Hey, friends, here’s the worksheet I promised you. I hope you find it helpful.
Your Inciting Incident Worksheet
Print this out. Fill it in. Use it on every project.
SECTION A: CHARACTER GROUNDWORK
My protagonist’s name:
Their ordinary world (daily routine, comfort zone):
Their deepest wound (what happened in their past):
Their greatest fear:
Their strongest desire:
Their weakest point:
SECTION B: THE DISRUPTION
What event would make it impossible for my character to keep living this way?
How does this event target my character’s wound, fear, or desire?
Describe the event as it happens on the page (external, concrete, specific):
When does this event occur in my manuscript? (chapter/page):
SECTION C: THE THREAD FORWARD
What central story question does this inciting incident create?
How does my climax answer that question?
SECTION D: DIAGNOSTIC CHECKLIST
Check each box. If any answer is no, revisit the step indicated.
- Is it an event? (Something concrete happens on the page.) → Step 3
- Does it disrupt the ordinary world? (The “before” is clearly broken.) → Step 1
- Does it launch the main story? (Remove it and the story doesn’t exist.) → Step 4
- Is it irreversible? (The character cannot go back to normal.) → Step 2
- Does it catalyze transformation? (It targets wound, fear, or desire.) → Steps 1 & 2
- Does it happen early enough? (Readers still have momentum.) → Step 3
- Does the central story question connect to the climax? → Step 5
- Is it the inciting incident and not just the hook? → Part 3, Mistake #1
And that’s it. You now have everything you need to craft an inciting incident that can carry a novel.
You’ve done the hard work of learning the craft behind this moment.
Next month I’ll start talking about another topic. I’m still noodling on that. Do you have any suggestions for what it should be? I’d love to hear what you want to me to share.
But for now …
… Go write your earthquake.
