Cenonn's How to Holofic and Writing in General

Let's talk about ideas and story formation

Now then... You pulled through that introduction and decided to see what I can offer. Okay then. Let's do this!

Hololive fanfictions are a special kind of fanfiction. For starters, there is no known world. There is no "canon" setting or "canon" timeline or whatever thing (At least... Until now... HoloALT will soon change things).

That's right. Hololive fanfiction is almost like writing an original story except that the characters are already decided. You want to write an isekai story like Holo-Worlds (by Monochrome_Library)? Go ahead! You want to write a fantasy story like Kusamonogatari (by: Rushiaboinboin)? Why not?! You want to write a modern setting but with supernatural creatures like Holonatural Occurrences (by: Phanzuru)? Do so! You want to write about Vtubers and their daily lives in a modern setting like Manager-san is Trying to Stay Sane Today (by Vtuberislife)? Go wild!

That's the beauty of Hololive fanfics. You can go ahead and write whatever you want like in an original story but be assured that you'll have readers from the same fandom as in a fanfiction.

So... Now that's out of the way, you want to write your own Holofic. However, if you're the type who doesn't have any idea on what to write, then I can't help you.

I mean... You can always continue reading until you come across an idea that you like. For example, you could be very disappointed with how a fic had an interesting premise but failed horribly in execution. That's why you decided to do it yourself and create a story that you would like. I got nothing against that.

Or you can be like one of those guys who would go "This story/fanfic is so interesting! Can I write a fanfic of this?" (Although a fanfic of a fanfic is a bit bizarre, I won't say anything since I am currently writing one as well).

Now then. If you've got an idea on what to write, it's time to take good care of it and develop it.

First and foremost: Write it down. Whatever addition you would make, write it down. According to research, the brain forgets almost 50% of information in one hour. Within 24 hours, we forget 70% and within a week, we forget 90%.

Don't trust your brain. Write it down.

For starters, try to get the basics of your story down. These are the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution.

First is the characters. Try to determine who will be included in your fic and their impact on the story. Will removing them not change a thing in your plot? Then don't add them at all. You might be tempted to add as many characters as you can but it would be pretty pointless if the reader would forget almost everyone.

Next is the setting. This is the part where authors either groan or get excited. In other words, you start world building. It all depends on your style on how you build your world. Some of them plan everything before they start their stories while others build as they go. What matters is that you have enough information to start your story and actually be consistent with it.

It's a given that a story can't start without the plot. What's the point of having those characters and building a world if nothing would happen? The plot can be very grand like saving the world or even just simple like the daily lives of the Vtubers. Whatever you want to write, you should write it.

Some might argue that conflict is not necessary especially those who write Slice of Life. But I'll take my stand and say it is necessary. Conflict is important if you want to keep your readers interested. How the characters react to the conflict is pretty important especially for the magical thing known as "Character Development." It's also the reason why the plot is even moving in the first place.

Now then... A lot may argue that the resolution is not that important in the planning stage of your fic and I might agree with them. But it's better to have an idea on how to end your story. Will it be a happy ending where the MC gets what they want or will it be a tragic ending where the MC loses everything? Deciding the tone of your ending will greatly help in pacing your story and making sure you foreshadow things enough.

Those are the basic things you need to know in making a story and I'll be going into detail with each of them in the next few chapters.