Writing Interactive Fiction
For game writers and those interested in trying interactive writing, at any stage of their careers.
If you’ve ever found yourself choosing between possible endings or plot twists, why not try a storytelling format that lets you explore them all? Games and interactive fiction invite the reader to join in the storytelling process, and invite the writer to consider multiple facets of agency, characterization, pacing and plot. Learn some fundamental principles and techniques for interactive formats, or just gain a new perspective on ways to develop your non-interactive prose.
Your Instructor
Kate Heartfield is the author of two interactive novels for Choice of Games, The Road to Canterbury and The Magician’s Workshop, both of which were shortlisted for the Nebula award in the game writing category. Her debut novel Armed in Her Fashion won the Aurora Award for Best Novel and was shortlisted for the Locus First Novel, Crawford and Sunburst awards. Her two Alice Payne time travel novellas were shortlisted for the Nebula and Aurora awards. A former newspaper journalist, Kate lives in Ottawa, Canada. When she isn't working on her current novel in progress, she edits, writes for video games, and teaches. Her next novel, a historical fantasy called The Embroidered Book, will be published in spring 2022.