Fill in the Backstory

A bit of an experiment that everyone is free to contribute to! The catch is that instead of making choices about what to do next, the choice fills in what happened before the story began.

A short example- the first chapter starts with a woman at a party, meeting a few charming men. She’s very much in the mood to go home with someone, but isn’t certain who she wants to sleep with. While she’s considering who she likes better, she starts thinking about her arrival at the party, before the story started. The choice the reader makes is based on what happened before, and the chapter title will indicate the past but not the choice immediately facing the lead character; but the chapter itself will also make her decision further on.

Chapter title could be “She came to the party with her friend Kathy”. Our heroine remembers coming to the party with a friend, and after a paragraph or two discussing her arrival she decides to hook up with the tall dark-skinned man.

OR

The chapter title says “She was invited to the party by a co-worker”. After a little exposition remembering the invite, she eventually chooses to go home with the blonde athletic man.

If this seems confusing, see my story as an example.

The story I’m starting this off with is an ENF story, but I’m listing this as “miscellaneous” so other contributors isn’t constrained by genre. Just note in parentheses in your first chapter title what sort of story you’re writing so readers know what they may be getting into.

I’ll still work on some threads for my own story in the future as well but anyone is welcome to start their own story or add to my own! Have fun, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!