# Is having the inciting incident of a novel in the second or third chapter too late? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [September 10, 2023, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-the-inciting-incident-of-a-novel-in-the-second-or-third-chapter-too-late/989870 "2023-09-10T10:23:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2023, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-the-inciting-incident-of-a-novel-in-the-second-or-third-chapter-too-late/989870/21 "2023-09-10T22:38:02Z")
I usually have the inciting incident in the first chapter, and often in the first paragraph. There’s an old saying from pulp westers: “Shoot the sheriff in the first paragraph.” You need to hook the reader early and introduce the background as needed (and authors tend to overestimate how much is needed). If an action happens without background, it hooks the reader and they will want to know why. Introduce the background through action and emotion, but it does not need to be covered in the first chapter. James Tiptree, Jr. wrote that you start with the reader in the dark as to what’s going on and keep them guessing. Now, you can also have a minor inciting incident that leads to the main one. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2023, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-the-inciting-incident-of-a-novel-in-the-second-or-third-chapter-too-late/989870/22 "2023-09-10T23:55:32Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > I still think the advised 10%-15% is too far in for most stories. I just looked at mine and starts at about 6%-7%. I think it depends on the genre. Your literary fiction may be way the hell out at the 25% mark. Your mystery may very well open with a body in the library. Personally, as a reader, I just want to be engaged. There are all kinds of ways writers can do that and an early inciting incident is only one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-the-inciting-incident-of-a-novel-in-the-second-or-third-chapter-too-late/989870/23 "2023-09-11T00:25:21Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > If an action happens without background, it hooks the reader and they will want to know why. > … > James Tiptree, Jr. wrote that you start with the reader in the dark as to what’s going on and keep them guessing. This description could apply to something like watching a sport I’m unfamiliar with between players/teams I’ve never heard of, which is not my idea of a good time. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-the-inciting-incident-of-a-novel-in-the-second-or-third-chapter-too-late/989870/24 "2023-09-11T00:33:28Z")
You have the journalistic who, what, where, when and why questions. Is the setting in an obscure place, planet, atmosphere? When in time are we; 1870s, present time, near an historical event? Who? We’ll need a character or two. Try to introduce as many of those questions “reasonably” early. What is the incident and why is the connection. Feel free to hide or obfuscate the why as much as possible; a good twist or two. Looking forward to it! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-the-inciting-incident-of-a-novel-in-the-second-or-third-chapter-too-late/989870/25 "2023-09-11T01:07:39Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > [@RealityChuck](#): > > > > If an action happens without background, it hooks the reader and they will want to know why. > > … > > James Tiptree, Jr. wrote that you start with the reader in the dark as to what’s going on and keep them guessing. > > This description could apply to something like watching a sport I’m unfamiliar with between players/teams I’ve never heard of, which is not my idea of a good time. It’s the author’s job to avoid that. But it’s one reason that battle scenes are a bad way to start a novel. You indicate the stakes immediately (and the details of battle/sports scenes are dull even then). For example, Jack knew as soon as he saw the alien ships was that he would die today. Terry walked into the field, not caring if he won or lost. Pavel hated his opponent. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-the-inciting-incident-of-a-novel-in-the-second-or-third-chapter-too-late/989870/26 "2023-09-11T21:15:41Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Do you have something in that first chapter, in the first paragraph even, to draw the reader in? Something that provokes a question that the reader is going to want the answer to? A hook? That goes a long way. The first paragraph strongly hints at the kind of effect of change that the meeting that the narrator is about to have with the key character will have on the narrator, and posits the question of the net added value that their relationship will give to the narrator’s life, hinting that the novel will attempt to provide answers to that question. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > My big turn off in books and movies (besides lazy writing) is unnecessary exposition. Is you first chapter action that takes us to where we need to be for the incident or is it the protagonist going through his entire history with a blind date? The first chapter shows the narrator meeting the key character, contains an establishing character moment for the key character, and shows a short series of events that indicate what effect he has on the narrator’s everyday life and what kind of relationship begins to build between them. The chapter culminates in them declaring a bond of brotherhood between them, and then leaves one question unanswered, that by the third chapter will be answered. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-the-inciting-incident-of-a-novel-in-the-second-or-third-chapter-too-late/989870.md?page=1)