We need to remember, first of all, that story­telling is a partnership, an act of co-creation, not a matter of the author leading the audience by the nose. But this raises questions of control—as in, who controls the story, the author or the audience? After 150 years of mass media, we find it all too easy to assume that by taking any posture other than utter pas­sivity, the audience is going to usurp the role of the author: It’s choose-your-own-adventure or nothing. But that’s not ac­tually what most audiences want.

People want a story they can immerse themselves in—an emotionally gripping narrative they can in some way inhabit. They’re asking to be a passenger, not an onlooker. So as an author, how do you make room for them without giving them the wheel? That’s the question.