How to Write a Brilliant Novel: The Easy Step-By-Step Method of Crafting a Powerful Story (Go! Write Something Brilliant) (10 page)

Then, when I got to chapter two and that scene, I told it from a different point of view, thus making it just as interesting. If, however, you have a slower, less active Inciting Incident, you may have to build in the impact (by focusing on characterization) of the Inciting Incident in order for it have resonance.

Need
– All stories are, to some extent, about a character’s emotional journey. The character starts out with a need. What can you build into that Inciting Incident that reveals that need? For example, in my Inciting Incident for
Taming Rafe
, I develop his need to impress his family, and thus, the reason why he rides the bull even when he feels something is wrong. In
Get Cozy, Josey
(my third first-person funny book about Russian missionary Josey and her adventures), Josey’s need is for a house

with a backyard for her children. To meet her need, she agrees to go camping with her husband so he’ll move back to America. Discovering your hero’s need will help you determine what kind of Inciting Incident to put into the story.

Genre
– Certain genres demand different Inciting Incidents. First, keep in mind that
every
hero’s journey starts in Life/Normal World. It starts with a glimpse of what his normal life is like, what his normal activities are, what his normal motivations and goals are. However, where you work that normalcy in differs by genre. For example, fantasy requires just a bit more setting (or storyworld, which we’ll get to soon, I promise!) set up, a little more
normal
life for a character. A suspense, however, often starts with some high-action example of what is at stake, and then flows into normal. A romance might start at a point where the heroine meets the hero, and then spiral back to her normal day, or might even have a mix of normalcy inside the Inciting Incident, so that we don’t even realize that it’s the blip (or bloke) that will change her world. Look at other books in your chosen genre—where does the Inciting Incident occur? Page one? Three? Five? Ten? This is a good guide to how you might structure your book.

Every Inciting Incident will be specific to your book and your character, but determining how and when to put it in the book takes careful consideration of your BANG.

Time to brainstorm your Inciting Incident!

What
Believable
Incident could occur in your hero’s home world? How much sympathy do you need to build for your character to have the reader care that he’s facing this incident?

What
Actions
could he take, or have happen to him?

What is (are) your character’s primary
Needs
?

What
Genre
are you writing in? Look at your pile of genre books and read the first chapter, or at least the first page of three of them. What happens? Does this churn up any ideas for your hero?

Finally, what backstory elements do you need to include in order to give the Inciting Incident
Delicacy and Resonance
?

Okay, so you know
where
to place the Inciting Incident. The next question is
how
?
(Of course, I have a few tricks for
you!)

What do all Inciting Incidents have in common? In the upcoming
CREATE
section, we’ll be talking about the nuts and bolts of a
HOOK
, and we’ll delve more deeply into many of these elements. It’s important for you to start thinking about them as you craft your Inciting Incident.

Sympathy Stakes Motivation Desires
Fears

Action
words

Let’s take a closer
look:

1. Sympathy
   –
   Ask
   yourself:
   What
   situation
   can
   I
   put
   my
   hero
   in
   that
   would
   make my
   audience
   feel
   for
   him?
   What
   collective
   experience
   or
   feeling
   can
   I
   touch
   on
   that makes
   him
   instantly identifiable
   and creates sympathy
   in the
   reader?
   In
   Nothing
   But Trouble
   ,
   a
   mystery
   featuring
   PJ
   Sugar,
   an
   amateur
   private
   investigator.
   PJ’s
   Inciting Incident is returning to her hometown, and ending up fulfilling the prophecy of everyone who wants to see her fail. Because most of us have been in a situation where
   we’ve
   felt
   condemned
   by
   everyone
   around
   us,
   we
   can
   sympathize
   with
   PJ
   as
   I open the book with her in that very
   situation.
   
2. Stakes
   –
   We’ve
   talked
   about
   stakes
   for
   your
   story.
   How
   can
   you
   hint
   about
   them in your first scene? In the scene in the last chapter, from
   Escape to Morning,
   the stakes
   were
   all
   about
   saving
   Will’s
   friend
   (an
   undercover
   agent)
   from
   being
   killed, and
   even
   saving
   America
   from
   terrorists.
   You
   don’t
   have
   to
   explain
   everything. Asimple one-sentence hint of what is at stake will do the trick. But it should be something the reader will care
   about.
   
3. Motivation
   or
   Values
   –
   We
   need
   to know
   what
   about this
   situation motivates your hero to move to the next step in the journey. Returning to Will’s scene in
   Escape
   to
   Morning,
   his
   motivation
   is
   the
   death
   of
   his
   friend,
   Lew.
   We
   could
   also substitute a hint of his values for motivation, because it is our values that drive our actions.
   
