Full transcript
0:00Today we're talking about another of the
0:02genre guides that I've created and in
0:04this one we're looking at young adult
0:06academy medieval fantasy. This genre is
0:09built on very specific promises. It's
0:11about the tension between rigid social
0:13casts, the danger of forbidden magic,
0:16and the pressure of a tournamentike
0:18event. If you break those promises, you
0:21end up with one-star reviews. My name is
0:24Jason. I'm the nerdy novelist. I worked
0:25for three years at Kindlepreneur,
0:27helping authors understand the market.
0:28And now I spend my time obsessively
0:30studying story structure. For this
0:33video, I conducted a forensic analysis
0:35on the genre. I grabbed the top
0:37performing books that fit this specific
0:39subgenre and deconstructed them to find
0:41their common DNA. And we're going to
0:44cover the major tropes that you
0:45absolutely need to master to write a
0:48specific book that sells. This is a very
0:51very specific genre that I identified in
0:54doing a lot of genre research because I
0:56had a book series that's kind of similar
0:58to this that I wanted to create. And so
1:00I found a number of books that were in
1:03the exact vein of what I wanted to do.
1:06I'll give you a couple of them right
1:07now. The work of Melanie Celier is a
1:10good one. And the Black Mage series is
1:13another one, though I ended up finding a
1:15couple more when I actually did the
1:16research for this video. And I think
1:19people don't really realize just how
1:21granular it's important to get if you
1:23want to have a story that is successful
1:26because I've seen this. I don't yet have
1:27the personal experience to be able to
1:30say this for sure. But as I have reached
1:32out to many authors the especially the
1:34authors that became very productive very
1:37quickly and or I should say very they
1:40they earned a lot of royalties very very
1:42quickly got to a livable income very
1:44very quickly. Those are the people that
1:46are doing this well and getting this
1:48specific with their genre. So pay
1:51attention to what I'm saying here for
1:53this one and for the other genre guides
1:55that I create. So the first trope for
1:57this particular genre is the
1:59architecture of the academy. The school
2:02is the engine of your story. In a
2:03medieval academy setting, you cannot
2:05treat the setting like a modern high
2:07school with castles. It operates more as
2:09a pressure cooker for adolescence and a
2:11training ground for dangerous power. You
2:13need to anchor this in a medieval
2:15atmosphere. So describe stone keeps for
2:18instance, drafty corridors, secrets that
2:21are hidden beneath the floorboat,
2:23secrets that are hidden beneath the
2:24floorboards. But atmosphere is not
2:26enough. You need a concrete structure.
2:28Define the ranks, the specific magical
2:30subjects and the rules. Rules are
2:32critical here because breaking them
2:34generates plot. If the rules are
2:36convenient, your pro protagonist has
2:37nothing to push against. Social
2:39hierarchy must be baked into the walls.
2:41Use dorm assignments or course tracks to
2:43force noble and commoner casts to clash
2:47and stop making the school safe. Magical
2:49mishaps, duels, and training accidents
2:51imply a real risk of injury or death.
2:53And this isn't about just learning
2:55spells to pass a test. It's about
2:57surviving the curriculum itself. Think
2:59Harry Potter, but even a little bit more
3:01dangerous and set in medieval times.
3:03Next, we have the invisible wall, which
3:05is the class and cast system. You need a
3:08rigid framework for your society and you
3:11don't want it to be vague, which is why
3:13I recommend defining three to five clear
3:15tiers. At the top, place royalty with
3:18innate command over rare magics. At the
3:20bottom, put the servants or untouched
3:22commoners who handle menial tasks. You
3:25must tie this directly to the magic
3:27system to make it matter. Maybe
3:28highborns channel spells effortlessly
3:30while lowerborns suffer physical pain
3:33when they cast, stuff like that. This
3:35reinforces the inferiority of your
3:37underdog. Make the prejudice visible.
3:39Use the maybe colored robes or specific
3:42family crests or glowing auras,
3:45something that is on display and makes
3:47this cast system more visible. Give
3:50characters a sort of ladder to climb
3:51though. Make it slippery. A dangerous
3:54ascension ritual or political gamble
3:56works well, and the system must offer
3:59just enough hope to keep them trying,
4:00but be rigid enough to threaten their
4:02life if they fail. If the cost of
4:04failure isn't expulsion or enslavement,
4:07the stakes are honestly too low. Next,
4:09we get to the fish out of water trope.
4:11This character archetype is your primary
4:13tool for exposition. A fish out of water
4:15protagonist notices and questions what
4:17the inside accepts as normal. This lets
4:20you explain magic systems, etiquette,
4:21and politics naturally through their
4:23confusion instead of boring info dumps.
