After all, if you manage to come up with the right story beats for your script, your story as a whole is likely going to work. Your script is going to have the ingredients that are needed to keep your audience interested in what's going on.
Still, when it comes to these 'story beats' that have to do with structure, one of these beats is probably more important than the others. Of all the story beats, the 'inciting incident' is the most important one when it comes to writing a solid screenplay.
In a nutshell, the inciting incident is the catalyst in the script that sets things in motion in your script. This story beat happens when your main protagonist makes the decision - early on in the script - that leads to him beginning his adventure.
For example, in James Bond movies, the inciting incident happens when our secret agent - after the pre-title sequence - gets his mission briefing. He is sent on a mission and is expected to either fix things or to find out what's going on.
Among other things, Bond might try to find a lost nuclear submarine tracking system, figure out what happened to a missing space rocket, find out more about a mysterious microchip or find out why his fellow agent died with a Faberge egg in his hand.
The reason that catalysts like these are so important, is that without them, there would be no story to tell. If there were no moment in the story that would push the main character to a new direction in the script, there would be no story to follow.
After all, would 'M' not give 007 a briefing that would send our agent on a mission, all he would do is sip those vodka martinis and sleep with pretty ladies. He wouldn't be trying to prevent the crazy bad guy from taking over the planet.
Still, when it comes to these catalysts, just because Bond franchise uses these simple - yet effective - storytelling tricks, that doesn't mean that it's the only way to go. I'm not saying that there's only one way to do it and that you shouldn't try something else.
In reality, your inciting incident and story catalyst will always depend on what your story and your characters are going to be about. They will depend on the genre of the movie and the goals that your characters are going to have.
In high concept movies for example, it's likely that you'll need only that one single catalyst for your script. In these films you'll likely get your catalyst from that major event that affects your protagonist and the rest of the characters.
In some other films though, it might be that the story has multiple - internal or external - moments that will push your character into his journey. Especially with smaller films that rely on character development, this tends to happen more.
Still, when it all is said and done, regardless of the genre and your story, you shouldn't forget that you always need that inciting incident in your story. It's absolutely crucial that your script has that catalyst that pushes your character in to the right direction.
After all, if you manage to come up with one that is solid, there's a good chance that your script is going to work. If you're willing to work hard and come up with solid story beats throughout your script, you have a chance of creating a good story.
On the other hand, the truth is that if you don't manage to come up with a good inciting incident for your script, your screenplay won't work. There's no chance that you'll be able to create something that is going to keep the audience entertained.
In theses cases, instead of creating something solid, you'll come up with a script that won't have any value. Instead of writing a story that keeps us entertained and happy, you'll create a script that nobody wants to read and that nobody is going to want to produce.
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