An inciting incident definition:
The inciting incident is an episode, plot point or event that hooks the reader into the story. Screenwriting guru Syd Field wrote about the inciting incident in his classic book Screenplay. The inciting incident also fits Carl Jung’s description of the ‘hero’s journey’. In an examination of myths and stories from all over the world, Jung observed similar structural incidents. In Jung’s version, the inciting incident is named the ‘call to adventure’. This particular moment is when an event thrusts the protagonist into the main action of the story. See More . . .