IF Seal Archive
Here's the question and answer archive for my advice blog, IF Seal.
Have a question of your own? Ask it through the Tumblr blog or this anonymous form.
Getting the story down
Planning and outlining
- I have trouble coming up with plots!
- How do I plan the parts between the beginning and end of my project?
- Can you share some worldbuilding techniques?
- How do you manage huge branching scenes?
- How long is an average chapter for an IF?
- How can I include breathing room in my IF?
- Should I outline everything at once in detail?
Player agency and protagonists
- What if my MC ends up hostile to all their romantic interests?
- Exploring blank-slate vs set-in-stone protagonists
- How can I get players to care about their MC's motivations?
- How can I balance the story being driven by the MC vs external forces?
- How much agency should a semi-set MC have?
- How should I reveal aspects of the MC's past?
- Should I make a mostly linear IF and how could I include lots of choices?
Characters
- What are some pros and cons of locking in an MC’s personality vs being more flexible?
- Is it OK to make a romanceable character a Sexy Boy?
- What are some pros and cons of creating gender-selectable characters?
- What do you think about shapeshifting/customisable love interests?
- Unconventional narratives, cast size, and semi-set PCs oh my!
Player investment and engagement
- How can I get other people invested in my story when they don’t know all the fun things that will happen in it?
- Do you have any advice about marketing?
- What might encourage people to ask questions about my work?
- Should I write my WLW story even if that might limit appeal?
- What if I don’t know what to say to an author?
- Lack of audience engagement makes me want to quit
- I'm discouraged because my story feels invisible
- How can I make people aware of my game?
Help!
Writer life
- I feel inspired! When should I start a blog?
- When should I start a blog or Patreon?
- If you were making a new blog, when would you make it?
- How can I keep a work/life balance when writing is my job?
- When does revealing details of a WIP become too much?
- Writing resources and making friends
- How does ChoiceScript writing differ from other kinds of game writing?