Welcome to Pageturners, a book I’m writing in which I share what I’ve learnt – and am still learning – about comic writing, film writing, novel writing and how new writers can sell their stories. I’ll publish a chapter or a section per week, available for free here on Iconoblast. And I welcome your feedback or questions, so do leave a comment below!
Missed the Pageturners intro? Read it here.
Pageturners 5: The Inciting Incident
The inciting incident is the key to storytelling. It should take place as early as possible in the story, that’s certainly what film script editors prefer, and it should take the protagonist and the reader to a dark and powerful place.
Sometimes, especially in comics, the inciting incident has already taken place. Thus Marshal Law witnessing the Latin American Day of the Dead – in a text novella – explains his origins.
But it can be repeated again by subsequent events.
Here are some good inciting incidents and one weak one.
Judge Dredd. As I relate in Be Pure! Be Vigilant! Behave! 2000AD and Judge Dredd: The Secret History, when I was developing Dredd, I wasn’t happy with my first introductory episode or John Wagner’s (the creator of Dredd). They were both okay as scripts, but something felt missing.
Then along came Peter Harris’s script, where a Judge is killed by a street gang in the opening sequence. His corpse is sent back on his motorbike to Justice H.Q. That’s the inciting incident. An outraged Dredd elects to go to their base at the top of the Empire State Building to destroy them. He risks doing it alone to show the gang the power of the Judges. It was perfect because the inciting incident creates such a strong emotional response in Dredd – his brother Judge must be avenged. He is already a Judge, but this event repeats his original motivation and highlights his character. So Peter’s story became episode one. By comparison, with my script and John’s, there was no strong inciting incident – they were just typical future cop stories.
Sláine. In episode one, the inciting incident features a teenage outlaw Sláine revealing that his king is dead and therefore he can return home, he will no longer be an outcast and, potentially, he could be a hero. It also means the end of his criminal relationship with his dwarf Ukko. Ukko begs Sláine not to leave him and desperately clings onto his leg, so there’s plenty of emotion and comedy from his sidekick.
But I missed an emotional beat. I also could have had Sláine in a single picture saying, ‘It’s time to go home’, his eyes full of sadness and longing for his tribe. That would have been even more potent. Instead, he treats the subject with a certain stony, teenage indifference, which is authentic – that’s what teenagers try to be like – but it’s not particularly powerful.
In the brilliant TV series Callan, the killer Callan refuses to assassinate a secret Nazi. It’s the classic ‘hero refusing the quest’ – which automatically captures our interest and ups the tension.
Then his controller reveals his target was involved with the V2 rocket programme and a V2 killed his parents during the war. Callan immediately changes his mind. This is, potentially, a good inciting incident but it still feels weak and stuck in. Because his parents’ deaths are never referred to again, and it lacks conviction, emotional power or subsequent importance. It’s obviously not written from the heart and therefore feels like a script editor’s suggestion to me. That said, it’s probably better than Batman’s over-used inciting incident: endlessly banging on about his parents’ murders every issue as his excuse for his vigilantism.
In A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene, the killer, Raven, is paid for his contract killing in stolen bank notes and the police have the numbers. This sends the cheated assassin on a trail of revenge which provides the vigilante theme for the story.
It’s a fantastic inciting incident – the novel was the basis for three movies – although it makes little factual sense. It’s most unlikely that the villains would have paid off the assassin with stolen money. The hit was far too important. It could lead to the start of World War Two, after all. But who cares? It’s not worth getting bogged down in anal questioning in fiction or you’ll end up with a factually correct but dreary story. It makes emotional sense to the reader and that’s all that matters.
In Serial Killer, Dave Maudling is enjoying making his readers’ lives a misery for his own twisted amusement. Thus one of them, copying an incident Dave has written into the Caning Commando, tries submerging himself in the bath and breathing through the plughole! Consequently he loses his front teeth, which Dave thinks is hilarious. The inciting incident follows when Barber, a ferocious journalist – ‘The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ – is investigating this case and it looks like the game is up for Dave. All Dave’s various crimes will be revealed and he will go to prison. Unless he can lie or cheat his way out of trouble, which he’s rather good at. But ultimately, the inciting incident below is the start of Dave’s road to redemption.
Inside the snug, there was no room to move and Barber and Dave – hunter and prey – were uncomfortably close. Barber swivelled a shielded green wall light round into Dave’s face to begin the interrogation. ‘I’ll make this short, but not painless.’
He continued eating his pub meal as he spoke. ‘I hope you don’t mind? I can eat and eviscerate at the same time.’
He didn’t wait for Dave’s approval. ‘So ... you’re Dave Maudling, editor of ... The Spanker?’ He lingered on the name, enunciating with relish.
Dave nodded penitently.
‘You know my reputation?’
‘You’re the most feared man in Fleet Street.’
‘I broke the Profumo scandal. Christine. Mandy. Stephen. I knew them all.’ He raised a bushy eyebrow meaningfully. ‘Intimately. I made my excuses and stayed.’ He smiled arrogantly, enjoying his little joke.
Dave tried some light-hearted banter, hoping to keep things jokey and get on Barber’s good side. ‘Perhaps if we spanked Christine Keeler, I’d be in even more trouble?’
