How to Write a CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE Story

HOW TO WRITE A “CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE” (CYOA) STORY

CYOAs (AKA Choose Your Destiny) are “story games;” the reader is presented with different options he/she can choose on each page. Some options lead to good things, some to bad, and some….

These stories give a refreshingly different style of reading and the option combinations feel endless!!

---

Please note: this method is untested by me as of yet. Hopefully I’ll test it soon, but wanted to share the idea with you all in the meantime.

---

          TO BEGIN: Set up the story with a page or two You get to choose how it begins, but after that, it is an adventure for you too! 🙂

ROUND 1:

1. Hand your beginning to friends A and B. 
2. A note on continuations (“cont” for short): in the end, they should be no more than ⅘ a page. Why no more than that? So you can write the reader’s options on the other ⅕.
3. A and B will EACH write a cont.
4. There are now two conts.

ROUND 2:

1. A receives B’s new cont. B receive A’s new cont. You receive both new conts. 
2. Everyone writes a second cont for each cont they received. One cont will be an ending to the story.
3. There are now four conts. Each cont (except the ending) must have two new conts, a total of 6 new conts.

ROUND 3:

1. Therefore, A receives your and B’s cont. B receives your and A’s cont. You receive A and B’s cont. 
2. Everyone writes a second cont for each cont they received. ONE cont will be an end to the story.
3. There are now SIX conts. Each cont (except the ending) must have two new conts, a total of 10 new conts.

ROUND 4:

1. Two people receive two conts; 1 person receives 1 cont. Everyone writes a second cont for each cont they received. ONE cont will be an end to the story.
2. There are now 10 conts. Each cont (except the ending) must have two new conts, a total of 18 new conts.

ROUND 5:

1. (At this point, you may want to add people to the writing group)
2. Two people receive 3 conts; one person receives 4 conts.
3. Everyone writes a second cont for each cont they received. ONE cont will be an end to the story.
4. There are now 18 conts. Each cont (except the ending) must have two new conts, a total of 36 new conts.

You get the idea? Each “round,” one cont (or if you want, more than one!) is an ending, and the other conts each receive two new conts. Try to divide the writing load as evenly as possible. The load will feel lighter if you remember: the conts are supposed to be NO MORE than ⅘ a page. So, technically, they can be as short as 1 paragraph! ….also, adding more writers to the group will also probably help. 🙂

FINAL NOTES:

          t’s important to keep in mind: you don’t have to take the story too far. CYOAs can be as short or long as you want them, just remember to keep them interesting!  DON’T FORGET TO WRITE IN PRESENT TENSE (“Wow,” you say. The lights go out. The wind blows. Your friend gasps. etc)!!!!!! This is important to help the reader feel that they are in the story at that moment.

In case you were wondering why I didn’t tell you how to write a CYOA all by yourself (without others)… would you want to write 36 continuations to a story ALL BY YOURSELF?! (If you do, I sincerely wish you great success.) Also, these instructions are for new writers/writers who are too busy with schooling to write ALL the continuations all by themselves.

What a writing adventure, right?

         So, how did yours turn out? I can’t wait to show you what my friends and I come up with!

Cheers!