As I mentioned in the Inciting Incident, often the Call to Adventure is the same moment, but they can be separate events/scenes, especially if what changes the MC’s circumstances happens off the page and/or beyond the MC’s knowledge.
So, what is the Call to Adventure? It is the point where the MC is unavoidably faced with change to their previous existence.
Example Calls to Adventure:
- Accident – happy or otherwise, an adventure can begin with an accident
- On the train to school, Kaja’s phone runs out of battery and she has to ask someone else for their charger
- Temptation – while the MC might have a mostly happy life, they do have desires (Remember needs and wants?) that could drive them to seek an adventure
- Happily married Irene is tempted to spice up her vanilla lovelife
- Herald – this is a person – friend, foe, or neutral – who brings the adventure to the MC in the form of an invitation, challenge, or summons
- Friend – “Hey, did you see there’s an open trial for figure skating this weekend? Don’t you skate a little?” Jake asked.
- Foe – Max yelled, “No girls allowed!” Laura ground her teeth and resolved to get into the clubhouse, no matter what.
- Neutral – The pamphlet read: Free cookies with optional chess games in the library
- Reconnaissance – the villain accidentally alerts the MC that trouble is coming while pursuing their nefarious agenda
- Jones picked up the papers on Miller’s desk, scanning them intently, which was strange because he had no ‘need to know’ for that program.
Ready or Not?
Most of us are familiar with the reluctant hero concept. Adventuring is scary, uncomfortable, and may involve more than the usual amount of gastrointestinal upset. On the other hand, adventuring is exciting, heroic, and may involve amazing prizes.
In Refusal of the Call, I’ll delve into how MC’s react to the Call to Adventure and we’ll look at how eager would-be heroes can and do refuse their adventure’s call, too.
Refusal of the Call can happen in the same scene as the Call to Adventure, or different one, but as with the Inciting Incident, the scene(s) should err on the short and sweet side of writing.