Choices Question

How many choices do you think an episode or chapter needs? And does that include clothing/hair?

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I personally think 3-5 choices so the reader doesn’t get bored however it also depends on the length of the chapter.

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Just to add on, in regards to the types of choices that your story should contain, Episode has a guide on this:

Episode’s advice is “How Many Choices:
Include at least 1 choice every 15-20 lines of dialogue, with one that majorly changes the scenes at least once every other episode.”

When you’re on Writer’s Portal, you can click on guides, then once you’re on guides, under Extra Tips you can click on Quick Tips (all found on the left side of the book under What to Expect).

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This is a tough one…

I try to include at least ONE choice per chapter, but 2-4 is average for me.

If a previous chapter has 4 choices, I may only do 1 in the next chapter.

Also, it depends on how complicated or how much impact the choices have.

It’s easy to just throw in choices with no real impact on the story, however, it can still make the reader feel like they are having an impact.

If you realize you only had one choice (which does have impact) in a lengthy chapter, you can simply run through your script and find ANY discussion between the MC and another character and add a simple choice such as:

REACT ANNOYED

  • MC says nervously:
    How am I supposed to get all this homework done!? Why would Mrs. Smith assign us so much homework?

or

REACT ANGRY

  • MC says angry:
    This really ticks me off! I already have enough homework! Gosh, I hate Mrs. Smith!

These don’t HAVE to impact the story in a big way, so it’s fairly easy to just throw those in here and there. These “meaningless” choices are more impact-full than we give them credit for. First, they keep your reader engaged. Secondly, they will also help your reader create a better connection with the MC because they will respond in ways that THEY would respond, thus, creating relativity to the MC.

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Personally I code at least one choice per scene (not including flashbacks/forwards), not including hair or clothing. I usually add dressing games whenever the MC is near her closet or vanity table and needs to go somewhere e.g. to work or to lunch etc., which leaves the reader with typically one dressing game every episode.

I would say 1-2 important choices, with some minor ones in between. That’s just your personal preference, but readers would prefer to have choices that they feel have an impact on the story.

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