Robin Laws’s latest See Page XX column, Fear of Structure: The Diagnosis, argues that:

…to emulate certain fictional genres in a satisfying way, the GM needs to be able to create a sense of structure, with an opening that leads to a series of interconnected scenes, and finally to a climax that wraps up the various plot threads dangled in the previous action.

And as Robin points out, that can sound like a bad thing, especially to players who’ve “been burned by dictatorial so-called storytelling GMs whose heavy-handed, anti-collaborative techniques discredit all narrative-based play.” (That’d be this guy.)

His focus is on mystery adventures, but his advice — to consider linear scenarios a viable (and fun) option — can be applied to many types of scenario, whether you’re writing them for WoAdWriMo or for your home game. He makes too many good points to summarize here, and the column is well worth a read.