4:26Be specific with their disadvantage.
4:28Don't make them generically awkward.
4:30pick a specific axis that bites them
4:32every single day. Socially, they should
4:34be more of a lowborn student in a feeing
4:37noble institution. Magically, they might
4:40be a late bloomer in a culture that
4:41worships strength. Culturally, they
4:43could be a foreigner who doesn't know
4:45the religious protocols. You have to be
4:47cruel in the opening chapters. Focus on
4:49humiliation rather than victory. Let
4:52them break rules they didn't even know
4:53existed. Let them fail exams because
4:55they lacked the proper resources. But
4:58they cannot be pathetic. Give them one
5:00area of competence that the academy
5:02doesn't value yet, like grit or street
5:04smarts. Make them trade blood and sweat
5:07for every single win that they manage to
5:09pull off. And if you remove their plot
5:12armor, the reader believes they actually
5:14earned their spot at the top. The next
5:16trope is the chosen one and hidden
5:17power. Now, the chosen one feels
5:19overdone to a lot of people, and in
5:22young adult academy fantasy, it is
5:24actually practically required. The trick
5:27to making it work is inconvenience. The
5:30ability shouldn't just make them
5:32stronger than everyone else. It should
5:34defy the academyy's rigid curriculum.
5:36So, give them a rare gift that manifests
5:38unexpectedly. Or maybe they manipulate
5:41forbidden elements or bond with
5:43creatures that others can't. And delay
5:45the gratification. Let them fail first.
5:47Use red herrings where peers mistake
5:49their latent power for weakness or
5:51illness. and reveal the true ability
5:53during a high stakes exam or a moment of
5:56intense bullying. This power also needs
5:59a cost. If they can just snap their
6:01fingers and fix everything, you have
6:02killed the tension. Balance it with
6:04steep drawbacks like physical agony or
6:06the attention of dangerous political
6:08enemies. Tie it to a prophecy, but
6:10subvert it. Maybe the ability is
6:12destined to save the kingdom, or maybe
6:13it facilitates its destruction. Keep the
6:15reader guessing about the nature of this
6:18gift. Magic needs a biological bill to
6:21pay. Something that makes it actually
6:23difficult, a cost. Impose direct
6:26psychological burdens to balance out
6:27power levels. Things like agony, blood
6:29loss, or emotional trauma work best.
6:32Make the cost scale with the power. A
6:34minor a minor spell might cause
6:36something like a muscle cramp, but a
6:38major ritual could risk a migraine or a
6:41permanent scar. Tie this back to your
6:43cast system. Nobles might possess rare
6:45artifacts that dampen the pain, for
6:47instance. leaving your commoner
6:48protagonist vulnerable and this forces
6:50them to rely on allies to stabilize
6:52volatile casts. It also supercharges the
6:55romance. When the rival sees the
6:57protagonist pushing through blinding
6:59pain during a tournament, the dynamic
7:01shifts from disdain to protective
7:03respect. But be consistent. If magic
7:05hurts in chapter 3, it must hurt in
7:07chapter 20. Don't give your hero
7:09immunity later just to make the plot
7:11easier. Quick pause. If you're an author
7:13who wants to start writing more books, I
7:15put together my complete AI prompt pack
7:17that helped me and many others in my
7:19community write a book in a month, often
7:21more. It's completely free. Hit the link
7:23in the description. Join the free weight
7:25list for StoryHacker Gold. Then you just
7:27answer a couple quick questions and I'll
7:29send you the full prompt list plus a few
7:31extra free goodies. I'll also email you
7:34when I open the paid Story Hacker Gold
7:36group so you can join if it feels right.
7:38There's no commitment to join, though,
7:39and you'll still be able to get all of
7:40the freebies you signed up for either
7:42way. All right, back to the video. The
7:44next trope is enemies to lovers. This is
7:47the engine of the genre's romance. You
7:49have to earn it. The animosity in a
7:51medieval academy shouldn't be based on a
7:53simple misunderstanding. It needs to be
7:54structural. Think class prejudice.
7:57Position the love interest as the
7:58privileged noble who sees your commoner
8:01protagonist as an unworthy intruder. And
8:03use the classroom setting to twist the
8:05knife a little bit. Have the rival
8:07sabotage an exam or mock the
8:08protagonist's lack of etiquette. Fixing
8:10a relationship this toxic requires
8:12forced proximity. Force these two
8:14characters into the same space depending
8:16on one another for survival. A detention
8:19involving dangerous magical artifacts or
8:21a joint mission through the library's
8:23restricted section works perfectly.
