Remember in a recent post where I shared about writing scenes and stories for some of my favorite tv characters? I’ve re-discovered some I wrote and fell headlong into the emotion of those stories. I found myself wanting to develop and polish the plot, flesh out the characters, continue the saga of their lives. Even though the moment in time when I captured them diverged drastically from where writers of the shows sent them.
In fact, the way my stories diverged from those future episodes sent me down a lot of “what if” trails. At each juncture, I saw different choices or different events that could have shaped the character and the show into something radically different.
And, in the process, I think I’ve discovered a new way to play.
Multiple choice stories. I loved them as a child. I could never find enough of them. I’d forgotten all about them until recently as I’ve wandered through my own stories and pondered the various paths each story could take. I wonder . . .
Alternative decision stories are difficult, though. To read and to write. All the ones I read as an adolescent were simple to the extreme. The plot had no intricacies and rarely was the character more than words on a page. That is understandable for sure, but I’m still wondering.
Can a plot be created that allows for multiple choices? Can characters be created that grow and change, with each point of decision believable, no matter the choice the reader makes? Could those growing and developing characters continue along the differing plot choices, developing and creating that emotional connection with the reader? Is it possible to create such a story?
I’m not sure, but I’m intrigued by the idea.
It seems like a good fit for my writing. It may even be why I’m having so much trouble with so many of my stories. Part of what stymies me halfway through creating a story is all the possible choices. When I force myself to choose one, it means death to the all the others. Even as I progress past that choice, I start wondering about one of the other options. Maybe it’s time to write some of those alternate tales. Or at least spend my writing play and daydream time exploring a few of those multiple storylines.
What do you think?
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2 users responded in this post
I read a few of those as a child as well. My problem with reading them was that I had to check out every possible path. Too much work for this reader, but I can see how they would be fun for a writer! The American Girls series now has Choose Your Own endings.
I loved those as a kid, and I loved reading through every possibility to have a dozen possible stories in one book. One of my fellow students wrote a choose your own adventure story in one of my master degree classes. We only got to read a part of it, but it was fun.
Since I’m on the fourth revision of my superhero novel and have nearly 200,000 words written, I’d say there is *definitely* an opportunity to write multiple storylines and see character growth in different ways. It would be a LOT of work, but I think it could be done. Good luck, Steph!
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