September 19, 2025

Create your own interactive story and share it in just 7 minutes

By Giannis Georgiou · 3 minute read

Step-by-step instructions to go from scratch to your playable, shareable story with Arcweave

Ever wanted to create your own interactive story but didn't know where to start? In this quick tutorial, you'll build your first branching story in just 7 minutes, and you'll learn how to expand it, test it, and share it with the world.

Step 1: Create a new project

When you first open Arcweave, you’ll see The Castle, the built-in example project. Don’t worry about it for now; you’ll have plenty of time to explore it later.

Click on the top left orange icon, to exit to your projects list.

Once there, click on the +New Project button, at the top left.

The templates modal will open. Select Blank Project.

Your new project will open.

Step 2: Add your first element

The biggest area of your screen is now occupied by your first board. Double-click anywhere to create your first element.

Arcweave's project environment: an empty element in a board. Elements look like text boxes, with title and content fields.

Elements are the building blocks of your story, each of them carrying a small fragment of narrative.

Double click in the element's body to write your opening scene:

As you walk towards the entrance of the woods, an old man stops you. "You can't go in there!" he says. "Monsters await for careless travellers!"

Now press TAB to edit the element's title: name the element Warning.

Step 3: Create your first player choice

From your element's edges, drag to create a connection. Drop it onto an empty board area and choose Create Element here, to create Element 2.

Arcweave's environment: dragging a new connection from an element opens a context menu; the menu's first option is to create a new element at the mouse's position.

Arcweave's environment: our first element, now connected with a new empty element, which is currently selected.

By joining elements with connections, you create your story flow, allowing the player to make choices and progress through your game.

Element 2 is already selected. Press ENTER to edit its content:

You thank the man for the warning and turn around. In a few minutes, you're back to the safety of your home.

Press TAB and add a title: Go home.

In the same fashion, create a third element that connects from Element 1 and type its content:

You give the man a polite nod and continue into the woods.

Add a title: Ignore warning. Your board now should look like the following image.

Arcweave interface showing a board with three elements, where the first one branches into the other two, as described in the blogpost.

If the current element is still selected, press CTRL + ALT + RIGHT ARROW, to create your next element and automatically connect it.

Arcweave's interface: a new, empty element connected with the previous one, as described in the blogpost.

Arcweave has a list of keyboard shortcuts that help you write with minimum switching between mouse and keyboard.

Press ENTER to immediately start typing its content:

How the story continues is up to you. As Keith Johnstone said:

There are people who prefer to say 'yes' and there are people who prefer to say 'no'. Those who say 'yes' are rewarded by the adventures they have. Those who say 'no' are rewarded by the safety they attain.

Click the Blockquote icon in the formatting menu, to turn the quote into a blockquote paragraph.

Arcweave's interface: we have turned the last element's content into a blockquote, using the formatting menu.

Add a title: Finale.

Finally, drag a connection from the "Go home" element and drop it into the "Finale" one. Your story is finished!

Arcweave's interface showing the four elements of our story. The Warning offers the choice to Go home or Ignore the warning. Then, both these two join again at the Finale.

Step 4: Test your story

Right-click the "Warning" element and select Play Mode > Set Play Mode start.

Arcweave interface: the element context menu showing the option to "Set Play Mode start."

A star will appear next to the element's title.

Now, click on the PLAY icon on the top menu, to start the Play Mode.

Arcweave's project interface: two arrows point at the little star by the starting element's title and the Play icon on the top menu.

Arcweave's Play Mode opens in a new browser tab. Click on the option buttons, to proceed from element to element and play your story.

Arcweave's Play Mode interface, rendering the first element's text. The title "Warning" is not rendered. The titles of the next elements create the option buttons "Go home" and "Ignore warning."

To restart the playthrough, click the Restart icon on the top menu.

Arcweave's Play Mode with an arrow pointing at the Restart button.

Step 5: Rename your story

Back to your board, click at the left side of the top menu, where it says Untitled and give your story an awesome title!

Arcweave's project interface: an arrow points at the Rename project field.

Press the Share button on the top menu. In the modal that opens, select "can play only" from the dropdown next to the option "Anyone with the link."

Then, click on Copy link and send the link to your players!

Congratulations! You've now mastered the bare minimum required to create your own interactive story and share it with the world!

Next steps

BEGINNER – Build on what you learned: Expand your first project by adding more elements, choices, and outcomes. Create a rich interactive experience step by step.
INTERMEDIATE – Go audiovisual: Add images, audio, and video in Arcweave to bring your story to life and immerse your players.
ADVANCED - Level up: Master Arcweave basics: a step-by-step tutorial on the ultimate interactive storytelling tool that will teach you features and tactics.
CHAMPION – Become an expert: Explore every feature with Arcweave's video tutorials and documentation. You'll be creating professional, complex interactive stories in no time.

Watch our video tutorials

You'll find yourself creating complex interactive stories using all of Arcweave's features in no time!