⚠️ This approach largely failed. People want a “main quest” and to be able to do “side quests” when they want. In other words, they need linear direction and organization to feel grounded. They want the freedom to wander, but the safety of the structure and community.
I’m trying something new this time around as I write the new Beginner
Boost content now that I have zet to help with my writing. I’m writing
one zettel at a time and allowing each of them to naturally branch out
into whatever concurrent paths the reader could pursue at that point.
This has resolved a conflict I have had in the past related to forcing a
linear curriculum. I call it “choose your own adventure” because the
reader can decide which path and when. The entire writing process
follows a graph model creating some concern that I might end up not even
knowing what I have in the end. But I’m confident I can tie everything
together with a “Start Here” zettel and just do that. Later I can search
the entire collection of zettels for related material and link as
appropriate. Eventually, I could even automate the creation of the
different graphs just by tracing the links graphically. That would
really be amazing. The titles are small enough that they could even be
included in such an expandable data visualization.
The best part about all this is that I finally feel like I have the alternative to books that does not have all the failures that hyperlinking has proved to create in the past. While the zettels are interlinked, breaking links does not orphan content in the way that happens with a web site because the zettel is still a very valid part of the overall collection. The only risk is flat out deleting zettels, but the entire method allows for keeping and renaming zettels rather than deleting them thereby maintaining any link integrity, something I was worried about before when I started interlinking zettels.
Another significant advantage that I’m already experiencing myself as a reader is the incredible focus placed on “what’s the next step?” It is so easy to get lost in the maze of possible paths and even a linear outline of all the content they need to cover. There’s something about a short zettel with only the exact next steps possible that simplifies things in a way that conveys possibility over frustration. “I just need to do this one next thing. I don’t need to worry about the rest for now.” But with the added benefit of giving them a choice along the way fostering the feeling of control. It’s basically all the best parts of skills trees from video games.