Author Guidelines

If you're here, I'm going to go ahead and assume that means you're interested in contributing your writing talents to the ever-expanding public art project that is *Two Choices*....thank you!  When I first conceived of this project, I realized that writing a book with just ten different choices presented to the reader would result in over ONE THOUSAND different endings, (2^10=1,024).  There was no way I could possibly do it all myself.  Once the idea of using a wiki was suggested, I realized I could start the ball rolling, and then hopefully one day it would take on a life of its own.  Your being here means that day is today!

At this point, there are just a few basic ground rules.  I imagine more detailed writing conventions may become necessary at some point, but for now here's what we've got:

Ground Rule 1: Make your chapters a reasonable length. It's sometimes hard to tell how many "pages" you've written on a wiki - and especially if you're writing on a mobile device - but it would be best if you write at least six to eight paragraphs. Try to add depth to the characters, the effects of the choices, and so on, and make an effort to add something compelling, as opposed to just rushing on to the next choice.  If there's a topic you feel strongly about, or an issue you're dealing with in your own life, these things can make great reading when channeled into a story.

Ground Rule 2: The story is based in reality (i.e. no talking dragons, sorcerors, etc.), but otherwise the floor is yours.  If you write sci-fi, mild sci-fi (i.e. plausible extensions of existing science) would be great.  If you write romance novels, a story arc about Matt's first (or whatever number) love would be perfect.  Just about any genre you can think of can be worked into *Two Choices*.  The variety is what is going to make this project amazing.

Ground Rule 3: There are no happily ever afters. On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero. (Tip of the hat to Chuck Palahniuk). What this means is that no storyline is truly finished until Matt is dead. This could mean Matt dies in a fiery car accident when he's 17, or he drifts off in his sleep after living a long, full life, with grandkids and all.  Because of this, many years can pass between chapters, but there has to be a tie back to the choice made at the end of the previous chapter.  It also means that if you just want to write a few chapters, you'll likely not get to Matt's death.  If that is the case, try to make your chapters into a cogent story arc so there is cohesiveness to the portion you have written, then someone else can pick up where you left off.

Ground Rule 4: If you create a new page, and if you are able and willing to do so, please include the Choice History at the bottom of the new page. You will need to go to the previous chapter, select the Choice History from the bottom the page, and "Copy". Then, when you paste onto the new pages, all the links should carry over.  The purpose of this is so that readers can jump back to where each choice was made and try out different choices. You will also need to add the choice you made on the last page to the new page, and link it back to the last page. If you want to write but don't want to mess with the Choice History, that's fine too. We'll get it there one way or another. Also, please include that you originally authored the page, as I want to be able to give some recognition and praise to our top contributors.

Ground Rule 5:  **THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE**:  Writing on Wikia can be kind of a pain in the ass.  If you want to contribute, but you don't want to learn the in's and out's of Wikia, I totally get that.  Please do not let that stop you from contributing.  Instead, please just write up your chapter(s) in Word document(s) and e-mail them to me at twochoiceswiki@gmail.com.  I will make sure they get posted!

That's it for now...thanks a million for your contributions, I can't wait to read them!