
Your protagonist
lawyer is fresh out of college, wide-eyed and newly hired to the law firm of
her hopes and dreams, and eager to prove her worth. She does her normal lawyer
thing, hoping to impress her bosses and eventually win them over to become a
partner in the law firm.
Then one fine afternoon
she comes across “the big one” during her Inciting Incident, a case about a
falsely accused pedophile that would make her career . . . only it’s not for
her but for a rival lawyer in the firm, one more experienced than your
inexperienced protagonist.
But she is a
tenacious little beaver with a no-quit attitude. She refuses surrender and so
argues and argues until she finally wears her bosses down and they allow her to
take the case. Oh boy, what an opportunity! she thinks.
But because we
need those pesky death stakes or else risk a boring story of no consequence,
her bosses add the caveat that if she fails to win the big case then she’s
fired.
Professional Death
stakes right on cue!
So your eager
protagonist lawyer gets to work, interviewing witnesses, investigating crime
scene reports and the such, all the while hoping to prove her falsely accused
client’s innocence and win the gold star of approval from her bosses.
Then comes the
Midpoint where those death stakes are raised, because that’s part and parcel of
what all Midpoints do. Your protagonist lawyer has earned the attention of
world-wide media because of their big case. Not only did her rival lawyer,
upset he was passed over, leak it to the local press and all over social media,
but his panties twisted in such a bunch that he’s now the prosecutor against
the protagonist’s client. And your protagonist lawyer learns if she loses not
only will she be fired (original death stakes) but because of the new media
exposure her failure will shame the entire law firm so that now she’ll also be
blacklisted and will never work as a lawyer anywhere ever again.
Now dems sum
raised stakes!
Then we further
complicate her situation by adding a Twist all audiences enjoy also during the
Midpoint. After your protagonist lawyer learns of her possible blacklisting if
she fails . . . Bam! Pow! TWIST! . .
. the falsely accused client she’s been defending confesses to her that they
are in fact actually guilty.
Cue moral dilemma!
If she wins the
case, a pedophile walks free.
If she loses the
case, she’ll never lawyer again.
What’s she going
to do now?!
By crafting a
spectacular Inciting Incident, you establish your protagonist’s desire that
will carry them throughout the remainder of their story, all while they strive
to avoid suffering the death stakes involved.
And you test the
worth of your Inciting Incident by answering one simple statement:
“(insert
protagonist) must (insert story’s main goal) or else (insert story’s death
stakes).”
This one simple
statement is the core of your story after everything of lesser value has been
stripped away. It should excite you, and excite everyone you tell it to. If
someone asks what your story is about, you tell them your one simple statement.
If they Ooh and Ahh then you know you have a tasty hook for potential readers
to bite. If it earns no reaction then you know your story is boring bunk.
“Must” and “or
else” are the two necessary components to the one simple statement because they
are absolutes. If someone “must” do something then it’s obviously of greatest
importance, and the “or else” shows there are dire consequences if they fail.
We’ll call our
exampled protagonist lawyer Suzie Q and present you her one simple statement:
“Defense attorney
Suzie Q MUST prove her guilty client innocent of pedophilia OR ELSE she’ll be
fired and blacklisted from ever working as a lawyer again.”
I want to know how
it ends, and I know you want to know how it ends. But more importantly knowing
that one simple statement acts as the story’s anchor. Because every scene in
the story MUST be attached to it in some way OR ELSE it belongs in a different
story.
Find your one
simple statement and you’ll never be led astray while writing.
Happy writing!