I'm currently writing a story which started out as a short story but kept growing, until I discovered it would work well as a visual novel. I have all of the possible endings in mind, but for now I'm focusing on what I think of as the "main" path - the True Ending. That means it's just a single story so far, though.
I'm having trouble visualizing where player choices could occur and affect the story. So my question is, how do I go about adding choices to make it a branching narrative, so that I can use the other endings I came up with? I don't think just shoehorning choices into the story as an afterthought is fair to the story or the readers/players. And what kind of choices could there be? I suppose that depends on my particular story, so I understand if that can't be answered.
Answer
It's hard to answer this question without being overly broad.
Length and Structure
The blogger These Heterogenous Tasks has been writing his analysis on specific CYOA books. I wrote a summary of his article Standard Patterns in Choice Based Games.
Certain branching structures lend themselves to different end-goals and game styles. Gauntlet stories have 1 true ending with many sudden deaths. Branch and Bottleneck offer parallel paths that merge back into the main plot. Quest stories allow the larger narrative to be non-linear by requiring a series of smaller quests to be completed individually, in any order.
Visual novels can be any length, but a major factor in how the branching narrative is structured is whether or not someone is expected to re-read it to experience the different endings, or if their ending is the one true ending for them.
A long story is not going to be re-read, every ending needs to be narratively satisfying. Unless you are writing a sudden death gauntlet and the reader can back up from failure to try a choice again, they will be stuck with the choices they've made all the way to the end. They may not care, or remember, arbitrary choices they made early on, especially if you've withheld information about the consequences.
Conversely, the shorter the story the more often it can be re-read. Quests and Dating Sims can be thought of as many short stories contained within a frame story. The concept of reading several in a row is built in, and individual choices will feel less life-and-death important.
Expanding your existing story
Under the hood every branching narrative is unique. There are conventions, and a story might set up its own consistent "rules", but the forking and merging are ultimately created in situ to fit the specific story. There will be very obvious life-choices, but also trap doors that send you to another part of the story, and locks that will need a key before they can be opened. Your options will depend on the software you are using, the story you are telling, and your skill as an author.
Here are some ideas:
Create parallel subplots as in a Branch and Bottleneck structure.
Each "scene" is a puzzle that needs to be "solved"
spread a Quest narrative across an "open map" the reader needs to explore
Deconstruct your novel into the important narrative beats and design major branches only around these moments. Other choices will be almost decorative, to effect the atmosphere and tone.
Decide the narrative POV. Are readers roleplaying via a game avatar (dating sim)? Exploring as themselves (You awake with amnesia…)? Or are they guiding a third-person protagonist?
If your story has a moral theme with only one "true" ending, who is being punished for getting it wrong, the protagonist or the reader?
Are you providing the reader with everything they need to make the right decisions, or is there an element of randomness and chance? If they make a wrong decision would they know it, and can they get back on the right track?
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