Full transcript
0:00You can create a brilliant magic system,
0:02but if you scrap the character dynamics,
0:04your urban fantasy novel is going to
0:06flop. Readers in this genre have a very
0:08specific expectation from how the
0:10reluctant hero refuses to call to how
0:13the slow burn romance actually burns.
0:16Merry Christmas everybody. My name is
0:17Jason. I'm a fantasy author and a
0:19massive nerd for narrative structure.
0:21And this week, we're doing something a
0:22little different. This is going to be
0:23the first of three videos going into
0:26depth on a specific genre. in this case,
0:28urban fantasy. If all goes well, I might
0:31be able to make a lot more videos like
0:32this on very specific genres throughout
0:35all of Amazon. So, let me know in the
0:37comments if you have a particular genre
0:40you'd like me to cover. Now, I didn't
0:42want to just guess what works. So, I
0:44conducted a massive analysis of the top
0:46performing books in urban fantasy,
0:48specifically standard urban fantasy,
0:50because there are a number of
0:51variations. and I used a mixture of AI
0:54and my own manual review to break down
0:56the bestsellers that have proven
0:57themselves in the market. And today, I'm
0:59sharing the specific tropes that
1:01separate the one-star reviews from the
1:03five-star favorites. First is the
1:05masquerade. If you're writing urban
1:07fantasy, you need to start with the
1:09masquerade. And this isn't optional.
1:11This is a defining line that separates
1:13this genre from a story that just
1:15happens to include wizards. It creates
1:17the tension between the boring, mundane
1:19world your reader lives in and the
1:21thrilling supernatural world that you
1:23are inventing. Readers want to look out
1:25their window at a dark alley and wonder
1:27if a vampire is stalking prey there
1:29unseen by human eyes. But if everyone in
1:31your book knows about magic, you lose
1:34that tension immediately and you lose
1:35the mystery. So you have to decide
1:37exactly how the secret is kept. Is it
1:39fear-based? Maybe the supernatural
1:41beings hide because they are terrified
1:43of what humans would do if they found
1:45out. Or maybe it's passive. Magic might
1:47just naturally hide itself, scrambling
1:49the brains of anyone who isn't
1:51initiated. You could also go the men in
1:53black route and have a specific
1:55organization dedicated to wiping
1:57memories and destroying evidence.
1:59Whatever you pick, you have to address
2:00the elephant in the room, technology. It
2:02was easy to hide a werewolf in the
2:031980s, but today every person on the
2:06street has a 4K camera in their pocket
2:08connected to the internet. Does magic
2:10scramble digital sensors? Does the
2:12government scrub YouTube videos of
2:13spellcasting? You have to answer this
2:16and if you don't the reader is going to
2:18check out because their suspension of
2:19disbelief will snap. So pick a system,
2:21stick to the rules and make the reader
2:23believe that this could be real. The
2:25next trope is the reluctant hero. So
2:27once you have the world, you need
2:29someone to live in it. And that's where
2:31we get the reluctant hero. This trope
2:33works because it provides the most
2:34honest reaction to finding out monsters
2:37are real. If you discovered a werewolf
2:39was eating people in your neighborhood,
2:40you wouldn't grab a kitchen knife and
2:42run outside. you would probably just
2:43lock your doors and look for an
2:45apartment in a different city. And this
2:46is why this protagonist works. They are
2:49the avatar for the reader. They don't
2:51choose heroism. They are kind of forced
2:53into it. But where I see authors get
2:55this wrong is making the reluctance
2:57superficial. They make the character
2:59just kind of shy. And that isn't enough.
3:01The reluctance needs to come from a
3:03valid internal struggle. Maybe they want
3:05to protect their family and getting
3:06involved puts them at risk. Maybe they
3:08just need to pay rent and fighting
3:10demons doesn't pay the bills. Now, let
3:12the practical concerns of real life
3:14compete with the magical crisis. Have
3:16them try to delegate the responsibility.
3:18Have them pack a bag to leave town. Then
3:20hit them with the catalyst, the moment
3:22where inaction becomes impossible. And
3:24even then, let them fight while
3:26resenting the fight. When a character
3:28who desperately wants safety chooses
3:30danger, that's when you have a story.
3:32The next trope is hidden heritage.
3:34Often, that hero discovers they aren't
3:36just an overworked barista, they have
3:38something more. This is the hidden
3:40heritage trope. It validates the secret
3:42hope that we all have that we are
3:44special. But be careful. It is
3:45incredibly easy to make this feel cheap.
