Life Changing Events

I could put in something easy like the birth of our child, but that would be easy. Instead, it's the band Boston. When I was 17, I heard this band for the first time and they just lit me up. That music installed in me a deep desire to play the guitar. That desire is still with me today - over 20 years later.

I recently picked up the remastered versions of the first two "cds" (actually albums) and was listening to them again. What memories. Well, nothing specific, but a general feeling of "goodness" washed over me as I cranked up the volume (in the house alone) and sang along to some of my favorite music ever.

When you are writing your stories, you should be giving your main character a moment as big or bigger. Your story actually begins when that moment happens (is most often called the inciting incident). It's what makes your character want to change the way their life is going. Makes them want to do something different. It could be any change; however, the end result is that after mulling it over with themself or friends, they do take that plunge and that plunge is a moment they can't take back.

Even in "small" stories, these actions or events take place because it is an essential ingredient in the recipe of Story.