History SoYouWantTo / WriteAnUrbanFantasy

* The [[TwoLinesNoWaiting sidestory]] in John [=DeChancie's=] Castle Perilous novel ''Castle Murders'' has King Incarnadine visiting an Aspect based on {{Noir}}, complete with demon gangsters and transparent [[CaptainErsatz Captain Ersatzes]] of 1920-30s celebrities.

* Firstly, you'll want some {{Fantasy}}. MagicAndPowers is a good place to start, and you should also check out OurMonstersAreDifferent. The term "Fantasy" is so broad that you might want to concentrate on what you're ''not'' including as much as what you are. Keep in mind that even in BuffyTheVampireSlayer, one of the most influential works of this genre, they didn't have {{leprechaun}}s. Do you really want to do a FantasyKitchenSink? If that sounds like too many balls to keep in the air, cut down on the magic. Alternatively, a good approach might be to build up how [[MagicAIsMagicA The Rules]] work one step at a time. So your main character is a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampire]]? Okay! So is this series vampire-specific or are there also, say, [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghosts]]?

* Supernatural plot elements are often used as a [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic metaphor for something more mundane]]. The plot of the original {{Frankenstein}} novel can be seen as a metaphor for childbirth - isn't the idea of creating something evil a terrifying prospect? BuffyTheVampireSlayer was originally based upon the idea that HighSchool is hellish, by filling Sunnydale High with ''actual'' demons that themselves often represented fears such as peer pressure and relationships. Be creative, this is a very flexible way of enriching your story. But don't make it too {{Anvilicious}}, and keep in mind that GenreSavvy readers will recognize what you're doing.

* ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer''

* Firstly, you'll want some {{Fantasy}}. MagicAndPowers is a good place to start, and you should also check out OurMonstersAreDifferent. The term "Fantasy" is so broad that you might want to concentrate on what you're ''not'' including as much as what you are. Keep in mind that even in BuffyTheVampireSlayer, one of the most influential works of this genre, they didn't have {{leprechaun}}s. Do you really want to do a FantasyKitchenSink? If that sounds like too many balls to keep in the air, cut down on the magic. Alternatively, a good approach might be to build up how [[{{MagicAIsMagicA}} The Rules]] work one step at a time. So your main character is a [[{{OurVampiresAreDifferent}} Vampire]]? Okay! So is this series vampire-specific or are there also, say, [[{{OurGhostsAreDifferent}} ghosts]]?

* Are the supernatural elements of the story being kept behind a {{Masquerade}} or is it common knowledge? If there is a Masquerade, why is the magic being treated this way? Is it because TheWorldIsNotReady or just that those who have encountered monsters, witches or fairies just don't think that the authorities would believe them? If there's no {{Masquerade}}, how does magic affect the world? What is the divide between the {{Muggles}} and the {{WitchSpecies}}?

* What is the tone of the series? Where does it fit on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism? You can get away with [[{{TropesAreNotBad}} leaning on a few plot elements or character types]] [[{{ClicheStorm}} that may seem a little familiar to the reader]] if you show them in a new light. Are [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil good and evil]] distinct forces in your story? Are the characters fighting for a cause, or for themselves?

* How do the supernatural elements of the story affect the characters? Do members of the WitchSpecies embrace their powers as part of their identities, or do they [[{{IJustWantToBeNormal}} view them as a burden]]? If the world where the story is set is filled to the brim with magic and wonder, how do other {{Muggles}} feel? Are curses and hexes more common than healing magic and lost treasures? How are the relationships of the characters altered by the fantastic? Can a romantic relationship be sustained if one of the partners is turned into a cat, for example?

* Don't use big magic as an excuse for small plots. If you want to work in seven different species of [[{{OurElvesAreBetter}} elf]], that's fine. It doesn't mean your story sucks at all, it just means that, apparently, you really love elves. But please don't just throw in a new species of elf because the Wood Elves are getting boring and you need someone to give your protagonist [[{{PlotCoupon}} The Shadow Ruby]] so hey, how about some Shadow Elves, too? If it's that boring to write about the Wood Elves to begin with, then they're probably not much fun to read about either, and if you're only adding the Shadow Elves for the sake of novelty then they'll probably be {{flat character}}s who aren't believable.

