Jessica Latshaw

musician. writer. dancer.

  • Tip Jar

    No pressure, of course!
  • Recent Comments

    • RTF: Oh Jess. Posts like these are my favorite. I love when you just put it all out there....
    • John: Oh, you pay him ? No..No..No..One thought that comes to mind is to see if he’s...
    • Rob the first: Oh the irony of having a curtain on your door but not on your windows. Someday you...
  • Archives

  • Follow Me

    twitter facebook youtube
« « Previous| Next » »

my inciting incident

Posted By on January 15, 2010 in Thoughts and Feelings | 17 comments

I’m watching Never Been Kissed.

And Josie, the nerd-turned-popular-girl, was just crowned the Prom Queen.

This is her crowning moment, her own Alpine Path realized, right?

And there she is, dancing with the Prom King, the most popular guy in school. But something’s not quite right. And then  you notice that the score hasn’t totally resolved and you realize it’s a fake ending.

That there’s something even better; something worth some more waiting.

She looks around at all of them, all of the attempts to be cool, to be smart, to be pretty, to be something that can be defined in one word and a pair of tight jeans, and sees the masquerade for what it is.

And then she unmasks.

It’s brave and it’s risky living and it’s what a story teller would call an inciting incident. This means that afterwards, something’s gotta change. Basically, it’s impossible to go back to life as you knew it after this takes place. One of my favorite authors, Donald Miller, says:

An inciting incident is the event in a movie that causes upheaval in the protagonist life. The protagonist, then, naturally seeks to return to stability. And in order to do that, he HAS to solve his new problem. In Taken, Liam Neeson’s daughter is kidnapped and he MUST find her. In The Grapes of Wrath, the dust bowl forces the Joad family west.

So when Josie, who’s an undercover investigator in a high school, reveals her true identity as an adult, she can no longer go back to life as she knew it. She must create a new normal. And yes, it’s a movie, and yes, it’s called Never Been Kissed, so of course her new normal involves the love of her life and the kind of kiss that makes me forget that life isn’t all sweet.

I guess my point is that I’ve just had a huge inciting incident occur. I mean, like, horrible and awful and ugly but still, that’s what it is.

Something’s gotta change. Not that it hasn’t already, but I believe there are even more changes coming. And judging from the fact that I am living with my very kind and generous parents right now, I am truly hoping there are more changes coming.

(But thanks! mom and pop…)

And whatever’s coming involves guts and moxie and (I’m hoping) the kind of stuff that makes me forget that life isn’t all sweet.

And I’m hoping that whoever’s writing my story is half as good a writer as whoever wrote Never Been Kissed. Okay, so I know He is, but I wouldn’t mind if it involved some kind of happy ending like the movie.

And a whole heck of a lot less white feather boas, pale lipstick, and curled bangs throughout.

17 Comments

  1. Kathie Krakowski January 16, 2010

    Of course, you KNOW that the One writing your story is way better than “half as good a writer as whoever wrote Never Been Kissed”! And He has a vested interest in your story ending well…something about redemption and bringing good out of the worst things and all that. And even if it involves some risk (which some say is how you spell “faith”) and some waiting, like it did with Josie in the movie, you can be sure it will involve a happy ending, because the Writer of your story is good and He watches over His words to make sure they come to pass.

    And I know that if your story did involve white feather boas, pale lipstick, and curled bangs, you would find a way to rock it!

    • jessica January 17, 2010

      lol, Kathie–I’m not sure I am up to rocking those!!

  2. Elizabeth January 16, 2010

    Kathie said it perfectly…I can’t wait to watch ot unfold!

    • jessica January 17, 2010

      Um HAPPY WEDDING DAY, MY BEAUTIFUL FRIEND!!!!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

  3. Mandy January 16, 2010

    I LOVE that movie!!! And I think you have an even better ending in store for you. YES. Even better than Michael Vartan on a baseball field. I KNOW. I didn’t think it was possible either.

    • jessica January 17, 2010

      Even BETTER than Michael Vartan on a baseball field?!?!

      bite your tongue.
      :-)

  4. Jamie January 16, 2010

    Ok first, you have already had the curled bangs in your story. In fact, if I remember correctly – you (well we) have already had curled bangs with lots and lots and lots of hairspray so I think you are safe there. And secondly, Jess if anyone I know deserves a well written story with a happy ending it is you. Your happy ending is coming, I just know it! Kisses on a baseball field with a hot guy while a whole bunch of people clap for you is nothing compared to what is in store for you!!

    • jessica January 17, 2010

      haha–good point about the curled bangs already having played their part in my story…hopefully there’s no need for them to make a reappearance!!

  5. peaj January 16, 2010

    whatever’s coming involves guts and moxie

    Sounds like you, all right. You’re amazing. I’m glad you have friends and family all around to support you as you pursue what God has for you.

    • jessica January 17, 2010

      I am glad too…SOOOOOO glad…:)

  6. Nina January 17, 2010

    So I love Never Been Kissed — what an ending! But I love the word “moxie” even better, and I think you’ve got plenty of moxie to make the most of the part you’re being given. I have no doubts about good and exciting things to come for you.

    • jessica January 17, 2010

      I gotta say, Michele Poplo recently reminded me of word ‘moxie’ and I fell in love with it all over again:)

  7. Kathie Krakowski January 17, 2010

    And to think…the word ‘moxie’ came from a soda by the same name! Who knew?!?

  8. Nina January 18, 2010

    Moxie is actually this totally disgusting soda that you can only get in New England (I think). Well, I think you can only get it in New England, but I KNOW it’s disgusting. My family would always try to get me to drink it each summer when we went to Vermont. The word is great, the soda…not so much.

    • jessica January 18, 2010

      ha, okay, then. I’ll stick to just using the word and refrain from drinking the soda:)

  9. mer January 18, 2010

    Moxie, the soda, is HORRIBLE! We had it in Vermont and it tastes like black pepper soda. And I LOVE the kiss scene on the baseball field. Michael Vartan was H-O-T!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>