Every choice a player makes (aside from obviously incorrect ones) should be justified by you as an author in some way. Whether it’s an “ah, of course!” or even just a figurative pat on the back–letting them know they made a good choice is always a good thing. Don’t just do what the player wants to do, make them feel good for doing it!

Think of what ideas were going through their head, their reasoning and motivation for making that particular choice. Even if it’s just an “I did it for the lulz”, you can work with that and appease that sort of carefree motivation. Maybe your player wants to be the snarkiest asshole on the planet–your choices should reason that behavior out in a way that rings true with the protagonist of the story. Don’t underestimate how much the reader is able to adopt to the thinking of the narrator speaking inside her/his mind.

Readers yearn for the approval of the decisions they make.
After they’ve made their choice, mentioning a valid thought-process behind the decision is great. Even if it’s not the one the reader had, it will cause her/him to understand the motivation better. The reader then grows more in tune with the protagonist’s sort of thinking. This is a major source of immersion!

•Use the fish.
While most sane individuals would have gone for the obvious choice, I went for the aquatic animal instead. There was a method to my madness. I had found nonconventional attacks worked best against traditional-minded opponents. And no warrior was more traditional than a samurai.

Stroke their ego! Not every situation in your game may call for correct and incorrect choices to be made. In those situations where you have a variety of ways to solve a problem, make each one rewarding in it’s own way.

•I’ll let my silver tongue get me out of it.
A confident voice, quick wit, and a skillful tongue can get you many things in life—women, ryō, tax exemptions. But right now I’d settle for longevity. I had to make sure my four-foot partner was on the same page.
•I’ll let my steel katana get me out of it.
If I’ve learned anything from this world, it’s the power of sharpened steel by your side. A talented warrior cut his own path in life—be it for women, ryō, or fame. At least that’s the idea. I considered myself a skilled swordsman; so why was I alone, destitute, and habitually disrespected?
I cracked my neck and a smile at the thought. Maybe I haven’t learned anything after all.
•I’ll let my wooden sandals get me out of it.
My career has been one life-endangering job after another. The reason I’ve been able to stubbornly persist for as long as I have wasn’t due to my quick wit or sword technique. It was because I knew how to turn tail and run, to fly the coop and sprint like a bat out of hell. However you wanted to say it—I’m fast.

Readers will make mistakes. Go easy on them.
Whether you’re a CYOA author or a Dungeon Master, punishing your more…inattentive and young-minded players for their incorrect actions is near akin to a sadistic pleasure. Reel that pleasure in, or at least present it in a way that doesn’t make them feel too bad. Your players aren’t cut from the same cloth as those who died countless times in Sierra point-and-clicks from the 90s. (Players back then couldn’t give Sierra 1-star reviews, either!)

I nodded and sighed a breath of relief. Good to know the Kondo had her wits about her. The sun rises in the East, after all. I wasn’t going to say it was an excuse but—I was stressed out enough as it was. My mind kept going back towards last night, where Momoko needed a friend and I only gave her guilt.

Guilt enough to…we had to hurry. I picked up the pace.

As far as gameplay goes, picking choices is about the extent of your player’s involvement in a CYOA. This makes it more crucial than ever to make sure that their decisions are rewarded. There’s a feeling of achievement to be had after making a seemingly difficult choice, and it can be rewarded in a much more meaningful way than just a stat +1.