3:47You can't just have your character wake
3:49up with laser eyes on a Tuesday for no
3:51reason. You need to know the mechanism
3:52of discovery. Is it biological? Did they
3:55touch a cursed object or was it a
3:57traumatic trigger? And you need to know
3:59the logic behind the secret. Why was it
4:01hidden? Was their grandmother holding
4:03back their powers to protect them? Was
4:04their memory wiped? The most important
4:06part isn't the power itself. It's more
4:08the cost. Gaining power usually means
4:11losing normaly. And once your
4:13protagonist unlocks this part of
4:14themselves, they are forced to lie to
4:16their friends. They have to navigate the
4:18politics of a magical society they
4:20didn't even know existed 5 minutes ago.
4:22So don't treat it as a powerup, treat it
4:24as a burden. This leads to the
4:26grandfather of all tropes, the chosen
4:28one. And in high fantasy, being chosen
4:30is often an honor. In the modern world,
4:33it's a massive inconvenience. Your
4:34protagonist just wants to live a normal
4:37life and a prophecy ruins that. The
4:39conflict shouldn't be about fulfilling
4:41the prophecy. It should be about
4:42resisting it. But do not use the
4:44prophecy as plot armor that guarantines
4:46a win. The stakes evaporate if the
4:48reader knows the hero is destined to
4:50succeed. And instead, make the destiny a
4:54target on their back. Make it cost them
4:56something. Their relationships, their
4:58safety, or a piece of their soul. Modern
5:00audience love agency. Rather than an
5:02immutable fate that forces the character
5:04down a track, make the destiny a choice.
5:06The prophecy opens the doors, but the
5:08character has to walk through it. When
5:10they accept the responsibility, despite
5:11the heavy cost, you have a hero worth
5:14rooting for. To get that hero moving,
5:15you need a mcguffin. And this is the
5:17engine that drives the car. It doesn't
5:19really matter if it's a ring, a sword,
5:21or a flash drive. It only matters that
5:23everybody wants it desperately. In urban
5:25fantasy, this acts as a kind of magnet.
5:27It forces the vampires, the wizards, and
5:29the police into the same room. Don't
5:32just stick a magic object in the story
5:33and give them something to do. Connect
5:35it to emotional stakes. If the hero is
5:37looking for a sword, for example, it
5:39should be the only thing that can
5:40protect their sister. Uh, link the
5:42object to the character's internal
5:43desires and give it history. Urban
5:45fantasy readers love lore, so
5:48referencing ancient treaties or dead
5:49sorcerers makes the world feel real.
5:52Next, we have magic with costs. If your
5:55protagonist can wave a wand and solve
5:57every problem without breaking a sweat,
5:58you don't really have a story. You have
6:00a cheat code. Readers need to know that
6:02using magic is a calculated risk. So,
6:05establish a specific economy. Is there a
6:07physical toll? Does casting a spell
6:10cause bleeding or exhaustion? Is there a
6:12mental strain that erodess their sanity?
6:14Or does it require resources like rare
6:16components? Whatever you pick, stay
6:18consistent. If the tank is empty in
6:20chapter one, don't let them just throw
6:22fireballs like confetti in the climax
6:24just because it looks cool. Real costs
6:26force the character to make a moral
6:28choice. Is casting the spell worth the
6:30physical damage? Is saving the city
6:32worth losing a memory? When you force
6:34your characters to weigh the magical
6:35solution against a heavy cost, you
6:37create genuine tension. Now, we get the
6:40trope called fish out of water. And this
6:42typically goes handinhand with the
6:43masquerade and the magic system. The
6:45fish out of water trope places a
6:47character in a environment where their
6:49nature clashes with their surroundings.
6:51You can have the human thrust into the
6:54magical underground or the ancient
6:55supernatural being trying to navigate
6:58the modern world. So, think of a fay
7:00trying to use an Uber or a vampire
7:01confused by Instagram. It's funny, but
7:04don't stop at the comedy. The true power
7:06here is disorientation. A human
7:08misunderstanding magical etiquette
7:10shouldn't just be awkward. It should be
7:11dangerous. It could start a war. The
7:13best use of this trope is to flip the
7:15script. Transform the character's
7:17displacement into their greatest asset.