* Remember that [[{{OurMonstersAreDifferent}} Your Monsters Can Be Different]]. Then again, it's extremely difficult to reinvent the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]] or the [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] or some other classic monster, and inventing your own creatures can lack the archetypal significance of something more familiar, like, say, a [[OurZombiesAreDifferent zombie]]. The best approach is probably to look at what you need the monster to do, and add or take away weaknesses, strengths and other traits that we associate with those monsters to make them your own, based around where you want the plot to go. If you want your vampire to be a devout Christian, there's nothing stopping you from discarding the rule about them hating crucifixes. If you're writing a romance story and your werewolf has a silver wedding ring, you could drop their WeaksauceWeakness to the stuff. If your protagonists are trying to escape a horde of evil [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblins]] and their regular meeting place is a coffee house, maybe the goblins could be [[WeaksauceWeakness allergic to coffee]]?

* Explain where your [[OurMonstersAreDifferent monsters]] come from. Despite many Urban Fantasies being filled with [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]], [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]], [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]], and more, almost no story makes an attempt to explain where these creatures come from. They just pop out fully formed like Athena from Zeus' head. And since Urban Fantasies are supposed to take place in the real world, you need to explain how your creatures fit into evolution and natural history. Not only does this make your creatures seem more realistic, but it provides excellent opportunity for plot growth. Are vampires souped up bats using magic to disguise themselves as human? [[TheVirus Are they just humans infected with a symbiotic microorganism?]] Or is the mortal theory of evolution flawed or just completely wrong? However, one explanation one should avoid is the one almost all Urban Fantasies resort to when pressured with a race's origins, namely that (in the case of werewolf stories, for example) a human/demon/wolf mated with a demon/wolf and voila, instant werewolf. This is a bad {{AssPull}} at best, unless you do some serious [[JustifiedTrope justification]].

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* Cities, obviously, it's there in the title. But is it a grim, grimy and Noir-esque or MarySuetopia? Is it a major urban centre like New York, Paris or London, or a smaller city or township?

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* ''TheDresdenFiles''

* ''{{Ghostbusters}}'' does a very good job of mixing creepy paranormal and supernatural myth with off-the-wall comedy and MadScience

* ''Literature/NightWatch''. The epic battle of Good and Evil set in post-soviet russia, mostly Moscow.

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* ''CastADeadlySpell'', urban fantasy with a '30s hard-boiled detective {{Noir}} twist

* Remember that MagicAIsMagicA and stick to the rules that you set yourself. If you write a story where werewolves are allergic to tomatoes, for example, and PluckyGirl [[MeaningfulName Luna Q. Furfang]] is presented with pasta bolognese by her hunky chef boyfriend then it's a problem for her to eat it anyway with some rubbish excuse like "the moon isn't full tonight" that isn't going to apply next time she's faced with tomatoes. Maybe she only picks at un-sauced bits of pasta around the edge, and her apparent fussy eating becomes a point of contention in their relationship. Perhaps she's wanted to tell him the truth about her secretly being a werewolf for quite some time now, and this provides her with an excuse to do so. It's a pretty weak excuse, but is that the kind of character she is? If you've already specified that the BigBad can only be killed by exposing it to strawberry jam, but the character with the power of conjuring jam already gave up their powers, don't just {{Handwave}} them back. You could have the FiveManBand forced to cook up massive vats of strawberry jam in order to save the world. There's always a more inventive and interesting way to end something than just [[DeusExMachina giving up]] and declaring AWizardDidIt.

* Later series of {{Charmed}} seemed to suffer from PowerIncontinence and introduced [[CreatorsPet a character]] with the power of "[[GreenLanternRing projection]]" which basically meant "[[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands do anything]]". More and more magic was being thrown at the script but the plot remained rather dull and formulaic and there was a lot less of the characterisation that made the series interesting to begin with (assuming you found it such).

* A lot of urban fantasy focuses on the TrueCompanions, such as Buffy and ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}; Series/{{Supernatural}} and {{Charmed}} focus on families. The characterization is often a much-loved feature about this sort of show, as the {{Masquerade}} tends to force the few who are in the know about the world's magical secrets in together. Perhaps your story could explore working relationships that are magically influenced, such as a hospital or veterinary practice for magical beings, a secret post office for magical messages, a special branch of the army for those with PsychicPowers or a sanitarium for werewolves? Or perhaps you can subvert or invert this expectation... the group is [[TeethClenchedTeamwork not made up of True Companions]], or even [[EnemyMine enemies forced to work together to survive]].

* The [[TwoLinesNoWaiting sidestory]] in John [=DeChancie's=] Castle Perilous novel ''Castle Dreams'' has King Incarnadine die and go to an afterlife based on {{Noir}}, complete with demon gangsters and transparent CaptainErsatz of 1920-30s celebrities.

* Adam Selzer's more recent works, particularly ''Extraordinary* *the True Story of My Fairy Godparent, Who Almost Killed Me, and Certainly Never Made Me a Princess''.

