Cenonn's How to Holofic and Writing in General

Into a fantasy world

Kings, queens, dragons, dwarves, horses, fortresses, magic, and swords. We're talking about Fantasy, ladies and gentlemen and whatever in between. But first, what is Fantasy?

Fantasy is a genre of literature that features magical and supernatural elements that do not exist in the real world. For example, dragons, elves, and magic don't exist in real life (or if they do, they are pretty good at hiding themselves.) Most of the time, fantasies are entirely imaginary universes with their own physical laws and logic and have populations of imaginary races and creatures.

That's right. If you've noticed, there are many Holofics which are in the fantasy genre. Fanfictions like From Another World (by me), Kusamonogatari (by: Rushiaboinboin), Houshou Hearts: Ocean Brave (by: drunk_lost_calliP), and Everywhere at the End of Hololive [HoloAlt Fanfiction] (by: Maki_kurosaki). All of them had their own worlds filled with fantasy creatures and stuff.

Of course, you could be inspired by them and decide to place your Holofic into a fantasy world. If you need help in building the fantasy world, then I'll gladly help ya out.

First thing you should take note of is what kind of world is it? Is it an alternate Earth but there are major differences like the existence of races and magic? Is it a totally different planet that had two moons in its skies? Is it another dimension where physics is totally wacky? Decide on what kind of world you should have before anything else.

Next is asking the question "Who are the sentient races in my world?" Since you are writing a Holofic, you will definitely place beastmen (animal-eared people), demons, and onis. Try to find the differences in their culture and morals and then figure out where in your world you can find each and every race.

Once you're done with that, decide the government system of the part of the world you are focusing on. Is it a monarchy, democracy, dictatorship, or whatever? Deciding what kind of government is pretty important since they might be sources of conflict for your characters.

After that, focus on the other parts of the world. What kinds of government does each and every country you just came up with have? If your fanfiction takes place in a country called Alfesia, what is Alfesia's relationship with the other countries? Is Alfesia's culture popular or is it unique? You have to create differences in each country to give your world more depth as a fantasy world.

You then tackle the fantasy world's history. Are there any relevant events like wars, tragedies, and stuff? Will those events somehow affect the story? For example, there could be a time when a demon king tried to conquer the world and so, demons like Choco Yuzuki have a bad reputation.

And then you decide the level of the world's technology. Compared to this boring real world, what is their technology? Is it on par with the Medieval Ages? Or is it a mix of science and magic? Also, there should be technological differences between countries. One country could be more magically or scientifically advanced than the other in order to create a sense of realism for your fantasy world.

Once you get that out of the way, you will decide the standard of living for an average person. Does an average person own a house or do they all live under a feudal lord's rule? Also, try to figure out how educated an average person is. Can everyone read and do basic math? Or do only nobles and rich people have the privilege of education?

Of course, we have to talk about magic. Most fantasies have magic. Is magic common? Is it accepted? Can anyone do magic or only certain people can? Does magic have a huge impact on the culture of a country? Is it a skill or a special trait? Answer these questions in order to get a grasp of how magic is treated in your world.

Oh yeah. Don't forget about religion too. Are there multiple religions in your world? Do countries have their own state religion? Who are included in your pantheon of gods? What values and morals does a religion preach? Do religious figures have political power?

And finally, you decide on the class situation. Are there biases towards one race over another? Is being a man much more favorable than being a woman? Are there social hierarchies in these countries? Who is at the top and who is at the bottom?

Once you get those down, your fantasy world is almost ready.

Oh yeah... Let's talk about magic once more.

Ya see... A good fantasy world has a good system of magic. The human mind would like it if they can understand something. That's why you should have a consistent system of magic in your world. You can't just make your magic be a deus ex machina for whatever trouble you can have.

Remember Sanderson's First Law, "an author's ability to solve conflict with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic."

First, know what your magic can't do. Is there magic that can return one from the dead? Is there magic that can turn back time? Is there magic that can grant a character immortality? Decide what your magic can and can't do so that you won't pull a deus ex machina out of nowhere.

Second, decide if it's a hard magic system or a soft magic system. What are those words?

Hard magic systems have defined rules and regulations. It has a clear set of boundaries in them. For example, the law of equivalent exchange in the anime called Full Metal Alchemist. It clearly defined what an alchemist can and cannot do. Generally, these rules can't be broken and the readers know these rules.

Soft magic systems, on the other hand, don't have rules. It is completely wild and undefined. A reader can't understand the origin of a magic and how it worked. After all, rules can't be broken if you never made one.

After that, decide who can use magic. Can only a chosen few use magic since they are special like being blessed by gods or something? Or is magic a skill that anyone can train?

A magic system would greatly help in making your fanfiction interesting so you have to be very careful with it. For example, your readers could talk about other solutions to a problem with their knowledge on your magic system. It would also raise the stakes in a fight if the magic system is well-defined.

Now then... I talked about building a fantasy world and a bit about magic systems. You don't really have to plan everything in detail. This is just a guide. Just make sure that you built your world enough that you can answer any questions your readers would ask.

But be warned... Don't go too wild in your world building that you'll forget about writing your book. I'll try to talk about writing Sci-Fi in the next chapter! Thanks for sticking with me!