Create and Publish a Story

Create and publish a story

Creating a story gives you the starting chapter and the settings that apply to every branch. A new story begins as a private draft, so you can finish the setup and test the first chapter before sending it for approval.

Start a story

Log in, open your profile menu, and choose New Story. You can also open My stories and choose Start a story.

The story form has two steps:

1. Enter the story details and choose its settings, then select Continue.
2. Write the first chapter and select Save Story.

Your saved story appears under My stories with a Not published status. Saving it does not make it visible to readers.

Add the main story details

Three fields are required:

• Title is the story's name.
• Subtitle is the short line shown with the title in story listings and on the story page.
• Synopsis tells readers what the story is about.

Use the synopsis to describe the premise and the kind of experience readers can expect. Put instructions for contributors in Writer guidelines instead. The guidelines are optional and appear to people who can add chapters to the story.

You may also select Add Cover to upload a cover image. A clear image that still works at a small size is easiest to recognize in lists. You can replace or remove the cover later through Edit Story.

Choose discovery details

The following choices help readers find suitable stories:

• POV describes whether the narration uses first, second, or third person.
• Gender describes the protagonist selection used by story filters. Choose Both when both available choices are important to the story or neither single choice describes it well.
• Category places the story in its main subject area.
• Language identifies the language used in the story.

Choose the closest accurate values. More specific themes belong in chapter tags rather than being forced into the title or synopsis.

Decide who may contribute

Story Mode controls what happens when someone without a trusted story role adds a chapter:

• Public publishes the new chapter immediately.
• Moderated sends the new chapter for approval.
• Private allows contributions only from people with a writing role.

Moderated is the default and is a useful choice when you want to review outside contributions before readers see them.

The User Roles section lets the owner add trusted collaborators. Enter the exact username, choose a role, and add it to the list. Roles have deliberately different permissions; for example, an Assistant Editor can edit chapters but cannot reorder them, while a Reviewer can review submitted chapters but cannot edit them.

See Story Modes, Roles, and Review before assigning roles or opening a story to contributions.

Choose an Element Theme

Element Theme changes the appearance of special elements inside every chapter of the story. The available themes are:

• CHYOA Default
• Adventure Parchment
• Neon Sci-Fi
• Gothic Velvet
• Noir Dossier
• Arcade Pop

The choice affects elements such as tables, polls, reader inputs, Game State displays, inventory, rolls, reveals, locks, stats, meters, actions, and chat bubbles. It does not change the story's ordinary prose, cover, or site navigation.

You can change the theme later. The new choice then applies throughout the story, including existing chapters.

Add reader customization

Enable Readers can customize story variables when readers should be able to choose details such as a name, pronouns, or a favorite color.

Select Add Reader Variable, then enter its name, type, label, choices where required, and default value. The default is what readers see until they save a different choice. Reader variables can be placed in the first chapter and every later chapter.

For example, a reader variable named name can be shown with:

Welcome, {reader:name}!

See Reader and Game Variables for types, names, defaults, ordering, and older-story compatibility.

Add game state

Enable Chapters can use game state when the story should remember choices or values during a game. Select Add Game State Variable to define starting values such as health, coins, a route, or whether a key is owned.

When game state is enabled, Show inaccessible chapters controls what a player sees when a follow-up chapter's conditions fail:

• When selected, the choice remains visible but unavailable.
• When cleared, the choice is hidden.

This setting only changes how inaccessible choices are presented. It does not let a reader enter a chapter whose conditions fail.

See Chapter Conditions and Game-State Changes before building a game story.

Choose the adoption preference

Opt out of story adoption after inactivity controls whether the story may be offered for adoption after six months of owner inactivity.

• Leave it cleared if you would like an active contributor to be able to request adoption after that period.
• Select it if the story should not be offered for adoption.

An account-wide adoption preference can keep all of your stories opted out. When that preference is active, the story-level choice is locked. Turning the account-wide preference off does not automatically remove opt-outs already saved on individual stories; edit those stories when you want to allow adoption again.

If you are an active contributor to another story with no listed Owner, Editor, or Reviewer, CHYOA may show Request adoption in that story's Contributors section. Explain your history with the story and how you would continue it. The request is reviewed and does not transfer ownership automatically.

Write the first chapter

Select Continue after setting up the story. The second step contains the first chapter form.

The first chapter is stored as Introduction, so it has no Answer field. Write the opening in the chapter content field and add a Follow-up Question that leads naturally into the first choices. If the question is left blank, readers see “What's next?”

You may also add tags and starting game-state changes. Conditions are not available on the first chapter because a reader must be able to enter the story before choosing a branch. After saving the story, edit the Introduction if you want to add a poll there.

Use Go back if you need to revise the story settings before saving. Select Save Story when the required story fields and first chapter are ready.

Submit the draft for approval

Open the saved story. Its publication notice shows Draft story and provides Submit for approval.

Before submitting, check that:

1. the title, subtitle, and synopsis accurately describe the story;
2. the first chapter contains finished prose rather than a placeholder;
3. the category, language, POV, and gender are accurate;
4. the Story Mode and collaborator roles match the contribution plan;
5. any reader or game variables work in a fresh test;
6. the story follows the CHYOA Rules.

Submitting sends the story and all of its saved, non-deleted chapters for approval together. The story is marked Under review and remains unavailable to ordinary readers until approved. You can still edit it while it waits.

If the story is returned, the feedback appears on the story and under Needs revision. Make the requested changes, save them, and select Submit for approval again.

Edit an existing story

An owner can open the story actions and choose Edit Story, or open My stories, use the story's actions, and choose Edit story.

Most settings can be changed later, but consider the effect on existing readers and contributors:

• Changing Story Mode changes how future contributions are handled.
• Changing roles changes what those collaborators can do.
• Changing variable names, types, choices, or starting values does not rewrite games already in progress.
• Changing the Element Theme updates special elements across existing chapters.
• Changing the adoption preference affects whether the story may become available for adoption after inactivity.

Use Save Story to keep the changes.

Related Guide chapters

• Write and Publish Chapters
• Formatting, Images, Links, and Tables