How to make an interactive story
30 October 2026
An interactive story begins with a scene and a decision. The reader chooses what to do; you write what happens next.
Start with one opening, one character and two possible responses. netfable’s free interactive story maker lets you write, try and revise that small scene before you build a longer story.
Write and preview without an account. Your starting copy stays in this browser. Sign in for account drafts, optional AI drafting and review.
Try the idea in one scene
An AI-written example · The midnight letter
Someone slides a letter under the locked door.
Mira: “It has your name on it.”
Open either choice to see its consequence. You can compare both paths.
Open the letter
Mira: “It’s an invitation. Your sister wants you at the station before midnight.”
Leave it sealed
Mira: “Then tell me why you’re afraid to read her handwriting.”
The first path reveals a destination. The second reveals a fear. Both can lead to the next scene, but the reader reaches it knowing something different. A useful choice changes an action, a relationship or what the reader learns.
1. Write a small opening
In the studio, choose Write a chapter. Give the opening a title and a speaking character, then add narration and the character’s first reply. For example:
- Story title
- The Midnight Letter
- Main speaking character
- Mira
- Chapter title
- The doorstep
- Opening narration
- Someone slides a letter under the locked door.
- First character reply
- It has your name on it.
Choose Preview opening to read it a passage at a time. A choice is optional, so you can first check how the scene sounds.
2. Give the reader a meaningful choice
Open Add a choice in the writing form, or use the shortcut after your first preview ends. Write two short action labels and a reply for each path.
Make the options distinct enough that a reader can choose deliberately. “Open the letter” and “Leave it sealed” suggest different actions. The replies should make that difference felt.
Try each path in Preview, restart the chapter, then choose the other. All branches lets you inspect the authored paths together. Trying a path keeps your writing unchanged.
3. Keep your work and build on it
Browser starting copies are useful for trying an idea. Use Download backup to keep a separate file, and open it later from Starting copies and backups. Browser copies stay on that device and can be lost if its site data is cleared.
When you want to keep an account draft and use the full editor, sign in, choose how the story was written and save your private draft. You can then add chapters, refine choices and manage the story’s details.
Already have a manuscript or an idea?
Import a script opens a plain-text .story manuscript, including its story header and chapter headings. You can also paste that format or open a UTF-8 .txt file containing it. The studio includes a guide and a complete example you can open as a separate copy.
Download The Return Ticket, a complete AI-written example to explore its two paths and ending.
Draft with AI is available after sign-in. Supply a scene or starting plan with the people, situation and decision you want to explore. You request the draft, then edit and preview it. AI is optional; directly writing or importing a script does not request generation.
4. Share when the story is ready
Add a public description, choose a genre and rating, check your writing credit and try the paths you authored. Use writing and images you have the right to share.
Saving a draft keeps it private. Sending it for review is a separate action, and a person reviews every creator story before publication. Published stories carry the creator credit recorded at submission.
Every published story is free to read, with no paywalls or coin unlocks.
A few questions before you start
Do I need to know code?
No. The chapter form and visual editor provide tools for writing scenes and choices. The optional .story format is there when you want to import or edit a complete script.
Can I try it without signing in?
Yes. You can write or import an opening, preview it and keep browser starting copies. Sign-in is needed for account drafts, AI drafting and sending a story for review.
Does every choice need a separate ending?
No. Paths can return to the same scene after giving the reader different information or experiences. Start with a small, readable consequence and test both paths.