IF Seal: How can I balance the story being driven by the MC vs external forces?
Hello IF Seal! I have a question about how to progress the plot along by having things happen to the MC, instead of having the MC initiate everything. I much prefer stories that work like this (and I think in the world of IF they're more compelling, because the MC can truly be a blank slate and then the player gets to choose how they react instead of being forced into an action), and yet, I really struggle to write them.
Dear Plot-Progressing Friend,
As with many things, it's my thought that a balance is a good thing to aim for with this kind of thing.
Certainly it is fabulous to have plenty of options in which the MC can choose how to respond to major events. For example, the MC may be quietly having coffee when an adorable fellow visitor to the establishment accidentally drops their tray! Or the MC may be on the run from magical law-enforcement having just completed their heist! Or the MC may need to figure out how best to do their job of mussel-diving in their local caves for the day.
A lot of branching narrative is all about giving players options in handling what the game throws at them and writing situations like this enables players to decide what matters to their MC, what their personality is, and more.
That said! If you are finding that you are always writing the MC responding to things rather than acting, I wonder if there is some imbalance going on. If the MC is always reactive rather than proactive, that will work for some players and paths, but at other points it's great to also give the MC agency to make decisions.
For example:
They've come to the coffee shop and have seen their friend whom they've been arguing with, their rival at the swimming club, and the mysterious visitor to town whom they've seen lurking around the local graveyard. Who do they want to sit with? Do they want to sit alone? What happens in response to each of those actions?
And do you have the scope and ideas to have the MC go "actually I don't want to go to the coffee shop, I need to get to the library and work on my assignment" and have an entirely different branch?
I reread your question a couple of times and wonder about a line of reasoning that I believe is "if the MC initiates everything, they're forced into an action". If the MC is always initiating everything and there's only one choice, that can certainly feel railroaded. But if the MC is given choices about what things they can initiate, that's a different kettle of fish altogether. I also believe that if the MC is only ever having things happen to them, that can result in the same kind of unwanted railroading.
And no one wants an unwanted railroad!
So what I would recommend is having a look at your plot and where you are in it, and think about how the MC could knowingly or unknowingly drive it forward - and how they could respond to having an event happen to them. I think having a combination of these approaches may help it feel more organic and responsive, and hopefully you won't be put into that struggling situation.
Best of luck!