I just got into this two weeks ago and fell in love with this creative medium.
It took an afternoon to learn the coding, it’s really straight forward with the example, and the usage wiki made it beyond easy.
I’m half-way through my first project and it doesn’t suck. Noob first-offs always suck but as a writer, the coding is so easy to pick up, making a mess isn’t an issue, I can focus on the story and structure.
I’m having a fantastic time with it and I’m grateful to those whose work went into developing this medium into what it is - making writing enjoyable.
I’m in the same boat as you are. Long time reader and I recently started writing my own story as well. Best of luck to you! Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. This community will help you out if you need it.
I just have the climax files to complete, using the acquired choices to if/else the player through how things go down at the climax from all of their prior choices.