Alternate Versions

[ScrappyPaperDoodler]

I've always had a vague idea of wanting to present readers with different versions of the same scene/chapter. Maybe even radically different versions where two drafts were created during the writing process.

When the story games became a thing, I imagined this might be my chance to try it, but I quickly realised I don't really want interactivity. Instead, I want to present a small range of "what if" scenarios, bonus scenes, etc. while maintaining a primarily linear narrative structured as a traditional novel.

I considered a standalone blog for scraps of writing that don't neatly fit into what I publish, but Lit makes it hard to direct readers off site (which is fair enough).

Last night, I decided to check the back-catalogue for choose your own adventure (CYOA) stories without interactive elements, i.e. where the author simply puts instructions in the text: "Scroll to section 10 if...," or "if you're really going to be icked out by x fetish, rather read the vanilla version of this scene at section 11," etc.

There are a few stories that tried this formula and they are actually rated pretty well, but I was (perhaps weirdly) expecting more authors to have given it a shot.

The idea of trying something different entices me, but I don't have a rulebook in mind yet (and I think having that rulebook is essential to get readers to buy into this — there must be structure/expectations).

I'm pondering the options. So, two questions for the community:

1. Are there any examples of people doing CYOA-lite successfully that spring to mind?

2. Are there better ways to get "misfit" bits of writing out there? Things that don't fit into a linear story's cadence, but that use the same characters and world.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

There are 50+ story games on Literotica you might want to check out if you desire to venture into that kind of storytelling. The story games on Lit are done in ink, a fairly simple scripting language. The only prerequisite is some understanding of basic programming structures, that's all. There is also a guide for using Ink.

 

[bestkeptsecret678]

I've always had a vague idea of wanting to present readers with different versions of the same scene/chapter. Maybe even radically different versions where two drafts were created during the writing process.

That’s what I did with this submission a couple of yrs ago here.

https://www.literotica.com/s/may-the-best-lover-win

Two main characters, with the story told from both of their viewpoints, back and forth in discrete sections, chronologically.

It was the hardest writing I’ve ever attempted. For one, I’m the least qualified person possible to write in the voice of a bi woman pretending to be gay, so had to work hard for her narrative to feel authentic.

Also, going back and forth was too much. I had to finish one perspective, then write the other, before weaving them appropriately into a single story.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

You may be over thinking it. You could do something like BestKept and just alternate povs or you could write two separate stories, one from each point of view.