Barber ignored it. ‘Tell me about your comic for Borstal bum boys, Maudling. This Caning Commando individual who says, “I see Germany as one big arse that needs a colossal thrashing.” ’
‘Well, it’s a fictional character. And a fictional arse.’
‘Do you now plan to stop peddling this filth to our nation’s children?’
‘That’s not up to me. I’m only obeying orders.’
Dave quickly realised how unfortunate that sounded. ‘I mean –’
Barber recited his copy to himself; he never wrote anything down. ‘A spokesman for The Spanker said “We intend to carry on peddling this filth.” All in bold.’
‘I didn’t say that,’ protested Dave.
‘So now an innocent young boy has been cruelly injured, are you satisfied?’
‘Of course not.’
‘ “We aren’t satisfied with just one child being injured,” the spokesman added. Exclamation mark.’ Barber smiled to himself. ‘This is good.’
‘I didn’t say ... I never ... It’s meant to be a funny war story, not The Diary of Anne Frank,’ protested Dave.
‘ “At least our comic is funnier than The Diary of Anne Frank” added the heartless editor. Full stop.’
‘Could that be “Handsome, heartless Editor”?’ suggested Dave, trying to make the best of his impending destruction.
‘With the headline: “Playground turned into Killing Fields by comic-crazed thugs.” ’ ‘Actually, make that “Single, available, handsome, heartless editor”,’ said Dave, looking across at Joy, Sharon, Ron and Greg watching him from the bar.
Maybe Joy would come and visit him in prison? He’d heard that seeing men helpless and in trouble sometimes turned women on. His sister Annie once told him she had lustful thoughts about a handsome, half-naked, helpless Jesus nailed to the cross, and at her mercy.
Maybe that was the way to nail Joy?
Most film script editors would agree that the finale should be worked out next; or even before the inciting incident, following approval of a two page, clinical, terse, almost monosyllabic step breakdown.
Hi Pat.
Nice reference to 'Callan' - I was born in 1969, so too young for it first time around, but I discovered the show a few years ago and it's an underrated British classic.
Regarding what you say here about the first Dredd story, I've followed your musings on credit and remuneration (or lack thereof) in UK comics for a while now. Dredd is, obviously, the biggest thing Tharg ever produced, and it's to your own, eternal, credit that you've never tried to claim more ownership than you are due for the character. I suspect you may, actually, downplay your own involvement, given how fundamental a part you played during Dredd's inception and character growth.
And finally - while I'm talking about credit where it's due: my young nephew is a *mental* Doctor Who fan (of both eras - including the Marvel comics from back in the day), who informs me that Meep The Meep is coming back to the TV show next year. I hope you and John Wagner get a decent cut from the BBC and Sony for its appearance.
Reading your posts here sets my synapses abuzz. You truly are the proverbial inspiring teacher we never had. Not only do you impart knowledge, you do so in such a way that makes the reader feel that anything is possible. The story truly is Everything - and this truly applies universally. Don't mean to harp on about it, but the image of the pub as place of work stays with me - as a symbol of creative work set free, the dream place of work, where minds meet on neutral ground. In my fantasy, I'd like olde style coffee houses to come back, with a more grungy and historic ambience than the present high street chains - with lower prices to match. The pubs are our parliament (literally meaning 'place to speak', if I understand the root of the word correctly), or should be. But I digress. Always want to scribble replies down here in the comments as I feel I am being involved in a conversation - another credit to your writing skills. Many thoughts about the Dredd and Slaine inciting incidents but maybe I've importuned enough on your time. One thing (maybe several) about Callan - a lot of what is now called 'retconning' went on and this premise was revisited several times over the duration of the series. An interesting variant has Hunter's secretary Liz discover, via classified files that she has access to because of her role, that a prominent businessman is the war criminal responsible for the massacre of her family. She goes AWOL and Callan must find her. He dispatches Cross, who, unknown to him, has been seeing Liz (and, it transpires, is becoming unstable due to the pressures of the job). Meanwhile, Liz fails in her assassination attempt, the Nazi subdues her and plans to do away with her in a mock-accidental gas explosion ... but Cross catches up with him, and it is implied, throws him to his death from a hotel window. A lot of this happens offscreen - the viewer is as much in the dark as Callan ... who is sidelined for much of the action, bar the rescue of Liz ... rambling, am I? Beg pardon. It's the intricacy of the plotting that fascinates. May I conclude on an unrelated note: as a purchaser of every issue of Toxic! on it's publication, I'd like to share a consistently recurring dream I have of going into the newsagents I used to buy it from, and a new issue is there - printed on the pulpiest newsprint, in day-glo, violently flourescent inks. The sunlight is likewise dialled-up but diffuse and atmospheric, in that strange dream-light that often pervades. It'd be great to see a publication really flaunt cheapness and disposability in this time of slick surfaces, though the artists might object? A lot of PR flannel about recycling about - perhaps garbage should be made front and centre, Trash as theme and style. Well, I've run away with myself I see. I don't want to be the guest from hell, honest. Thanks for engaging my brain, it doesn't often happen, and the very very best for '23 - you are the true breath of inspiration, more spirit than man! Or is that just what I've been drinking??