8:25Thankfully, the school acts as a sort of
8:28proximity enforcer, making it a lot
8:30easier. This proximity allows for the
8:32mask off moment. Show the noble's
8:35vulnerability, perhaps the crushing
8:36pressure of their family legacy. Show
8:38the noble gaining respect for the
8:40protagonist's grit. Respect is that
8:43bridge. Don't have them kiss early. We
8:45want to let the tension simmer for a
8:48little bit. By the time they acknowledge
8:50their feelings, the reader should be
8:51absolutely desperate for it. Related to
8:54this is the trope of the bad boy prince.
8:56The bad boy prince is a romantic trope,
8:58but structurally he personifies the
8:59academyy's hierarchy. As a royal heir,
9:02he represents everything the underdog
9:03fights against, like privilege, power,
9:05and the status quo. His initial
9:07arrogance acts as a defense mechanism,
9:09masking a dark past or family betrayal.
9:12So, make him competent. He should be
9:14physically magnetic and intellectually
9:16sharp, rivaling the protagonist's own
9:19ability. But make him cynical. While the
9:21school worships the rules, he should
9:23view them with a little bit of disdain.
9:25This shared rebellion fuels that
9:27slowburn romance. and do not redeem him
9:30too quickly. Use his nasty behavior to
9:32establish the stakes. Then use forced
9:34proximity to chip away at his armor. If
9:36you let the reader see his protective
9:38instincts before the protagonist does,
9:40you create narrative tension that holds
9:42the reader's attention. The next trope
9:44is the bully and the rival. The bully
9:46enforces the academyy's social
9:48hierarchy. In young adult fantasy, the
9:50rival serves to physically or socially
9:52harass the protagonist, highlighting the
9:54rigid class structures. root their
9:56hostility in the genre itself. Think
9:59noble lineage versus commoner grit. The
10:02rival shouldn't just hate the
10:03protagonist. They should resent the
10:04underdog's presence in an elite space.
10:07Jealousy of a mentor's shifting
10:08attention is also a strong motivator.
10:10And we want to weaponize them. So don't
10:12have them cast hexes in a hallway.
10:14Actually use them during highstakes
10:16testing to sabotage spells or block
10:19access to crucial knowledge. And make
10:22sure to map out their arc. decide if
10:23they will evolve into an ally out of
10:25grudging respect or their insecurity
10:27drive them to a to be a main villain and
10:30do not redeem them in the early
10:31chapters. You need that source of daily
10:34conflict. Next, we have the mentor. The
10:36mentor is a survival mechanism. Since
10:38the academy is dangerous, the mentor
10:39interprets the hidden rules that will
10:41get your protagonist killed if ignored.
10:43And they are the lens through which the
10:44student understands the true cost of
10:46magic. But do not make them perfect.
10:48Perfect mentors are honestly a little
10:50boring. Give them a specific worldview
10:53that clashes with the academy. They
10:55could be a disillusioned master teaching
10:57forbidden history or a rigid
10:58traditionalist enforcing harsh
11:00discipline. Give the mentor limits. If
11:02they can solve the problem, there is no
11:04story. Give them a political leash or a
11:06debilitating curse or a blind spot
11:09caused by trauma. This forces the
11:11protagonist to adapt rather than obey.
11:13And remember, the ultimate goal of the
11:15mentor is to leave the stage either by
11:17death, disgrace, or simply being
11:19outgrown. and that creates the space for
11:21the student to stand alone. The next
11:23trope is found family in the trio. The
11:25trio trope involves your protagonist and
11:27two allies evolving from strangers in a
11:30surrogate family. Structure them as
11:31complimentary archetypes. You need the
11:33protagonist as the emotional core, the
11:35fighter who is often an impulsive noble,
11:37and the strategist who is usually a
11:39calculated scholar of some kind. Make
11:41them clash initially. Leverage the cast
11:43system to create friction. The noble
11:45fighter must bully the lowborn hero
11:47while the strategist looks down on them
11:49both. And it doesn't have to be the the
11:52fighter and the strategist. But it
11:54that's just an example of two different
11:56archetypes that you can pull in.
11:57Ultimately force them to rely on one
11:59another. Create a sort of fireforged
12:01moment like a midnight intrusion into
12:03the forbidden library wing or the the
12:06moment when Harry, Ron, and Hermione
12:08defeat the troll. When the noble
12:10shields, the commoner or the strategist
12:12breaks the rules to save the fighter.