7:18Because they are an outsider, they see
7:20solutions the locals overlook. A human
7:23might ask a logical question about a
7:24blood feud that no one else dared to
7:27ask. And you don't have to have them
7:29fully assimilate by the end. Keep that
7:30friction. It makes them distinct. Next
7:32is found family. And if there's one
7:34trope that makes readers in the genre
7:36feel warm and fuzzy, it's the found
7:37family. These characters are usually
7:39outcasts, refugees from supernatural
7:41hierarchies or humans who know too much.
7:44They don't fit into the mundane world or
7:46the magical ones so they kind of just
7:48find each other. The big mistake I see
7:50is introducing everyone at once. So
7:52don't dump five new characters on your
7:54reader in chapter 3. Build a team
7:56organically. Introduce them through
7:58necessity. And maybe your protagonist
8:00needs a hacker, then later needs a
8:02healer. The why matters here. It
8:04shouldn't be because they all just like
8:06each other. The best crews form out of
8:08survival. They are forced together by a
8:10massive threat and this creates
8:11friction. When you have a vampire who
8:13belongs to a coven and a werewolf who
8:15answers to the pack, you force them to
8:17choose between their biological family
8:19and their chosen family. And that choice
8:21is a gold mine for conflict. Use the
8:24shared trauma of saving the world to
8:26glue them together. Next, we get some
8:28buddy cop dynamics. This often leads you
8:30take two people who have no business
8:32working together and handcuff them to
8:34the same case. This works because
8:36contrast creates conflict. In urban
8:38fantasy, this is about worldview. One
8:40represents the streets and the law. The
8:41other represents magic and chaos. Don't
8:43make the human useless. They should be
8:46hypercompetent in their own lane. And
8:47the wizard kills the demon, the cop gets
8:49the warrant, etc. Keep the thorns.
8:51Resist the urge to have them hold hands
8:53by chapter 5. Bind them legally or
8:54magically so they can't walk away. And
8:56then let them argue over methods. The
8:58friction reveals great character depth.
9:01The next one is enemies to lovers. If
9:03you want to take that friction and add
9:04romance, you get the genre favorite
9:06enemies to allies to lovers. This
9:08mirrors the high stakes of the world.
9:10Shallow dating doesn't cut it when the
9:12apocalypse is coming. You need a
9:14connection forged in fire. But please do
9:16not make the enemy abusive. The
9:18animosity should be ideological, not
9:20toxic. Maybe they belong to waring
9:22factions or have different views on
9:24justice. They should respect each
9:26other's skills even if they hate their
9:28goals. Structure the progression.
9:30hatred, grudging recognition, forced
9:32alliance, and finally romantic
9:34awareness. And remember, slow burn does
9:36not mean slow pacing. Do not stop the
9:38plot for googly eyes. Generally, the
9:40romance should be a subplot running
9:42parallel to the action because remember,
9:44this is standard urban fantasy, not
9:46paranormal romance, which is a separate
9:48genre. Layer small moments of intimacy
9:50throughout the danger so that the final
9:52kiss feels inevitable. The next trope is
9:54the ticking clock. To keep that hero
9:56moving against the villain, you need a
9:58ticking clock. If your plot is dragging,
10:01you are probably missing a deadline.
10:02Urgency sharpens decision-making. When a
10:04character has a month, they can be
10:06rational. When they have until sunset
10:08before the virus becomes permanent, they
10:09have to take risks. So, don't make the
10:11deadline arbitrary. Ground it in the
10:13mechanics of the world. Maybe a ritual
10:15requires specific star alignment or a
10:18poison moves at a certain speed. And
10:20keep the clock visible. Show the moon
10:22rising. Show the corruption spreading.
10:24This is great for interworld friction.
10:26If the hero has to stop a demon by 5:00
10:28pm, but has a job interview at 4:30, you
10:30have immediate relatable conflict. Most
10:33authors treat the plot like a straight
10:34line. But urban fantasy needs interwoven
10:36mysteries, and that's where this next
10:38trope comes in, known as mystery
10:40threads. You have the mundane reality
10:42and the supernatural underbelly. So, the
10:44mystery needs to exist on both levels.
10:46Use causality. Revelation in thread A
10:49should trigger an escalation in thread
10:50B, and if the hero finds a mundane clue,
10:52it forces a magical question. If they
10:54upset a vampire in the political thread,
10:56it hinders the murder investigation.
10:57Don't let subplots exist in isolation.
