In other words, it’s what caused the story to kick in. This is what we call the inciting incident. Once upon a time… something happened to someone… Once you understand these elements whether you’re a literary novelist or a writer of non-fiction, or a genre writer you’ll be able to plot any story you like. This time we’ll stop along the way and I’ll talk about the elements of plotting. No one has ever really substantively improved on this beautifully simple yet profound definition, though I think Norman Mailer came close when he said in a TV interview “The best fiction is where art, philosophy, and adventure all meet.” Aristotle defined good drama as storytelling that defined character, created atmosphere, and advanced the action of the plot. It works because it’s story telling that is most satisfying to the reader. And just as things seemed as bad as they could get, he learned an important lesson, and when offered the prize he had sought so strenuously he had to decide whether or not to take it, and in making that decision he satisfied a need that had been created by something in his past. So he devised a plan of action, and even though there were forces trying to stop him, he moved forward because there was a lot at stake. Once upon a time… something happened to someone, and he decided that he would pursue a goal. My friend Gary Provost and I created what we teasingly called the Gary Provost Sentence (with some help from Aristotle).
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