“Inciting Incident” vs “Key Event” vs “First Plot Point”

Untangling the confusion surrounding to these similar story events

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

The three most important events in the first act can be summed up very simply as:

1. Inciting Incident: Reveal a doorway
2. Key Event: Step up to the doorway
3. First Plot Point: Pass through the doorway