What do students of Robert Mckee believe to be the inciting incident?
The inciting incident in a screenplay or novel is that event that gets the story rolling. In The Hangover, it’s the moment when the guys wake up in their trashed villa with no memory of what happened the night before–and realize that they’ve lost their friend Doug. With that, the story kicks into gear. Everything before that is just setup. - Steven Pressfield - Robert Mckee Student - http://www.stevenpressfield.com/
While I agree that the moment the characters realize Doug is missing is the inciting incident, I have to say beware of an inciting incident that lands 28 pages into a story. Beware of an inciting incident that lands anywhere other than the
first scene. Luckily, this
does not occur in The Hangover. As you'll note in this transcript of
The Hangover, the first scene has Phil telling Doug's fiance that Doug is missing. Again, this is the
first scene. (See Prologue info below)
Then, the writers go back in time and well...
Let's first talk about this statement: "
Everything before that is just setup."
What is
setup?
It's a poor term that's what it is. It's a poor term because saying something is "just setup" can lead a new writer into a belief that it's a free for all and that it doesn't have much meaning in terms of the story.
When in fact, it is the engine of meaning for your story. Without which your story will not have
any meaning.
The
setup is the illustration of how the characters are related to one another in terms of power. Who is who's boss? What life events, jobs, friendships, lives, are at stake because of this inciting incident? How has power shifted because of this inciting incident? What has been taken from the protagonist in terms of abstract value...honor, love, hope, faith, etc.?
How do these character get what they want from each other? Is there a global pattern here? Do the bad guys all lie to get what they want? Is this a story about lying to people who trust such as in
Fargo?
Setting up is not "putting up a line of dominoes." The setup reveals itself during the following Reaction and Action scenes.
You're showing how the
bad guys get what they want by use of a specific tactic, such as lying, abusing, shooting, threatening...and you're showing how the
good guys initially react to this tactic...why it is they failed to stop the bad guy from his initial inciting act. Maybe they're gullible, they're fearful, they're unarmed, they're pacifists, etc... (
This is also known as Character Need - Need to stop reacting this way.)
When you make your first scene the inciting incident, action -reaction will prevail and naturally, organically, setup your story...
Setting Up is a bad term that can lead a new writer into thinking their setting the table before the guests arrived. Your story starts with all the guests there and the bad guy making his move.
Now let's talk about the
inciting incident.
What is an inciting incident?
It's the first act by your antagonist to get what they want. It's a successful attempt.
During the inciting incident something is taken from your main character - a person, place, or thing.
(PERSON)
Perhaps a friend is murdered, or citizen of your town or city, or family member.
Perhaps one of these people is kidnapped.
Perhaps the guy you wanted to marry just got engaged.
Perhaps the girl you want to ask to the dance asked someone else.
(THING)
Perhaps an engagement ring is stolen.
Perhaps your favorite bike is stolen
(PLACE)
Perhaps your management job is terminated
Perhaps your jurisdiction of your town is being undermined.
Perhaps your incarcerated.
That NOUN represents an abstract value to your protagonist...such as Love, Honor, Respect, Freedom, Hope, Faith, etc.
Your main character's goal is to get that NOUN back and with it the abstract value it represents.
Those are the constraints of "a story." The A and the B. This is why placing an inciting incident 18 or 25 or 30 pages into a story makes all the scenes before it...meaningless. A story is "Inciting incident - Final incident"
How can a NOUN represent an abstract value?
This is the point at which the stolen NOUN and the protagonists Relationships meet.
For Example:
---------Beginning of Inciting incident:
Action
Your protagonist is the manager of a restaurant and they get fired. And they have this coupon book they hand out to their friends to get free meals.
Their friends find out that the protagonist can no longer give them free meals so they stop talking to the protagonist.
Reaction
The protagonists tells his girlfriend about it and he tells her that the coupon book represents respect. Now he's just a nobody and before he was a somebody.
So now he says I want the job back and with it the coupon book. There's his goal.
---------------End of inciting incident
Note and Remember:
ACTION - REACTION is a
two part formula.
The NOUN is taken in the first scene. The NOUN is regained in the
second to last scene.
The last scene is the reaction scene to the second to last scene.
The NOUN is regained in the last ACTION scene and then we see the resolution in the final scene...the REACTION scene.
Prologue:
If you must use a prologue, connect it to your story in terms of character's involved. See how in
Raiders of the Lost Ark Indy is after an artifact and Belloq his rival in the Ark search is there for this one as well. It's not just Indy doing his usual job, disconnected to the Ark search. It's Indy competing against the Bad Guy in both searches. Their Protagonist-Antagonist relationship is "Set Up."
You could probably argue that this is a "half an Inciting Incident" Meaning, it shows that Indy's relationship issue is "choosing the wrong friends" as Belloq states and we see from the results of Indy's helpers running off.
The other half being "Go get the Ark" setup in the following scenes.
Update: NOUN TAKEN
A NOUN taken can be a service. Let's say you want to give food to a hungry homeless man and he refuses to eat it. And so you're character is stuck with this food.
Or let's say your character wants to pay a cop sit outside his house and the police refuse this protection.