4. Desires
   – What does our hero care about, long for, dream of, that is at
   stake? Sometimes,
   in
   an
   Inciting
   Incident,
   I
   offer
   a
   hint
   of
   his
   dreams,
   only
   to
   then
   yank
   them
   away.
   But
   I
   want
   him
   to
   know
   (and
   the
   reader
   to
   know)
   what
   he
   has
   to
   live
   for.
   Often,
   I
   work
   this
   into
   the
   last
   part
   of
   the
   Inciting
   Incident,
   and
   often
   it’s
   ever
   so
   subtle,
   but
   enough
   to
   know
   what
   the
   hero
   cares
   about.
   In
   the
   Inciting
   Incident
   in
   TamingRafe
   , we see Rafe inviting his pal Manuel’s family to the big bull
   riding event, and we see that he is longing to have Manuel’s life—a wife, a family, and the admiration in his son’s eyes.
   
5. Fears
   –
   What
   is
   your hero
   deeply
   afraid
   of?
   Again,
   this
   is
   subtle,
   but
   it
   helps
   us
   to know
   him.
   For
   example,
   in
   Will’s
   case,
   he’s
   afraid
   that
   he
   won’t
   be
   able
   to
   save
   his fellow agent. In PJ’s case (my mystery heroine) it’s that she’ll forever be the failure/laughingstock
   of
   her
   town.
   One
   of
   the
   best
   Inciting
   Incident
   I’ve
   ever
   seen
   is in
   a
   Bruce
   Willis
   movie
   called
   The
   Hostage.
   (It’s
   pretty
   violent,
   so
   don’t
   feel
   like
   you need to run out and get it. I’ll tell you the Inciting Incident here). Bruce is a hostage negotiator, and in the beginning of the movie, he is negotiating the release of a little boy.
   He
   fails
   in
   his
   negotiation,
   and
   the
   little
   boy
   is
   killed. This
   destroys
   Bruce,
   and he drops out of negotiation work. The thing is, his greatest fear is failing at negotiation, and having a child caught in the crossfire. In the first scene, we get a cemented picture of that, and it’s used to great advantage when his own family is taken hostage. Hint at their greatest fears, and it will not only deepen your character, but give you something to work with in the plot.
   
6. Action
   words
   –
   The
   Inciting
   Incident
   has
   to
   be
   more
   than
   an
   event.
   You
   are
   trying to entice your reader to stick with the story. So you must “woo them with your words.” Use vivid descriptions, and active, strong verbs. Pick the right words to convey mood,
   and
   give the
   scene
   texture.
   You
   want
   the
   words to
   reach out
   and
   pull your reader in, and not let
   go.
   

Now, before you say, “
What
? I can’t possibly put all that into an Inciting Incident!” Yes, you can! In fact, you have probably already done this, without realizing it.

Here’s an idea: First, write a rough draft of your scene, based on the last section’s discovery notes. Now, take a highlighter (every author should be armed with an arsenal of different colors!) and go through your Inciting Incident, highlighting the six different of an Inciting Incident. You’ll be surprised at what’s there. And if it’s not, you now know what to add.

I can’t stress enough the importance of taking your time to craft the perfect Inciting Incident. It’ll be your agent’s, your editor’s, and your reader’s first introduction to your character, your plot, your theme, and your voice. Take the time to write it well.

Whether you’ve written your Inciting Incident or not, take the time to identify the six elements that will make it powerful.

• What sympathetic situation is your character in?
  
• What’s at stake—in this scene, and in the book?
  
• What are your hero’s values, and what motivations do they lead to?
  
• What are your hero’s desires?
  
• His fears?
  
• And how can you use them to build tension in the scene?
  

Now, go through your scene and replace all the passive verbs with strong, action verbs.

When I have my character, my Premise, my Inciting Incident, and my Black Moment all ironed out, it’s time to put together the framework of the journey. I want to see the big picture, note the pit stops, the high points, the Black Moment, and the happy ending. Like being on a journey, I might not know all the discoveries I’ll make on the way, but at least I’ll know what direction I’m traveling.

Let’s briefly revisit the Lindy
Hop.

• Life
  
• Inciting Incident Noble Quest
  
• Disappointment 1
  
• Y in the Road Disappointment 2
  
• Y in the Road Disappointment 3
  
• Help! – Point of No Return Overhaul
  
• Perfect Ending!
  

It’s a great start because know the basic moves now. But we need just a bit more shine to the moves, a little more depth. So, we’re going to add some elements to deepen the story.