Urban Fantasy

Urban Fantasy

Urban fantasy,or contemporary fantasy is a subtype of fantasy literature. Urban fantasy stories are generally set in modern or near modern times, but with magic or supernatural elements thrown in. Terry Brooks Knight of the Word series is an example, as is Neal Gaiman's American Gods and Neverwhere (although Neverwhere might better be described as a parallel universe story). C. S. Lewis' Narnia books are not, because most of the story, and pretty much all the fantastic elements, take place in an invented fantasy world, it's just that the lead characters typically come from the real world. Harry Potter is also a type of urban fantasy, as are both the Buffy and Angel series.

The key point in urban fantasy is that magic of some sort exists in the real world. Often times the magic is hidden from normal people, as they would not be able to deal with the truth. Sometimes, however, magic has simply become integrated into every day life. It also may not be magic itself, but the presence of magical creatures (Fairies, dragons, godly powers and what not) that marks the departure from the normal world.

Urban fantasy stories can be very interesting, but you have to be careful when writing them. First, you have to know your setting. It will be some place in the real world, so you should do a certain amount of research to get the details right. Many authors invent neighborhoods in large cities for their stories, that way they can research the details of the city itself, but invent the details of the particular area. This is generally perfectly acceptable if the invented neighborhood is integrated well with the city proper. Another option is to set the story in a small invented town where you can take more liberties. Again, however, you will have to research the region you are setting the story to make sure anyone who is familiar with it will not catch glaring errors.

After researching and planning out the details of your setting, you'll have to decide when, why and how it diverged from the real world. If magic is a world wide phenomenon, but hidden from most of humanity, you'll need to determine how it has been hidden. Regardless of whether it is common knowledge or not, you will need to determine how the existence of magic has affected the world. You will often have to think of a lot more things than it might first appear. Even small changes to a world can result in huge differences. For example, if magic has been a force since the dawn of time, how did it affect major historical events? If magic is hidden than magical events may have gone on behind the scenes, one group canceling out the interventions of another. If magic is public, then the changes are likely to be more extreme.

Once you've set the history of the world, you're more ready to write your story. Remember that you will have to take into account both the fantastic and mundane risks of your world. While in an invented world the characters only had to worry about dragons and evil wizards, now they may have to contend with muggers, drive by shootings and other problems of the real world. You can get around some of that by setting the story in an earlier time period, but if you choose to do that, you're going to have to do more research to make sure you have the time as well as the place accurate. For first attempts it's probably best to work with a setting as close to home as you can manage it. In fact, you may want to set your story at home, in the town or city you live in, just so you know you have the facts right. Most places have some odd stories that can be used as fodder for a fantasy story.

Now matter where and when you decide to set your story, urban fantasy is challenging to write, but it can be a very interesting genre. Give it a try and see what you can do.