11:00Every thread must matter to the
11:01protagonist's ultimate goal. When you
11:03get to the climax, you want all of these
11:05threads to converge on a single point in
11:07time. The political conspiracy solves
11:09the murder, which reveals the hero's
11:11power. And then the next trope is called
11:13sanctuary. Sometimes the characters need
11:15a break, or rather a different kind of
11:17stress. That brings us to the sanctuary.
11:19And this is a neutral ground. the
11:20nightclub owned by an ancient party or
11:23the council hall. Do not treat this as a
11:25timeout. It's a tension magnifier. The
11:27most intense scenes isn't always a sword
11:30fight. It's forcing the hero to sit at a
11:32table across from the villain because
11:34the rules say they can't fight. The
11:35conflict becomes psychological and
11:37political. You need enforcement. A rule
11:39without consequence is just a
11:40suggestion. Establish why no one breaks
11:42the rules. Is the owner a dragon, for
11:45example? Is there an enchantment that
11:47strips magic? Because when the safety of
11:49the sanctuary is finally violated, that
11:51is where the endgame begins. In our next
11:53trope, if a fight does break out, maybe
11:55the hero uses a sentient weapon. This is
11:57the bridge between the modern and the
11:59ancient. Think Excalibur in a pawn shop.
12:01But don't treat it like a GPS with
12:02attitude. It needs agency like a bad
12:05roommate you carry in a holster. It
12:07should cause problems. Design the
12:08personality to foil the protagonist, and
12:11if the hero is cautious, make the sword
12:12bloodthirsty. Establish a motivation.
12:14Was it forged to kill a specific
12:16bloodline? If that goal conflicts with
12:18the hero's current objective, you have
12:20gold and apply costs. Does it drain the
12:22hero's life? Does it attract predators?
12:24Using the weapon should be a desperate
12:26choice, not a default setting. The next
12:28common trope is memory loss. Sometimes
12:30to hide the truth, we use memory loss.
12:32It gets a bad rap, but in urban fantasy,
12:35it helps with the masquerade. If the
12:36protagonist forgets the rules, they
12:38become the avatar for the reader, asking
12:40basic questions about ghouls and magical
12:42laws. But avoid random head bumps. Tie
12:45the amnesia to the magic system. Was it
12:47a curse, a government wipe, a trade with
12:50the fay? The cause determines the cure.
12:52And don't use a magic switch to restore
12:53everything at once. Map out a
12:55progressive recovery with flashbacks and
12:57false memories. A warrior who remembers
12:59how to fight, but not why they fight has
13:01to rediscover their morality. It turns
13:03the recovery into character development.
13:06Finally, we have to talk about how you
13:07deliver all this. If you pick up 10
13:09bestsellers in this genre, about eight
13:11of them are probably written in
13:13first-person past tense. This is because
13:15of the scope. Epic fantasy needs a
13:17bird's eye view of armies. Urban fantasy
13:19is about one person navigating an secret
13:21world. And so, first person is all about
13:23voice. The narrator's personality
13:25filters every piece of information. So,
13:27you aren't just describing a vampire,
13:29you're actually describing how much the
13:30protagonist hates that vampire. And so,
13:32this allows for the unreliable narrator.
13:35Uh maybe the hero is wrong about how
13:36magic works, that kind of thing. Also,
13:38if you're writing this genre, you are
13:39likely writing a series. But don't
13:41confuse a cliffhanger with an unfinished
13:43story. You must resolve the main
13:45conflict of the current book. And if the
13:46hero is hunting a demon, they must catch
13:48that demon. Master the unresolved
13:50subplot. While the battle ends, the war
13:53escalates. Think of the Marvel postredit
13:55scenes. The hero wins, but we see the
13:58enemy making a phone call. This is the
14:00stinger. It promises that safety is only
14:02temporary. Now, I know that's a lot of
14:04moving parts, but if you nail the
14:05dynamics of the masquerade, the specific
14:07type of reluctant hero, and the rules of
14:09your magic system, you are well on your
14:11way to writing a book that readers won't
14:13be able to put down. If you're serious
14:14about writing urban fantasy, I've
14:16actually published a book that goes into
14:18much more depth on the standard urban
14:19fantasy genre. You can buy that book,
14:21but you can also get it at no extra
14:22charge along with many other books of
14:25other genre analyses by joining the
14:27story hacker gold group, which by the
14:28way is open right now, but only for the
14:31next week and will be going up. The
14:33price will be going up at the end of
14:34that week. So, if you want to get in,
14:36now's the time to do it before the end
14:38of the year. I will include a link in
14:39the description down below and I will
14:41see you in the next