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My apologies. The Choose Your Own idea still seems like fun, but none of the stories go past 3 entries. None are finished. Sometime in late 2012 I plan to look into rebooting them, or perhaps organizing it a different way.
Writers: Scroll to the bottom for instructions!
Welcome to Choose Your Own Story! There are two categories, Romance and Science Fiction. Pick a story from the list below. The link will take you to a post on the participating author’s blog where you will read the first bit of the story, and then you will have at least two choices of how to continue.
This is a beta test, and it is just for fun. I sincerely hope all the links work and we end up with entertaining stories, but once this is out in the blogosphere, who knows what will happen?
If you enjoy it, please send your friends here by sharing this shortlink: http://wp.me/P1qnT4-9a
Read from the POV of Cora, a 20 year old debutante, the daughter of the Duke of Burlington, in 1800’s England.
After three seasons in the whirlwind on London’s haut ton without a single offer of marriage, your father has other plans to get you off his hands.
Read from the POV of Frank, a 20 something man in 21st Century Ontario, CA.
You have known since you were a small child that the odd people your parents help out of their cabin on the Lost Channel are supernatural beings. You just never expected one might be so alluring.
Read from the POV of Jean, a 30 something woman in 21st Century Sundance, Wyoming.
You have always loved coming home to your grandparents’ horse ranch in Sundance, even though both your parents prefer to live in the city. But an unexpected twist of fate has you not only visiting your grandparents, but moving in.
Read from the POV of Haruki, a 20 something man from 23rd Century Kitakyushu, Japan.
You have been working on your Architecture Thesis late into the night when your friend Kumi asks you to come to the physics lab. When you get there, Kumi is nowhere to be found, but there are some very odd things in the lab.
Read from the POV of Melora, a 40 something woman from 26th Century Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
You have put your divorce behind you and won sole custody of your 11 year old daughter. But even from prison, your ex husband is a menace, and leaving the planet for a new colony might be the only way to safely begin a new life.
Read from the POV of Agda, a 70 something woman from 21st Century San Diego, California.
Your grandchildren are always trying to get you to try the latest technological toys, but you are much more comfortable with the familiar things you have used all your life. When they buy you the latest and greatest washing machine, you can’t turn it down, even though some of the things it does are far beyond your comprehension.
Instructions, Rules and Guidelines for Authors
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- This is a beta test. It will probably have all kinds of problems! But it will be fun. That is the goal. To have fun both writing and reading!
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- The idea is simple, even though the execution gets a bit complicated. Just like the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books where you flip back and forth to different pages to wend your way through the story, we have blog posts instead. All the stories begin here on this page, where the reader can choose a story, and then continue making choices that take them through numerous blogs before they eventually end! And no one knows where a story might end…
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- Each writer should publish their part of the story on their own blog; however I can put it on Under Loch & Key if you prefer. Posts should remain available to readers for the foreseeable future, however long that is!
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- All posts should be written in the 2nd person, present tense, as if the reader becomes the character. Example: “You have never noticed before, but the large tree in the park has a large hollow at the base. You think you might be able to fit inside.”
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- You are in charge of your little piece of the story. It is up to you to decide who gets to write the next parts, and you will need to make sure the links to those choices work. It’s also up to you if you want to let someone jump in later on. Please refer every new writer back to this page and these rules.
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- Every post must begin with a thumbnail of either “Choose Your Own Romance” or “Choose Your Own Sci-Fi”. Clicking the thumbnail or adjacent text must bring the user back to this page.
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- Every post must also contain a link with the words “To read the previous chapter, click here.” or something similar. Users who stumble upon a post randomly should have a way to work their way “backwards” so they can read the story in order.
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- Every post should have the author’s name, even if it is obvious from the blog itself. Pseudonyms are fine! Also a good idea to have the story title at the top.
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- No matter how good a writer you are, if a post is too long, it will kill the thread. Target word count should be around 500, and no post should go over 1,000 words. If you feel moved to write more, please put in your own break, and give the readers a chance to choose between at least 2 continuations. It’s perfectly fine to write several posts in a row, as long as the reader gets a choice each time!
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- Please don’t wait to publish. As soon as your bit of the plot is written, just add two or three or more choices to the bottom such as “If you go through the yellow door, click here. (Link coming soon)” or “If you climb out the window, click here. (Link coming soon)” That way, readers know that it’s a work in progress, and they might even volunteer to write the continuation.
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- Every post should end in at least two choices that either go to another post on the author’s own blog, or someone else’s blog. No upper limit on how many choices are possible, just please don’t take it to a ridiculous level!
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K…got it. Thank you. So simple.