Students write short stories. Most of them love it. The creative process is something that so many of our students are just itching to engage with. But, one of the reasons that teachers don’t always want to teach creative writing, is because it means reading. A lot of reading. And then there’s the marking.

How do you mark a story? How can you say this person’s creative expression isn’t as good as this other persons? Sure there’s the grammar and the spelling, but that’s only one small part of a larger rubric.

Well, what if there was a way to mark it based on if it follows an effective (and previously taught) plot graph. What if it includes building upon a rough draft that was created through visual ideation? And, what it it was something that took the tradition story and made it a… little bit more?

That’s what we’re looking at here. Using Twine to write a short story with branching paths, in a scaffolded way complete with chunked steps, and graphic organizers to make the seemingly impossible… possible!

English Course Pack: Unit Four – Creating Writing and Choose Our Way Tales

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4.04 – Creating a COWtale with Twine or Texture Writer

What is Twine?

Fantastic question! What is Twine? Twine is a tool that can be found at https://twinery.org/. The best part about it is that it can be used in-browser, or it can be used as a downloaded app. What’s amazing is that this is a professional level tool that has been used in the creation of all number of products that students are likely aware of. The Twine website lists some of the more popular games it was used to design, but it was also used in the creation of the Black Mirror episode Bandersnatch!

Before dumping students into the world of Twine, you will likely want to teach them the basics (like how to [[create a linking path]]. Trust me, those brackets will make a whole lot of sense in a few minutes).

But, how can you learn? You need to quickly become familiar so that you can put it into motion.

Don’t worry. Twine has you covered: https://twinery.org/cookbook/starting/twine2/firststory.html

That introduction will walk you through everything you need to know in minutes!

What is Texture Writer?

Texture Write is another interactive fiction tool, that also creates choose our way tales. And, it does so in a very different way, where paragraphs can open up and ideas can flow in a very novel and unique way. It’s similar… but different.

Providing students with a choice of tools will allow them to self-select the one that works best for them. But, how will students get to know this program? Well, when they head over to https://texturewriter.com/ they will be provided with a tutorial link that can be used to get to know the program! It walks them through the creation of a story, step by step.

This is so effective that they can complete it on their own, or you can run through it on a projector, while students are going through it on their own personal devices! It’s pretty great.

And, if you want more, you can check out the video and printable resources here: https://texturewriter.com/about

One of those resources may have been made by me. But in the before-times. During my “green period” which we try not to talk about anymore.

The Assignment

This assignment builds over all previously taught pieces, including the parts of a short story, a basic understanding of Choose Our Way tales, and how to create the basic elements for a story using Palm Stories.

This assignment simply asks students to now… write their story. With all the pre-learning, it’s time for a full release of responsibility, where students can choose which tool they want to use.

However, we are not leaving them out there alone, floundering around, considering how to convert a linear narrative into a Choose Our Way tale. We are still scaffolding this part of the experience, by providing them with a graphic organizer that offers different ways forward, building on their palm story ideas.

The Graphic Organizer

When students are provided with the graphic organizer, they should first be invited to look at the first page which lists what each box on the reverse can be used for.

There are three colour-coded paths:

• Orange: The main path
• Blue: The branching paths
• Red: Endings

For example, people who follow the linear narrative of the Palm Story will read:

1. “You” begins their journey down the path.
2. You picks up the object from the ground.
3. You is able to overcome the thing blocking their path.
4. You meets the Other with the object.
5. You accesses their destination using the object they picked up earlier.

However, students will see that there are places where things could change. For example, after You meets the other with the object they may decide:

• You reaches their destination but decides not to try and access it.

This creates a new ending, and a new direction for the story.

By reading the different ways that the story can proceed based on the Palm Story pre-writing ideas, students will use the second page of the graphic organizer to plot their ideas that include:

• Four endings
• Ten choices
• Fourteen pages

This will fulfill the requirements of the assignment.

Students may be given multiple days to work on this task. The planning may take a full period, with alternate days set aside for the writing and revision process.

The Impact

By the end of this lesson, students will have created their story, and they will feel comfortable, not only with creative writing, but with using digital tools to aid their writing. They may also want to consider how to use these tools to create games, or even convert them to apps.

Students will have foundational writing skills now, and be prepared for the next unit.

Next up? The essay writing unit.

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English – Unit Four: Creative Writing & Choose Our Way Tales

English Course Packs: Full Units

Unit One: Literacy Skills
Unit Two: Poetry
Unit Three: Literature Circles
Unit Four: Creative Writing & Choose Our Way Tales (In Progress)
Unit Five: Essay Writing (In Progress)
Unit Six: Culminating Tasks (In Progress)

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