I'm currently having a hard time writing some sort of a catalyst or an event that will lead me to my novel's main conflict. I'm almost at the end of the story but I only have bits and pieces of plotlines. And it felt like I need something to connect them so I can finally lay down what will transpire in this part of the story. Any advice?
Stuck on Story Structure and Inciting Incident
It sounds like you’re struggling a bit with plot and story structure. Let me see if I can help! :) <3
First, some quick terminology:
Conflict - the protagonist’s struggle to reach their goal and the forces that drive them toward that goal. For example, if your character is fighting to survive a zombie apocalypse, the zombie apocalypse is the conflict and the force that’s driving that conflict is “man vs nature.”
Inciting Incident - the catalyst that kicks off the conflict and the events of the story, to which the protagonist must respond by formulating a goal.
Plot - the unified sequence of events that make up a story.
Subplot - the underlying side stories that run parallel to the main plot.
Story Structure - the overall layout of your story. There are different methods of story structure, but the standard layout is:
exposition - the setup of your story and characters
rising action - the events that follow the inciting incident
climax - the peak of tension and drama, the “big showdown”
falling action - the winding down and resolution of the story
denouement - the closing scenes
The first thing you need to do is look at these disparate plotlines you have and figure out which, if any of them, are the main plot. What is this story about? What is your protagonist trying to achieve? What is the conflict at the heart of this story?
Figuring Out an Inciting Incident
Start with where your character is before the story starts. What is their normal life like? What would an average day be like for them? Now, what sort of event could take place that would set your character off on the path you want them to be on? What incident could shake up their lives or even turn their life upside down, causing them to make a goal that would lead toward the climax?
If you’re still stuck after this point, spend some time reading through the posts on my Plot & Story Structure post master list, which go into greater detail as far as how it all works and how you can create a story from bits and pieces.
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Have a question? My inbox is always open, but make sure to check my FAQ and post master lists first to see if I’ve already answered a similar question. :)
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