Cenonn's How to Holofic and Writing in General

For what reasons? The plot of course!

The actors are ready and the stage is set. It's time for the script.

Believe me when I say that the plot is the most important. Even if you have mediocre characters and a plain setting, your fanfic can still be awesome with a good plot.

Think of it this way. The setting and the character is the car while the plot is the driver. You can have high-performance cars or weak ones. However, whatever the car can do will depend on the driver. Without a driver, the car is useless.

I've seen several fics with amazing settings and characters but with a boring plot. It was a chore to read through them and I ended up dropping a few. See? That's the power of the plot.

So what is a plot? According to a dictionary, a plot is "the main events of a play, novel, movie, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence."

You are trying to make a series of events that involves your characters and the setting. And yes... The series of events must connect with each other to be called a plot. What do I mean by that?

You can't go "A cat meows. The boy read a book. The girl laughed." That's not a plot. That's just a mishmash of random sentences.

A plot is like "A cat meows. The boy notices that it is hungry. He gave it food" where the next events are related to the previous ones.

Now then... What makes a good plot?

First and foremost, let's discuss the five elements of a plot. These are the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

The first one is the exposition which is the starting point of a plot. This is where the characters are introduced, the setting is established, and then we can see the conflict.

Lots of authors would fall into the pitfall of an info dump and end up creating tons of chapters just explaining their setting and stuff. However, it is never enjoyable to read paragraphs of information. Readers came for the action and not a lecture on how your magic system works. It is recommended that you keep the exposition short and then jump straight to the action while weaving background information as needed.

The second one is the rising action. This is the largest chunk of the fanfic. You will be creating multiple events that cause conflict and create tension as your fanfic goes to the climax.

Be very careful in your rising action because this will make or break your fanfic. Make sure that every next conflict is much more interesting than the last. Add enough foreshadowing to make sure your readers wouldn't get surprised by the sudden introduction of a plot twist. And don't be afraid to make the readers ask questions that can't be answered until the end. Questions are good since that's a sign that your readers are curious and interested in your plot.

The third one is the climax. The climax is pretty important despite being short since this is the point of the story where your MC will make an important decision.

A great climax is something that will make your readers keep on reading until the climax is over.

The fourth one is the falling action. This is the part where things are finally getting resolved. You should start answering the questions your readers would have and start tying up loose ends. You don't want to rush everything in the last chapter.

The last one is the resolution. This is the part where things end. All questions answered. All conflicts resolved. And the characters have a happy or sad ending.

Now that the five elements have been discussed, I'll talk about how to create a plot.

The first thing you have to do is have a skeleton. No no. I didn't mean a skeleton of bones. And before you do anything, the excuse "I got this skeleton from the cemetery because a guide said so" won't work in the court.

I'm talking about a plot skeleton or better yet, a plot outline. Decide the basic things first. Is there something your character wants? Is there an event that would happen? When planning an outline, you have to be specific and vague. Be specific enough that you know what to write but vague enough that you won't limit your creativity.

Once you get the skeleton, it's time to flesh it out. You will start to place scenes in your plot. These scenes are pretty important since they are what the readers will focus on. Spend time to be consistent with the little details.

Avoid writing filler scenes. I know you might want to reach a certain word count but it's better to have a short but awesome story than a long and boring one. Always make sure that each scene would push the story to the resolution.

And once you push the story enough, you'll write about the resolution. Like I said, you have to make sure to tie up all loose ends. You can also show how much your character changed from the start of the story.

Make sure your story ends naturally. Once you reach the climax, don't drag your fanfic out. Remember: a short but awesome story is way better than a long and boring one. A reader will always remember a story's ending. That's why you have to make sure it's a good one.

Last and not the least, make sure that the characters resolve the conflicts on their own. The readers stayed for the conflict and they want it to be resolved in a satisfying way. You don't want to disappoint them by pulling a deus ex machina.

Now then... You might go to me and say "Cenonn, you dumb fool. I'm not writing a book that can be told in one go! I'm making a fanfic that has different conflicts and stuff!"

Here's the thing... What I just taught you is also applicable for fanfics that are posted on the net.

Ya see... Fanfics are long because they aren't just limited to one conflict. Even Japanese light novels have a new conflict whenever one is solved. What I taught you is applicable for arc formation for episodic plots.

What is an arc? An arc is an extended or continuing storyline in media especially for episodic ones. For example, my fanfic, From Another World, has arcs.

Arcs can have their own stories. For example, in the Spade Echo Arc of my fanfic, the main focus is protecting a prized gem against a thief. Once that was resolved, a new arc called Serial Murderer Arc happened where my MC had to figure out the identity of a serial killer before a bloody war would happen.

What I taught you is also applicable for creating an arc. That means the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution are still present in each and every arc. Having a plot skeleton and the other tips are essential in creating arcs.

Whether you're just having one huge story or having multiple arcs, plots are pretty important for a story. The plot is the thing you have to pay the most attention to whenever you're writing a fanfic.

Now I'm going to talk about the types of plot in the next chapter and after that, I'll talk about having predictable ones.