“Unlocking the Secrets: How the Hidden Elements of Plot Can Transform Your Storytelling!”
The Inciting Incident
The inciting incident is the event that kicks off the story. Most stories open by showing us the protagonist in their “ordinary world.” Then something changes, something that shakes things up and forces the protagonist onto some other path. Inciting incidents can be intertwined with a story’s opening hook or the turning point at the end of act one, but they can also stand alone, usually somewhere in the first act.
Conflict
Some plot elements are optional. Conflict is not. Without conflict, there is no story. Characters want something they don’t have; they are looking for ways to change their current reality; or they must overcome challenges that have been forced upon them, however great or small. Try to write a story without conflict and you’ll end up with a character sketch or a concept statement. Conflict can come from many sources. The characters themselves often provide a lot of conflict: one character against the world, two characters at odds with each other, a team of characters on a difficult mission, or a character struggling with their own internal flaws and weaknesses. Nature is a common source of conflict, as is society. And of course, an enemy is always rife with conflict.
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