* Adam Selzer's more recent works, particularly ''Extraordinary* *the True Story of My Fairy Godparent, Who Almost Killed Me, and Certainly Never Made Me a Princess''.

* ''AmericanGods''

* A lot of urban fantasy focuses on the TrueCompanions, such as Buffy and {{Hellboy}}; Series/{{Supernatural}} and {{Charmed}} focus on families. The characterization is often a much-loved feature about this sort of show, as the {{Masquerade}} tends to force the few who are in the know about the world's magical secrets in together. Perhaps your story could explore working relationships that are magically influenced, such as a hospital or veterinary practice for magical beings, a secret post office for magical messages, a special branch of the army for those with PsychicPowers or a sanitarium for werewolves? Or perhaps you can subvert or invert this expectation... the group is [[TeethClenchedTeamwork not made up of True Companions]], or even [[EnemyMine enemies forced to work together to survive]].

* ''{{Hellboy}}''

* {{Persona4}}

** For more extensive thoughts on this, I highly recommend checking out episodes [[http://www.writingexcuses.com/podpress_trac/web/25/0/Writing_Excuses_Episode14.mp3 14]] and [[http://www.writingexcuses.com/podpress_trac/web/26/0/Writing_Excuses_Episode15.mp3 15]] of the ''WritingExcuses'' podcast, which discuss in depth the use of magic as a plot device.

* Just how much magic are you working in, anyway? Don't make the mistake of thinking that a well thought out, believable setting can only be a FantasyKitchenSink. Increase the Urban and tone down the Fantasy, if you want: you can do great things by having just one or two supernatural elements (or several relatively low-powered ones) and then taking advantage of the ButterflyEffect. It's not about the size of your idea, it's what you do with it, and that book really explores the main conceit with a lot of depth. I've also read a story where the only supernatural part was that some characters could [[{{Telepathy}} read minds]], but it worked very well, and was one of the best explored worlds I've read.

* A lot of urban fantasy focuses on the {{Nakama}}, such as Buffy and {{Hellboy}}; Series/{{Supernatural}} and {{Charmed}} focus on families. The characterization is often a much-loved feature about this sort of show, as the {{Masquerade}} tends to force the few who are in the know about the world's magical secrets in together. Perhaps your story could explore working relationships that are magically influenced, such as a hospital or veterinary practice for magical beings, a secret post office for magical messages, a special branch of the army for those with PsychicPowers or a sanitarium for werewolves? Or perhaps you can subvert or invert this expectation... the group is [[TeethClenchedTeamwork not such a Nakama]], or even [[EnemyMine enemies forced to work together to survive]].

* Later series of {{Charmed}} seemed to suffer from PowerIncontinence and introduced [[TheWesley a character]] with the power of "[[GreenLanternRing projection]]" which basically meant "[[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands do anything]]". More and more magic was being thrown at the script but the plot remained rather dull and formulaic and there was a lot less of the characterisation that made the series interesting to begin with (assuming you found it such).

* Throwing magic into the mix sometimes has the effect of turning everyone Good or Evil. Can you think of a RealLife war or conflict where one side was unequivocably good and the other were utterly irredeemably evil? Why would magical conflict be any different? Having an [[AlwaysChaoticEvil entire species of evil bastards]] as some kind of DesignatedVillain crew is a cheap way of securing a non-stop supply of enemies for your protagonists to fight, but will your audience really care when one of them is defeated? If BlackMagic and WhiteMagic have the effects of ''turning'' their users good or evil respectively, why don't more people know about these side effects and avoid the evil? Is it because it's more powerful, has wider applications, or [[ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil is addictive]]? Is it simple ignorance, cynical disbelief of "old wives tales" warning of the effects, or deliberate misinformation being spread by someone for their own purposes? Or do ''both'' forms of magic have consequences-- white magic turning the user into a KnightTemplar is a popular choice.

* A lot of urban fantasy focuses on the {{Nakama}}, such as Buffy and {{Hellboy}}; {{Supernatural}} and {{Charmed}} focus on families. The characterization is often a much-loved feature about this sort of show, as the {{Masquerade}} tends to force the few who are in the know about the world's magical secrets in together. Perhaps your story could explore working relationships that are magically influenced, such as a hospital or veterinary practice for magical beings, a secret post office for magical messages, a special branch of the army for those with PsychicPowers or a sanitarium for werewolves? Or perhaps you can subvert or invert this expectation... the group is [[TeethClenchedTeamwork not such a Nakama]], or even [[EnemyMine enemies forced to work together to survive]].