12:13the dynamic solidifies. This provides
12:16emotional grounding and proves that
12:17chosen loyalty is stronger than
12:19bloodline. The next trope is the
12:21tournament arc. The tournament is a sort
12:23of structural tool, not just an action
12:25scene. It provides a ticking clock and
12:27forces your protagonist to face their
12:28bullies in a controlled environment
12:30where the stakes are public. So, you
12:31want to escalate the consequences.
12:33Failure means expulsion, exile, or
12:35death. So, leverage the cast system
12:37here. Make the brackets unfair. Pit your
12:39underdog against the strongest noble in
12:41the first round. Force them to use
12:43strategy and innovation rather than raw
12:45power. And don't let the tournament
12:46finish naturally. Use the final round to
12:48trigger your external plot. An invasion
12:51or a political coup or a catastrophic
12:53magical failure interrupts the structure
12:55and signals that the school days are
12:58over and the real war has begun. That
13:00kind of leads into the next trope, which
13:01is political intrigue. The academy is a
13:04proxy war. Position your protagonist as
13:06a political pawn to raise the stakes.
13:08They aren't there just to learn. They
13:10are a hostage in a fragile truce or a
13:12bargaining chip for a marriage alliance.
13:14You'll want to weave intrigue into the
13:16architecture. So use secret passages for
13:18clandestine meetings and turn your
13:20faculty into double agents. Every exam
13:23failure risks igniting a kingdom level
13:25conflict. This feeds the enemies to
13:27lovers arc. Have the prince initially
13:29manipulate the protagonist's bait for
13:31his faction and it hurts, but it makes
13:33it his eventual protection of her matter
13:35more. Also, don't trust the mentor here.
13:37If their guidance creates a blind spot
13:39hiding the protagonist's true value on
13:41the political chessboard, you have a
13:42perfect midpoint twist. Start small with
13:45a seemingly innocuous family heirloom
13:47that turns out to be the key to the
13:48kingdom. The next trope is the secrets
13:51of the academy. Forbidden magic involves
13:53the cost of power. Highborn elites wield
13:55safe sanctioned magic. Your protagonist
13:57gets the volatile stuff. This creates
13:59organic secrecy and forces your underdog
14:02to practice in the shadows. Forbidden
14:04magic needs to be dangerous, not just
14:06stronger. It demands a physical toll or
14:08risks soul erosion. The reader needs to
14:11fear the magic as much as they crave it.
14:12Secret passages turn your setting into
14:14physical labyrinth uh and connect the
14:16discovery of these spaces to the
14:18protagonist unique ability or a
14:19desperate need to escape. Do not make
14:21them feel safe at a cost. Using the
14:23passage might require some kind of
14:26magical risk or the risk of entrapping
14:29them. The passageway should almost be as
14:31dangerous as the hallway that it
14:32bypasses. Lastly, we have the plot twist
14:35in Czechov's Gun. A plot twist in young
14:37adult academy fantasy reframes the
14:39entire world. Maybe the headmaster is a
14:41villain or the scholarship programming
14:43sacrifice ritual. After the reveal,
14:45nothing can really go back to normal.
14:46Hide these twists using red herrings.
14:49Plant false leads in classroom lectures
14:51or dorm gossip. Make the twist obvious
14:53only in hindsight. Check off gun in this
14:55genre looks like a dusty amulet or a
14:58specific herb mentioned in a boring
15:00lecture. Plant these seeds early while
15:02the fish out of water is learning the
15:04ropes. Let peers mock them for carrying
15:06a rusty dagger, for example, and then
15:09let that dagger play a big role later
15:11on. Bring it up once or twice as a
15:13subtle reminder. When the stakes are
15:15highest, usually during the final round
15:16of the tournament, that useless object
15:18becomes the only thing that can defeat
15:20the villain. Stick to three or five key
15:22elements, cuz if you build a whole
15:23armory, you dilute the tension. If you
15:26want to master the genre, you need to
15:27understand the market deeply. I actually
15:29published a book specifically analyzing
15:31this young adult medieval academy
15:32fantasy genre. You can buy that on
15:34Amazon, but you can also get it at no
15:35charge along with many other book genre
15:37analysis by joining the Storyhacker Gold
15:39group. I should say no extra charge when
15:41you join that group. In Story Hacker
15:42Gold, you get my entire process to go
15:44from having nothing to having your book
15:47in hand plus all of the tools to market
15:49it. We dive deep into how AI can enhance
15:52your process without diminishing your
15:54creativity or compromising your ethics.
15:56and I'll see you in the next