7 Plot Points: A Mini-Test

Hiking and exploring might be considered adventuring (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         This is a difficult one to write since there are two different tracks for two different types of stories: the joyful adventurer and the reluctant adventurer.
        Both have committed to an adventure a new world. Yes, even if they don't physically go anywhere, the rules and expectations have changed. Typically the change is dramatic and easily discerned by the reader. And the “new” world of the adventure is one of the features that can make your story shine.
         But that's not in this structure article. And here I was getting all excited... drat.
         A mini-test takes place a quarter of the way through the middle section of your book (half-way through the early middle). This test can be the result of a mini-quest or a single event. But the outcome is very different for your two different types of adventurers.
         The joyful adventurer is having a great time in the early middle of your book. This type character usually aces the mini-test. The victory often is the result of a newly discovered skill, power, or understanding.
        The reluctant adventurer who is dragged kicking and screaming into the adventure (but has nonetheless committed to it) is still reluctant. This character usually fails the mini-test. The failure is often the result of a reluctance to face a problem head on (either the surface problem or an underlying issue), fear, or refusal to commit to the adventure.
          The “joyful adventurer” and “reluctant adventurer” can be seen as two ends of a spectrum. The further your character falls on the spectrum, the more extreme the character's outcome.
        When designing your min-test, don't forget that it is a major stepping stone to the Mid-Point of your middle.

7 Point Plot: Big Trouble Arrives

       The Inciting Incident rocks your hero's world to its foundations. It is always a conflict between your hero and the antagonist. It should be obvious to the reader that after this confrontation (direct or by proxy) your hero cannot go back to his normal life.

        The Inciting Incident should be logically connected to your Hook, even if the connection is full of bending and backtracking.

       The Inciting Incident is usually imagined as a direct confrontation between your main antagonist. But if you plan to have your main antagonist stay in the shadows until the final show-down, you can use a proxy. That's proxy not proxies. Even if your hero faces off against a group, one opponent should stand out from the crowd and be the main opponent. This gives the reader someone to fixate on.

       The Inciting Incident often includes a reaction section in which the hero internally commits to the journey. No matter how violent the Inciting Incident – even if he is bodily thrown from the Ordinary World into the Adventure World – the transition is not complete until he recognizes there has been a change. He doesn't have to be happy about it, he can resolve to get his ordinary life back, but he has to recognize that things have taken a dramatic turn.

      Even adventurers – those heroes who go looking for change – have an Inciting Incident that propels them through this first point-of-no-return. Their Inciting Incident is still (traditionally) some sort of conflict and confrontation.

      Whether your hero is kicked out of the Ordinary World or is leaping at the chance to leave, the Inciting Incident marks the place and time when the inner conflict is jolted into motion. There are two main scenarios here. 1) The inner conflict was static before. 2) The external conflict creates an inner conflict. More than one inner conflict can be put into motion. In either case, the resolution of this conflict should feed into how the final showdown plays out.