In our first article on this topic (link here), we listed 4 core attributes of interactive stories. This article dives a little deeper into the first of those: that interactive stories aren’t linear. What does this mean? What are they if they aren’t linear?

This list is going to start with the most linear formats and get more non-linear as we go.

[The diagrams]

In this article, we will be using diagrams to explain the structure of stories. In the diagram, individual plot elements are represented by circles and the connections between them represented by arrows or lines. So a linear story would look like this:

Annotated Narrative:

This is a style of interactive narrative that’s mostly linear. The overall structure is like a linear story, but there are a number of smaller story elements that are optional along the way. The reader can engage with them (or not) without affecting the outcomes of the overall plot. A diagram of this form looks like this:

Circular Narrative

This category of story involves a lot of repetition. It can be the whole story that repeats or smaller elements within a more linear story. The richness of this structure comes from the differences and contrasts between the different versions.

Parallel narratives

These stories have several separate storylines that unfold at the same time. In the interactive versions of these stories, the reader can switch back and forth between them to see different perspectives on the same events.

Foldback narrative

This one is a little trickier and only really gets applied to larger stories. Basically, there is one overarching plot and story line, but each reader can take a very different path between each node in the story. There will be multiple ways of reaching each point in the story, but the main points and their order stays consistent.

Branching narrative

This is the classic choose-your-own adventure format. There is a segment of story to experience, and then a choice is made. The results of that story lead to different next points in the story and then another choice is made. As you can see from the diagram, while this kind of story is easy to conceive of, even a small number of choices can get overwhelming.

Sea Anemone Narrative

This is a more complex type of branching narrative. The main difference being that there are usually more than 2 or 3 options at each decision point, and the direction of the links often flows both ways. While there is almost always a starting point for this story, often the ending can be ambiguous.

(lines are white)

Rhizomatic Narrative

This type of narrative has a complex network of plot points that can be explored and that connect to each other in unexpected ways. These kinds of stories often don’t have a beginning and end, but are more about exploring and discovering a particular place and time.

Hybrid models

Most interactive stories don’t stick super closely to any one of these narrative structures. Usually, there’s some combination of different techniques and approaches. For example, a plot might use elements of branching narrative combined with foldback narrative to limit the overall amount of writing to be done.

Or there might be multiple options for each step of a story, combining branching narrative with parallel structures.

(this diagram is about a specific story, so it will need to be switched to be like the others)pa