How To Write Vtuber Lore, Intro:

What are the basics for story writing? What makes a story great? And finally, how to write great Vtuber lore or even a creative backstory in general? All of these questions will be answered in this article! But before we dive into the biggest topic of lore-crafting, let’s build up the story before we reach the finale.

The Basics of Story-writing:

A forest has its own components that define it as a “forest”. So, if you want to “build” a forest then you will need trees, however, trees alone don’t make a forest. But, if you also add animals, flowers, set-up the weather, and maybe even add a river or lake well then that’s what makes it a forest! 

Stories, just like the imaginary forest I’ve described, also have their own foundation that gives them life.

The basics of a story are:

• Setting: the place/world/area where the story happens.
• Theme: the theme of the story. -Is it a pirate-themed story? Fantasy or sci-fi? (etc…).
• Plot: the main plot the story revolves around. Is it a dark story? A light-hearted or humorous story? What is the premise of the story?
• Intro: the opening of the story which usually gives the introduction to the main character/world/location and introduces the theme of the story along the way.
• Protagonist: the main character of the story. The very perspective of the main character from which the story is told. The protagonist is usually the “hero” of the story. However, the protagonist can in fact be the “bad” guy in the story. It depends on the view from which the story is written.
• Antagonist: the main “villain” character of the story. This character is against the protagonist in every way.
• Supporting characters: minor characters in the story that support the main plot or the world/protagonist or even the antagonist. Supporting characters are meant to make the story more interesting by giving it life, giving a meaning to the world besides being the background for the plot.
• Ending: the closing of the story which usually ends the tale of the protagonist and solves the problem of the story (or even makes it worse).

What Makes a Story Great?

A masterful artwork is the result of years of an artist’s efforts. It could be a painting or even a photographer taking a photo. However, any artwork is not a masterpiece without the time needed to gain the skill of a master in the craft. A masterpiece by definition is “a work done with extraordinary skill, especially: a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement.” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/masterpiece).

A masterpiece is not easy to achieve, but it’s also not impossible. Story crafting is the art, and you as the Vtuber/Writer/Lore Master are the artist. Ok, so I might be embellishing here a little bit… but a great story starts with the artist’s motivation and will take many tries to make it great. 

A great story puts the reader into the shoes of the protagonist and gives the reader an understanding and an immersive journey as the protagonist grows and evolves. But, to achieve that effect, there are some important tips to keep in mind.

Tip for a Great Story:

• Cliche: a cliche is a common unoriginal idea put in the story. For example, the knight has set on a journey to save the princess from the evil wizard. 

Cliches are common, unoriginal, yet somehow entertaining if done right. Never be afraid to use a cliche for your story but do keep in mind that to make it interesting, it is recommended to think about an original way to implant the cliche. 

Let’s take the brief example above and expand upon it! 

Let’s say that the knight is the protagonist and he is a young honorable knight who had never failed a mission before.

The wizard is the antagonist and is in need of gold so he kidnaps the princess in the hope that the king would give in to his threats and give him gold for the princess.

The princess is not a warrior but she is not a damsel in distress either. As she is kept in the wizard’s tower, she observes the area to get a better understanding of the evil wizard’s plan.

• Backstory: a backstory gives the reason why a certain character is acting in a certain way and it also gives a motivation for their actions.

A backstory is a key part of making a story great due to the impact it can leave on the reader for a better understanding of the character. Usually serious, deep, and unfortunate backstories are what make the reader feel something for the character. Whether that’s love, hate, confusion, or whatever you hope to portray. 

A well-written backstory is something you could connect to the character and forge their fears and flaws as well as their strengths. It is the key to a locked door of potential and growth for the character. Giving the character their identity.

Key Point for Making Character/Vtuber Backstory

• Motivation: a motivation is what drives a certain character to act in their ways. A backstory is a great way to show the forging of that motivation.
• Personality: for a great story, every character should have at least three points to their personality. A driving point (their main personality), a supporting point, and a personality flaw. Whether they are a rich scammy merchant who is greedy for money, the charming noble knight who wants to help the weak, or even just a melancholic man who only wants to be left alone. The diversion of personalities within each as well as every different character makes the story more fun and interesting to read.
• Identity: giving meaning not only to their actions but also to events and minor characters around them. The character’s Identity is what they show to the world.  
• Memorable characters: make your characters memorable by their actions, show and don’t tell. A memorable character is a character that we grow to love or hate and we remember them because of what they do and how they build their own legend.
• Worldbuilding: this is one of the most important parts of a great story and a great character. It is important to feel believable so the existence of the world around the character is not for the purpose of simply being the background for all of the plot. The world should feel like a character in its own right and have a greater meaning that helps drive the plot forward.
• Flaws: this is one of my favorite parts. Flaws make a character “human”. A perfect character that is powerful and can do anything without a problem can be extremely boring. However, a powerful character who has a flaw or two can instantly become an interesting character. Flaws make a character more relatable to the reader, they give a sense of emotion and connection due to the character’s struggles.

As a Vtuber you can flaunt your flaws to connect with your fans in a unique way! A flaw can be the character’s personality, fears, inability to control their powers, a weakness for sweets, or anything the character can not control. An extreme example would be being manipulated to do evil acts despite the character being a gentle and kind soul.

