# What Happens Next?

*What Happens Next* is an improvised narrative based on audience suggestions. Updates on Wednesdays for six weeks, starting April 6th.

Voting and story discussion will take place on the [continuitydrift discord](https://discord.gg/u4HMFmr4)


## Tickets

Anyone can read the story, and vote on the suggestions by reacting to them in discord. To make suggestions or qualify for rewards, however, you need to be a ticket holder, similar to being a live audience member at an improv show.

To get your ticket, simply join the discord and make a suggestion. Your username will be added to the pinned list, first-come first-served.

## Schedule

| Date | Event |
| ----------- | ----------- |
| April 6th | Episode 0 |
| April 13th | Episode 1 |
| April 20th | Episode 2 |
| April 27th | Episode 3 |
| May 4th | Episode 4 |
| May 11th | Episode 5 |
| May 18th | Episode 6 |

## Suggestions and Voting

*What Happens Next?* is an experiment in improvisational writing, translating what I love about improv theater to an interactive online reading experience.

The first round of voting will be for one word suggestions that will be used for the title of the six-week "season", as well as the prompt around which the entire narrative will be based. If multiple words are highly voted on, or if there is tie, a combination might be used.

Episode one will begin with a short "monologue" based on the word, to draw out associations and possibilities for the story, similar to a technique used in long-form improv. Then I will use the suggestion as a prompt to begin writing a six chapter novella. Neither the plot, genre, characters, universe, or anything else will be determined beforehand, although my previous writing can be an indicator of the kind of writing I usually gravitate towards.

## What Happens Next?

Subsequent episodes, which will be published on the [Spindle website](https://www.spindle-asa.com/), will be determined by audience suggestions for *what happens next*?, made on a voting channel for that episode on the [continuitydrift discord](https://discord.gg/u4HMFmr4). Anyone can vote for a suggestion by reacting to the post. You can vote for as many suggestions as you want, but please don't react more than once for each suggestion.

Voting will open immediately after the episode is published on Wedsnesday evening, and will be closed the following Saturday, midnight CST. The sooner a suggestion is made, however, the longer people will have to vote for it, so there is a benefit of posting early.

## Final Vote

At the end of the six-week season, there will be a meta-vote by the audience to determine the future of the project. The options will be

- *A*: Continue roughly the same game with the same author.
- *B*: Continue roughly the same game with a different author.
- *C*: Start a different game with the same author.
- *D*: End the game entirely.

Whoever is running the game will always have the option to choose D.

I'd like the voting to be done with Spindle voting cards, available to purchase with Yarn from the Spindle website, but for audience members without an Algorand wallet, or who aren't interested in cryptocurrency, casting the final vote for Season One will be possible through Discord.

## Yarn Rewards

Every week I will make a roll on a [hex flower table](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/282472/Hex-Flower-Templateaffiliate_id=774882), moving the game marker to the hex indicated by a 2d6 dice roll. Whoever owns the corresponding ticket will receive 1,000 Yarn as a reward.

If the audience member doesn't have or want to create an Algorand wallet and opt in to the Yarn ASA, alternate rewards might be possible.

In addition, if your suggestion wins in audience voting, you will also receive an additional 1,000 Yarn, sent to the Algo address you provide. 1,000 Yarn is currently worth a little more than 1 USD, but we hope that the price will increase as Spindle grows.

## Motivations and Inspirations

*What Happens Next* is part of Spindle's experimentation with literary RPGs and online writing games, and is meant to increase transactions and use cases for Yarn, our native token. While providing entertaining content for the website, I also hope to give other creators ideas for how to use online communities and crypto currencies to tell interactive stories.

This project also stems from conversations and observations about deficiencies in traditional modes of publishing. Fiction tends to be written in isolation, for an abstract "reader" expected to consume a product in which they have no direct involvement or investment. Even if successful, short stories or novels often take years to reach the market, and the vast majority of writing never sees the light of day.

Taking inspiration from improvisational theater and role playing games, where the story tellers engagement with their audience is immediate and participatory, *What Happens Next* will hopefully create a satisfying reading experience where a small group of people can enjoy a narrative targeted and tailored to them, specifically. The limit of 19 tickets and 6 weeks is meant to create an intimate and meaningful performance where everyone in the audience is heard and appreciated.

## How Will you Make Money?

For Season One, I won't. Depending on how many people opt-in to the rewards, running the game will initially cost me money. It might, however, indirectly draw attention to Spindle's website and Yarn token, which I am invested in.

In the future, tickets might be sold, or participation tied to the ownership of an NFT. Season One ticket holders, however, will always have their seats available at the current price, which is free.

There will be an option to tip me, or future writers, and you can also reward us by posting about the project on social media, or giving us a review.

## Safety and Expectations

As with any role playing or improvised experience, the safety and comfort of the audience is paramount, and if any suggestions or content is deemed inappropriate by me or an audience member it will be removed.

None of the writing I will produce will contain explicit violence or sexual content. Racism, sexism, homophobia, etc., will always be unacceptable. My DMs will be open if you feel that I or an audience member have crossed a line.

I expect the episodes to be rough, but with the inimitable energy and excitement of an improvised, interactive performance, where no one knows *what happens next*!