Lena Dunham is writing an interactive novel

‘Verified Strangers’ follows Ally, a frustrated singleton who navigates the dating scene in Los Angeles, and the first chapter was posted to Vogue.com on Monday (23.03.20).

In an Instagram post announcing the project, Lena said: “I know it can get a little stir-crazy, and I think the best way to keep community is through shared storytelling.”

Readers will have a say in how the novel evolves through polls which will be posted to Vogue’s Instagram every Tuesday and Friday, with the winning options making it to the final version.

Lena told Vogue.com: “A romance novel is the pulpiest and most distracting fun you can have and a medium I’ve long wanted to work in (probably since I stole ‘Forever’ by Judy Blume out of my babysitter’s backpack; it’s not Danielle Steele, but it was the sexiest thing I’d ever read).

“So let’s create one together. I’ll write, but you’ll be able to vote and your vote counts. Together let’s try and urge Ally toward the right lover - and connect to each other in the process.”

And in the caption of her Instagram post, the ‘Girls’ creator said she wants to “lift” people’s “spirits” with the project whilst they too are being forced to stay at home in order to limit the spread of coronavirus.

She wrote: “Right now, we should all be using our unique skills and passions to make this period of time feel a little less lonely. My humble dream is to lift your spirits while we're #socialdistancing (heck, I want to lift my own) and storytelling is the tool I know how to use. So I'm writing an interactive serialized romance novel for @voguemagazine.

“It’s a fictionalized modern love story called #VerifiedStrangers - A chapter a day, Monday through Friday, for as long as it takes... and you can vote via poll which direction it should go next! First chapter is up now! Read along and let me know which way you want it to go (polls are up on Vogue’s IG stories every Tuesday and Friday) and you will ultimately decide who (if anyone!) our protagonist, Ally, ends up with.

“I hope you are all safe and sound. Sending love and hopefully some happy entertainment. The link to read along is in my bio! Oh - and ask me questions with the hashtag #VerifiedStrangersOnVogue and I’ll answer some on IG stories and in comments too! Will you tell me what moments made you laugh, cringe or relate? Does Ally remind you of yourself? (sic)”