“One of my characters was once a human who was forced to become a demon and kill the young prince. The character is not a bad person and in fact, he was the personal guard to the prince as well. They were like brothers, growing up together. But he was manipulated to murder the prince and ever since that day, he is being called a Traitor to the kingdom and now he is in hiding, questioning his own morality and actions. Maybe he wasn’t manipulated to kill? Perhaps it was from his own free will? The character has strong abilities, but his mind is broken and his reputation is forever destroyed. Yet, what path would he take? What path is even available to him?”

– Void, the Librarian, talking to his class of young writers

How To Create Great Vtuber Lore?

Now that you understand the basics and the tips for great story writing – you will learn how to forge fantastic Vtuber lore and your very own backstory step by step.

Step 1:

Define your main character, you as a Vtuber, the protagonist of the story.

• Concept: before even creating the world itself, you should think about the concept of your Vtuber. Who are they? What do they stand for, and why? What are their goals and aspirations? What does your character like and dislike? Think about their design and appearance, and of course a name too. A flawed character is a good character and creating a perfectly flawed character would take a lot of time, so be patient if it’s too hard to think about it at the moment. And if you need help with this then fear not, Void is here to help and will soon do a Library Lesson for Consepting and Desine to help you along if you have not gotten past this point already.

• Backstory: utilize what you’ve learned here in this Library Lesson about creating a great story. Think about what would be fitting for your Vtuber Backstory. How could elements of your design be related to your backstory? The backstory is the very origin of your character and as stated earlier, it’s what defines the character. Go back to the character’s Birth! How did they come to be? Who do they know from their life prior to this point in time? What events led to them acting or looking a certain way?

• The World: after creating your Vtuber and their backstory, continue with creating the world around them. The place where the character was growing up and their friends and family. Was it cozy and full of joy? Or was it deep at the bottom of the sea? Remember, the world around them shapes the character. You can write about a worldly event that happened in the past like a war between two kingdoms and how it affected the citizens of the two kingdoms. Or a cataclysmic natural disaster that gave shape to something never seen before. Or even a simple life and a love for baking passed down from generation to generation.

• Details: After forging your Vtuber and their world, you can go back and refine your ideas, polishing up concepts and filling in plot holes. Don’t be afraid to add some extra details to make the world and the character more interesting. Second drafts are where the magic happens after all!

Step 2:

Making the Lore bite-sized! Now that you have a heafty load of Lore on your hands, you need to find a good way to deliver it to your fan base! We recommend taking this slow, as to integrate your fans and nurture a following. Dropping the who mess onto some unexpecting sod can be a quick way to get a TLDR comment and lose a follower…

Telling your viewers who you are and speaking about your goals and what you are hoping to achieve in general, that’s completely fine, it doesn’t hurt the lore at all. 

However, telling everyone that you are looking for an evil pirate so you can kill him for stealing something precious from you – does hurt the lore. That ruins the mystery and fun behind your lore. People want to go on this journey with you, so take your time!

• Foreshadowing: Foreshadowing your lore is slower but more interesting. Foreshadowing keeps your viewers more entertained and intrigued by your Vtuber’s lore because they feel more engaged with it, they theorize who you truly are, what your world is like, and who is the antagonist of your story (if there is one). That way your viewers can sea the lore how they think it is without being salty about it. You can also mention the names of important characters in your world without explaining their significance to the story.
• Exposition: one of the most common ways to reveal the lore is by exposing it to the world. Telling your viewers who you are, what are your goals, and what happened in the world. This matter is very subjective in my opinion, but excessive exposition can ruin the story and lore of your Vtuber. So try to avoid doing too much.
• Why not both(?): one of the things I like the most is combining both exposition and foreshadowing. You can explain your world bit by bit to your viewers and how it is like being a part of it and at the same time foreshadow that perhaps a catastrophe happened in the past or maybe something great will happen in the future.
• Posting Updates: make a routine out of dropping lore tidbits, a bit here and a bit there until you get them asking for more! Once you have your Vtuber Fans foaming at the mouth for more, then you can consider dropping a lot of your lore in one go. I recommend doing this in the form of a comic book! Need help making and printing a Vtuber Lore Comic Book? Then look no further than the team here at iiiSekai! We can help you crowdfund, create, and print the lot!
• Perfection: nothing is truly perfect. Even in a masterpiece, you can find flaws if you look closely enough. So if you are not happy with your lore then don’t be afraid to complicate it by adding in time traveling/parallel universes or any wild way you want. Just be sure to handle these revisions with care and in a way your fans will enjoy. Nobody expects you to create an entire world full of life within a day, that’s why you should take it easy and go slowly building it block by block. Because sometimes we change our minds about things, and as long as the important facts that you want to change are left unsaid, then you can freely change them to prevent plot holes.

Final Words:

Congratulations, you’ve made it to the end! I really hope that you’ve found this article helpful and entertaining in any way! I truly wish you the best of luck creating your own unique and creative story because of how truly great wrighting Vtuber story or lore can be – it depends on you and you alone! Before I set sail, let me tell you that great Vtuber lore is first and foremost a lore that you as the creator are pleased and happy with. I’m sure that with time, effort, creativity, and passion you will create a wonderful lore for your Vtuber. 

~Void out!