* If there is no {{Masquerade}} and magic is out in the open, think about the kind of effects magic would have on established society, including law enforcement, art, [[{{Magitek}} technology]], and culture overall. Would magical proficiency be a common skill, something to be envied, or the profession of the elite. Or perhaps you'd explore the effects magic would have on society the way ''{{Watchmen}}'' explores the effects [[SuperHero superheroes]] would have on society. Milieu is very important in all kinds of fantasy and science fiction; society is an important part of milieu.

* {{Being Human}}

* Just how much magic are you working in, anyway? Don't make the mistake of thinking that a well thought out, believable setting can only be a FantasyKitchenSink. Increase the Urban and tone down the Fantasy, if you want: you can do great things by having just one or two supernatural elements (or several relatively low-powered ones) and then taking advantage of the ButterflyEffect. TheTimeTravellersWife is a very small scale story - the only supernatural element is the idea of humans that can travel through time. But of course, it's not about the size of your idea, it's what you do with it, and that book really explores the main conceit with a lot of depth. I've also read a story where the only supernatural part was that some characters could [[{{Telepathy}} read minds]], but it worked very well, and was one of the best explored worlds I've read.

** For more extensive thoughts on this, I highly recommend checking out episodes [[http://www.writingexcuses.com/podpress_trac/web/25/0/Writing_Excuses_Episode14.mp3 14]] and [[http://www.writingexcuses.com/podpress_trac/web/26/0/Writing_Excuses_Episode15.mp3 15]] of the ''[[http://writingexcuses.com Writing Excuses]]'' podcast, which discuss in depth the use of magic as a plot device.

* Remember that MagicAIsMagicA and stick to the rules that you set yourself. If you write a story where werewolves are allergic to tomatoes, for example, and PluckyGirl [[MeaningfulName Luna Q. Furfang]] is presented with pasta bolognese by her hunky chef boyfriend then it's a massive DarthWiki/{{Wallbanger}} for her to eat it anyway with some rubbish excuse like "the moon isn't full tonight" that isn't going to apply next time she's faced with tomatoes. Maybe she only picks at un-sauced bits of pasta around the edge, and her apparent fussy eating becomes a point of contention in their relationship. Perhaps she's wanted to tell him the truth about her secretly being a werewolf for quite some time now, and this provides her with an excuse to do so. It's a pretty weak excuse, but is that the kind of character she is? If you've already specified that the BigBad can only be killed by exposing it to strawberry jam, but the character with the power of conjuring jam already gave up their powers, don't just {{Handwave}} them back. You could have the FiveManBand forced to cook up massive vats of strawberry jam in order to save the world. There's always a more inventive and interesting way to end something than just [[DeusExMachina giving up]] and declaring AWizardDidIt.

* Remember that MagicAIsMagicA and stick to the rules that you set yourself. If you write a story where werewolves are allergic to tomatoes, for example, and PluckyGirl [[{{SignifigantName}} Luna Q. Furfang]] is presented with pasta bolognese by her hunky chef boyfriend then it's a massive {{Wallbanger}} for her to eat it anyway with some rubbish excuse like "the moon isn't full tonight" that isn't going to apply next time she's faced with tomatoes. Maybe she only picks at un-sauced bits of pasta around the edge, and her apparent fussy eating becomes a point of contention in their relationship. Perhaps she's wanted to tell him the truth about her secretly being a werewolf for quite some time now, and this provides her with an excuse to do so. It's a pretty weak excuse, but is that the kind of character she is? If you've already specified that the BigBad can only be killed by exposing it to strawberry jam, but the character with the power of conjuring jam already gave up their powers, don't just {{Handwave}} them back. You could have the FiveManBand forced to cook up massive vats of strawberry jam in order to save the world. There's always a more inventive and interesting way to end something than just [[DeusExMachina giving up]] and declaring AWizardDidIt.

* A lot of urban fantasy focuses on the {{Nakama}}, such as Buffy and {{Hellboy}}; {{Supernatural}} and {{Charmed}} focus on families. The {{Characterization}} is often a much-loved feature about this sort of show, as the {{Masquerade}} tends to force the few who are in the know about the world's magical secrets in together. Perhaps your story could explore working relationships that are magically influenced, such as a hospital or veterinary practice for magical beings, a secret post office for magical messages, a special branch of the army for those with PsychicPowers or a sanitarium for werewolves? Or perhaps you can subvert or invert this expectation... the group is [[TeethClenchedTeamwork not such a Nakama]], or even [[EnemyMine enemies forced to work together to survive]].

** It's common for more plot-heavy {{fanfic}} to play up the UrbanFantasy elements of the setting, but [[SturgeonsLaw caveat lector.]]

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