In screenplay and novel writing, the inciting incident is the event that gets the story rolling. It’s the action or decision that introduces the problem that the story’s main character must overcome. In “Jerry Maguire,” it’s the moment that Jerry writes his manifesto about the need to put people first in the sports agency business. It leads to his firing and he walks away from his power job to start over. In movies and books, the inciting incident is unmistakable. It’s the moment that calls the protagonist to action and changes their life irrevocably. That’s the thing about fiction—almost every story follows the same arc. There’s background, struggle, and ultimately triumph, with twists and turns along the way. But the story almost always gets resolved, wrapped up in a pretty bow. More often than not the protagonist lives happily ever after, having defeated the villain, gotten the girl, or defused …