Write and Publish Chapters

Write and publish chapters

Every choice in a CHYOA story can lead to another chapter. Depending on the Story Mode and your role, a finished chapter is either published immediately or sent to the story's reviewers.

Start a new branch

Open the chapter that should come before your new branch. Below its follow-up choices, select Add a new chapter. The adjacent menu also offers two explicit choices:

• Write a chapter creates a new content chapter.
• Link a chapter sends readers to an existing chapter in the same story.

This page covers content chapters. See Managing Branches, Links, Move, and Reorder before creating a Link Chapter.

If the add option is unavailable, the story's mode or your role does not allow you to contribute at that point.

Write the answer and chapter

The Answer is the choice readers select on the preceding chapter. It also becomes the new chapter's title, so it is required.

Write an answer that makes sense after the preceding Follow-up Question. “Open the red door” is usually clearer than “Yes,” especially when the branch later appears in the Story Map.

The chapter content is also required. Respect the CHYOA Rules and the story owner's Writer guidelines, both of which are available beside the writing form.

The first chapter of a newly created story is different: it is named Introduction and has no Answer field.

Choose the editor you prefer

Your Settings include Use the rich text editor to create and edit chapters.

• When enabled, select text to use buttons for bold, italic, underline, links, headings, lists, dividers, and quotations.
• When disabled, enter Markdown directly.

Both editors save the same kinds of chapter formatting. Special CHYOA syntax for variables, conditional text, rolls, reveals, actions, locks, and chat bubbles can be entered in either editor.

See Formatting, Images, Links, and Tables for examples.

Add a follow-up question

Follow-up Question appears above the choices at the end of the chapter. It is optional; a blank field displays “What's next?”

A specific question helps readers understand what the answers mean. For example, “Which path do you take?” works with answers such as “Follow the river” and “Climb toward the ridge.”

Reader variables may be used in answers and follow-up questions as well as in chapter prose. Use the exact name shown on the Story variables page.

Add tags

Use Add a Tag for the themes that actually appear in this chapter. Enter one tag and confirm it, then repeat for additional tags.

Tags from published chapters are collected for the story and help readers discover relevant chapters and stories. Prefer a few consistent, specific tags over a long list of loosely related terms.

See Tags and Discovery for details.

Add a poll

Select Add Poll when the chapter should ask readers to vote. Configure its question, choices, result visibility, and closing behavior, then place the displayed marker in the chapter text where the poll should appear.

For example, a poll with the key ending uses this marker:

{poll:ending}

Each configured poll needs exactly one matching marker. See Polls and Interactive Blocks before publishing a poll, especially because its options and voting type become locked after it receives votes.

Add conditions and game-state changes

When the story has Chapters can use game state enabled, the form may include:

• Game state conditions to view this chapter
• Changes to game state

Conditions belong to the new destination chapter. They decide whether a reader with an active game may choose it. Changes run when the reader enters the chapter.

See Chapter Conditions and Game-State Changes for the order of changes, missing values, visibility, inventory, and testing.

Use the local recovery copy

While you type, CHYOA keeps a recovery copy for this form in your current browser. If you leave unexpectedly and return to the same form, Local draft restored appears when a usable copy is available.

This is a safety net, not a saved chapter draft:

• it preserves prose and supported chapter settings, but may not recreate newly added poll rows after a reload;
• it is tied to this browser, account, and form;
• it is not available on another device;
• it is kept for up to 14 days;
• it is not listed under My chapters;
• a newer saved version of the chapter takes priority.

Choose Discard draft on the recovery notice if you want to reload the saved version. For work you intend to keep, always select Save as Draft.

Save, publish, or submit

The buttons depend on the story and your role:

• Save as Draft saves the chapter to your account without showing it to ordinary readers.
• Publish Chapter makes it visible immediately when your mode and role allow trusted publishing.
• Submit Chapter for Approval sends it to the story's reviewers.

In a draft or under-review story, chapters cannot be published separately. The form explains that they will be published automatically when the story itself is approved.

In a visible story:

• chapters in Public stories publish immediately;
• outside contributions to Moderated stories are submitted for approval;
• trusted Owner, Editor, Assistant Editor, and Author roles publish directly;
• Private stories accept chapters only from trusted writing roles.

Save unfinished work as a draft instead of publishing placeholder prose. Drafts have no writing deadline and do not reserve a limited branch slot; a chapter can have any number of follow-up branches.

Follow a submitted chapter

A submitted chapter is marked Under review. It is visible to you and the people who can review it, but ordinary readers cannot choose it yet. You may continue editing it while it waits.

If it is approved, it becomes part of the visible story. If it is returned, its status changes to Needs Revision and the feedback appears on the chapter and under Needs revision in your Library. Edit the chapter, then choose Submit Chapter for Approval again.

Edit a published chapter

Open the chapter actions and select Edit Chapter. The same content, question, tags, polls, conditions, and changes are available.

Select Edit silently for a small correction that should not mark the chapter as recently updated. This is suitable for a typo or minor wording fix. Leave it cleared when the story content or reader experience changed in a meaningful way.

Polls require extra care. Once a poll has votes, its options, option order, voting type, and maximum number of selections cannot be changed, and the poll cannot be deleted. Other poll settings remain available.

Delete and recover a chapter

A chapter can be deleted only when it has no follow-up chapters. Move or delete its following branches first if necessary. The story's first chapter cannot be deleted separately.

After deletion, open Recently deleted in your Library. A recoverable chapter remains there for 30 days and shows how much time is left. Select Recover to return it to the story before that period ends.

Before publishing

Check the finished chapter as a reader:

1. read the preceding question and the new answer together;
2. check headings, links, images, tables, and paragraph spacing;
3. test every poll or interactive block;
4. test conditions with values that should pass and fail;
5. confirm game-state changes, Game State, inventory, and later choices;
6. check the follow-up question and every new branch;
7. save as a draft first when the result is uncertain.

Related Guide chapters

• Create and Publish a Story
• Reader and Game Variables