Hi everybody!

I've had this idea percolating for a while, and I'm about to make my first post with it, but first I wanted to describe what it is so that anybody who wants to join in can understand the nitty-gritty.

What is this whole thing about?

This is a project to create unbounded open source pick a plotline novels (gamebooks). Inspirations for this include @papa-pepper's #steem-pocalypse series and @beordo's #followthewriter series, as well as, of course, the Choose Your Own Adventure novels that I grew up with. (and Role-playing games and longform improv and so on and so on.) There are lots of things like this, but I think that the way we make this one will be unique, and potentially very exciting.
You can start your own novels this way, or continue plot paths from other novels. I'll cover the format of each below.

How to start a novel

I'll try to make this as simple as possible, but I think a dogged adherence to structure will benefit the whole project. The first entry in a novel of this sort will be 500-1000 words of content as a post.

title of your post should be formatted like this:

The Evocative Title [open source interactive story] start here

the content of your story should include:

2nd person perspective (you, your, etc. as if the reader is making the choices)
Where (a description of the location in which they begin)
What (ideally, the event that will propel the rest of the storytelling happens in this first entry)
A link to this post so that people know what you're doing and how they can participate.

tags should include

#osis - we'll use this to tag everything in this genre (it stands for open source interactive story)
a tag that you make up for your novel - everything that is an entry for your novel should include this tag so that people can find just your novel. It should be unique. Maybe the entire title.
any other relevant tags are fine. I recommend hashtag writing and hashtag fiction.

How to continue a story

the title of your post should be formatted like this

The Same Title as The Original Story [open source interactive story] continued

the content of your post should include

at the beginning of your content at least three links: to the first entry of the novel, to the entry of the novel that this decision tree came from, and to this post so that people know what you're doing.
the main character (2nd person - "you") making an active choice, and the consequences of that choice. It is okay to add new details, like places and characters, but try to accept and build on what is already there. If the story is a murder mystery, keep building to a discovery of the murderer, if it's already set in a fantasy realm, keep it there, if the main thing is time travel, build on that. Also, it is okay to make the story terminate with your entry, and it is likewise okay for your entry to lead to another decision tree.

tags should include

#osis - we'll use this to tag everything in this genre (it stands for open source interactive story)
the tag that whoever began the novel established - everything that is an entry for this novel should include this tag so that people can find just this novel.
any other relevant tags are fine. I recommend hashtag writing and hashtag fiction.

linking it to the previous entry

after you've submitted your post to the blockchain (you hit "post"), return to the entry that led you to making your post. Write one sentence describing the choice that you had the character make that led you to the story you told (e.g. You open the door slowly, apprehensive but eager to find out what Biff had been keeping secret all these years.) then follow it with a link to your post. (you can use markdown to make your words a link or just post the url, either will function)

That's all, I think!

I'm very excited about this project and promise that, if it gets rolling, and I'm excited about the storytelling, I'll be upvoting entries with gusto ;)
Let's have some creative fun!

Oh! and put a link to any new novels you start this way in the comments below this post! That way they'll all be collected somewhere (here)