We had a writing workshop at my library about doing Interactive Fiction, and kids wrote stories that could go different ways depending on the readers' choices!

1. A N N M A R I E H U R TA D O
PA S A D E N A P U B L I C L I B R A R Y
O C T O B E R 1 3 , 2 0 1 8
W R I T I N G A
“ C H O O S E YO U R O W N A D V E N T U R E ”
S TO R Y I N
TWINE

2. T W I N E R Y. O R G
First, go to
Twinery.org,
and select
whether you’d
like to
download the
software or use
Twine online.

3. Click “+Story” to
start writing your
new story, or
“Import from File”
to use a story
you’ve already
been working on.
S T A R T A N E W
S T O R Y

4. Give your story
a name, then
click “+Add”.
The story’s
name can be
changed later if
you want.

5. W R I T E YO U R F I R S T
PA S S AG E .
Give it a title (your
reader won’t see
this). And give it a
scary or interesting
opening to grab
your reader’s
attention!
Now take a look at
the words in double
brackets…

6. L I N K I N G
The words you
put inside double
brackets will
instantly become
the title of a new
passage, linked to
this one!

7. L I N K I N G
Here is what your
reader will see.
Note that the
reader will not see
the brackets, or
your title, or your
tags. Those tools
are for your use as
you design your
story.

8. YO U R N E W S TO R Y
T R E E
Once you click
outside your first
passage window,
you’ll immediately
see you have a story
tree—your first
passage leads to
three other ones.
Double-click them to
start filling in the text
that the reader will
see for each option.

9. N E X T L E V E L
Once again, you
can put some
words in brackets
to that the reader
will be taken to
your next screen. In
my sample story, I
decided to make
all of the options
end in the reader
answering the
door.

10. T H E S TO R Y T R E E
G R O W S …
My story tree
now has three
tiers. You can see
that all three
options from the
first passage will
lead directly to
the passage titled
“answer the door.”

11. S TA R T I N G A W H O L E
N E W PA S S AG E
If you have an idea
for a passage but
aren’t sure where it
will go in the story
yet, you can click the
“+Passage” button
to create it anyway.

12. S TA R T I N G A W H O L E
N E W PA S S AG E
You can also search
your passages for
specific text (if you
have forgotten
where you wrote it)
and click “Test” or
“Play” to test your
story out.

13. A F U L LY G R O W N
S TO R Y T R E E
Now you can see
all the options
that have
developed. You
can click on each
passage and drag
it around so that
its connecting
lines are more
visible.

14. M O R E O P T I O N S
A stylesheet tells a website
how to display text with
fonts, colors, and
background color. You can
edit the look and feel of
your story by clicking on
your title and then clicking
“Edit stylesheet.” You need
to know CSS coding to make
it work.
For CSS tips, visit:
https://twinery.org/wiki/twin
e2:change_the_font_colors_o
r_appearance

15. M O R E O P T I O N S
I changed my
stylesheet to have a
red background
and black text.

16. P U B L I S H TO F I L E
Once you’re
ready to save
your story, click
the title at the
bottom of your
screen and click
“Publish to File.”
Have a USB drive
ready to save it
to.

17. M O R E CO D E S YO U
C A N U S E
Want to put words in
bold or italics? Want
to display special
characters? Here are
the body text tips,
which you can see
by opening a new
passage and
pressing CTRL and Z
together.

18. QUESTIONS?
C A L L O R E M A I L M E A N Y T I M E !
A N N M A R I E H U R TA D O, L I B R A R I A N
PA S A D E N A P U B L I C L I B R A R Y
6 2 6 - 7 4 4 - 4 7 2 5
A N H U R TA D O @ C I T Y O F PA S A D E N A . N E T