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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/43666
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In my **interactive novel** , I'm trying to keep the word count between choice prompts fairly short and consistent, but that means sometimes breaking up longer text into a few sections….

I've been using a _single choice_ to indicate when the story is _linear_, and _3 choices_ when there are actual _non-linear_ branches. I have a few "false" 3-choice options that work in context of the story, but for most of the novel if there is no branching the reader is given a single "choice" to continue. Depending on the scene, there might be several _single choice_ prompts in a row.

In a long dialog for instance, a single-choice _linear_ prompt designed to break up the long text, might look like:

> … _(text continues)_
> 
> "I didn't know that. Go on."
> 
> … _(text continues)_
> 
> "What do you mean by 'involved'…?"
> 
> … _(text continues)_
> 
> "There's more to that story!"
> 
> … _(text continues)_

In the same scene, a non-linear 3-choice prompt will branch to other dialog topics:

> … _(text continues)_
> 
> "What does Barbara Reed have against you?"
> 
> "Why are you being followed?"
> 
> "Tell me more about this temple."

**I felt that I was communicating through design, but maybe from the reader POV it just feels arbitrary** why they are seeing 1 or 3 choices… I have a scene that begins with many (6) linear "non-choices" in a row, before getting to a 3-choice menu.

**Would it be better for me to disguise these _non-choices_ with dummy questions?** I could add a tiny bit of text to individualize each before segueing back to the linear flow….

My worry is that 'empty' choices (that don't effect the novel) may be more annoying than several consecutive non-choices. Too many 'empty' choices and I may loose reader's faith that their choices matter.

Original score: 3