How to Find the Right Place for Your Inciting Incident

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Struggling to find where your story truly begins? Learn how to pinpoint the perfect place for your inciting incident.

The inciting incident (sometimes called the inciting event) is one of the most critical moments in any novel. It’s the point where something changes—where the protagonist's normal world is disrupted and the core story begins. It kicks off the central conflict and gives readers a reason to keep turning pages.

But unlike major plot points like the midpoint or climax, the inciting incident doesn’t have a fixed place in a story’s structure, which can cause confusion—especially for newer writers.

You’ll find articles that say it should be on page one. Others claim it belongs at the 10% mark. Some swear by chapter three. And the truth is...they're all right, depending on the novel.
 

However, these days, agents and editors are looking for the story to get started right away—sometimes by page ten.

Broadly speaking, the inciting incident belongs in the beginning of your novel—but “beginning” can cover a lot of ground. The ideal placement depends on your genre, your narrative style, and how much setup your story needs to function.

Let’s look at a few genre-specific examples:

• Mysteries and thrillers often start with the crime. The body hits the floor on page one, then we meet the sleuth. This hooks readers fast and sets the tone immediately.
• Science fiction and fantasy novels might delay the inciting incident until readers are more grounded in the world. There’s often a need to establish rules, introduce strange settings, or explain critical world mechanics before throwing in the plot grenade.
• Romance and contemporary fiction usually start with a quick glimpse into the protagonist’s normal life before introducing the change—be it meeting a love interest, getting bad news, or a sudden opportunity.

Even within a genre, there’s flexibility. A cozy mystery may take its time building community before the crime occurs. A space opera might blow up a ship in the opening paragraph. There’s no one-size-fits-all.

(Here’s more with Story Structure: How the Inciting Event Works in a Novel)

Pitfalls of a Misplaced Inciting Incident

Because the inciting incident drives the plot forward, putting it in the wrong spot can throw the entire narrative off-balance. Here are a few issues that crop up when it’s misplaced:

• Too rushed: If it happens too soon—before readers know enough about the world or care about the protagonist—it can fall flat. Stakes don’t feel real yet.
• Too slow: Wait too long, and the story can feel like it's dragging. Readers keep waiting for something to happen—and if it doesn’t, they’ll put the book down.
• Confusing setup: Without enough context, the inciting incident may feel disconnected. Readers might not understand what changed or why it matters.
• Overloaded beginning: Trying to explain everything before the story kicks off leads to info dumps and backstory walls that bog things down.

(Here’s more with 5 Common Problems With Beginnings)

How to Find the Right Spot for Your Story

So where should your inciting incident fall? Consider the following:

1. What genre are you writing?

Genre conventions exist because they align with reader expectations. While you can bend the rules, be aware of what’s common for that genre. A thriller audience expects action quickly, while a literary fiction reader might be more patient.

2. How long is your novel?

Beginnings usually cover the first 20–25% of your book. In a 60,000-word novel, that’s 12,000–15,000 words. In a 130,000-word novel, it’s closer to 30,000. That gives you more space to work with in longer books—but you still need to keep reader interest high throughout.

3. How much world building do you need?

Complex settings take time to establish. If readers need to understand social hierarchies, magical systems, or futuristic tech before the story makes sense, you’ll need to weave that in before or even while the inciting incident hits.

4. What must readers know to care about the inciting incident ?

Sometimes, what’s happening isn’t as important as why it matters to the protagonist. And to show that, you might need a few scenes establishing their goals, fears, or circumstances.

5. Are your opening scenes compelling on their own?

This is key. Even if your inciting incident takes a while to show up, your early scenes must earn their keep. They should raise questions, reveal character, show voice, hint at conflict, or introduce something unusual. They must give readers a reason to keep reading.

(Here’s more with 5 Ways to Hook Your Readers)

The inciting incident is the spark that ignites the plot and conflict.

It pushes your protagonist out of their comfort zone and sets the story in motion. Whether it happens in the first paragraph or halfway through chapter five, it needs to be in a place that feels natural for your story.

EXERCISE FOR YOU: Cut everything before the inciting incident and read the story from there. Do you miss anything essential? If so, what? How might you distill that down into something tighter? If you don’t miss anything, you may have just found a better place to start your novel.

Where does your inciting incident fall—and is it doing the job you need it to?

*Originally published August 2016. Last updated May 2025.

Find out more about plot and story structure in my book, Fixing Your Plot & Story Structure Problems.

Go step-by-step through plot and story structure-related issues, such as wandering plots; a lack of scene structure; no goals, conflicts, or stakes; low tension; no hooks; and slow pacing. Learn how to analyze your draft, spot any problems or weak areas, and fix those problems.

With clear and easy-to-understand examples, Fixing Your Plot & Story Structure Problems offers five self-guided workshops that target the common issues that make readers stop reading. It will help you:

• Create unpredictable plots that keep readers guessing
• Find the right beginning and setup for your story
• Avoid the boggy, aimless middle
• Develop compelling hooks to build tension in every scene
• Craft strong goals, conflicts, and stakes to grab readers
• Determine the best pacing and narrative drive for your story

Fixing Your Plot & Story Structure Problems starts every workshop with an analysis to pinpoint problem areas and offers multiple revision options in each area. You choose the options that best fit your writing process. It's an easy-to-follow guide to crafting gripping plots and novels that are impossible to put down.

Available in paperback and ebook formats.

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book.

She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.

When she's not writing novels, she's teaching other writers how to improve their craft. She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing.

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