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🚀 Your First Story in 15 Minutes

Your first story is the opening story of a new topic, written, given one choice and published in a single sitting. This page will guide you through each step, from an empty Studio to a story readers can open, in about 15 minutes. It is written for the Studio as it is today, which is open to the site owner only for now.

Summary
  • About 2 minutes: sign in and create a topic.
  • About 8 minutes: write the opening story and its hook.
  • About 2 minutes: add an image with alt text.
  • About 2 minutes: plan the next story as a choice.
  • About 1 minute: publish, then wait for the site update.

Creating the topic​

  • Sign in to the Studio with Pocket ID. See Signing in and the Dashboard.
  • Open "Topics" and press "New topic".
  • Type a "Topic name", such as "Sustainable Cities", and press "Create topic".

The Studio takes you straight to the topic's opening story. The topic is a thread unless you change "Topic type". See Topics.

Writing the opening story​

  • Type the title in "Story title". Keep it short and specific.
  • Write the hook: one line that makes someone want to read on. If you leave it empty, it is taken from the start of the story.
  • Write the body in the writing area. Type "/" for a menu of blocks, such as headings and images.
  • Press "Create story", or Ctrl+S, to save it for the first time.

Aim for a story readers can finish in a few minutes. The bar under the writing area shows your word count and reading time. See The editor.

Adding an image​

  • Find "Image" in the settings panel.
  • Click or drag your own image in, or press "Search free images" to pick one. See Images.
  • Fill in "Alt text": describe what the image shows.

Planning what comes next​

  • Find "What comes next" in the settings panel.
  • Press "Plan a new story", type a "Title of the story to plan" and a "Short reason to read it".

The planned story becomes the main path. Readers see it as a "Coming soon" card until you write and publish it, so they know where the topic is heading. See Threads and choices.

Publishing​

  • Choose "Published" under "Publishing" in the settings panel.
  • Press "Save". The note under the buttons says "Saved changes reach the public site at the next site update."
  • Wait for the update. The Dashboard's "Next site update" counts down, 5 minutes by default, then shows "Up to date".

Simply open the topic on the public site to see your story. Publishing the opening story is what puts the topic live. See Drafts and publishing.

✨ Congratulations, your first story is live ✨

Where next​

  • Write the planned story: open it in "Story structure", press "Open story" and choose "Draft" to start writing.
  • Add a side path: give the opening story a second choice. See Designing good threads.
  • Check before you publish more: use the pre-publish checklist.