Full transcript
0:00Welcome back to another genre guide
0:02video, specifically talking about the
0:04plot of male-led urban fantasy. This is
0:07a specific flavor of fantasy where the
0:09hero worries less about saving a kingdom
0:11and more about paying rent, usually
0:13while fighting a werewolf in a dark
0:14alley or something like that. And we all
0:16know the vibe, the gritty detective, the
0:18cynical mercenary, the hidden magical
0:20world. But how do you actually structure
0:22that story so it keeps readers turning
0:24pages until 3:00 a.m.? And if you don't
0:26know who I am, my name is Jason
0:27Hamilton. I'm a fantasy author and I
0:29spent three years of Kindle helping
0:30writers understand the business of
0:31books. And now I'm just obsessed with
0:34storytelling mechanics. I recently did a
0:36massive deep dive into the bestselling
0:38male urban fantasy novels, books with
0:40over a thousand reviews and high
0:41ratings, and I used AI to tear them
0:43apart scene by scene. Today, I'm
0:45treating you with the result of that
0:46meta analysis, a complete beat-by-be
0:49plot template for writing a hit in this
0:52specific genre. Starting with act one.
0:54We are going to be moving through this
0:56fast because we have 32 chapters to fill
0:58and every single one needs to pull its
1:00weight. In this genre, pacing is king.
1:03If you bore the readers for three pages,
1:05they're gone. Let's look at how the
1:06bestsellers handle the first act.
1:08Chapter one is the disrupted routine.
1:11You don't start with a prophecy. You
1:12don't start with a prologue about the
1:14dark wars of 1812. You start with a guy
1:16doing a job he probably hates. The
1:18protagonist needs to be introduced in
1:19his natural habitat. And this is usually
1:21a low status or gritty environment.
1:23Maybe he's a private investigator, an
1:25oult shop owner, or a mercenary. The key
1:27here is financial struggle. We need to
1:29know that he is good at magic or
1:31fighting, but kind of bad at life. Then
1:33you interrupt him. A client walks in, or
1:35a mundane authority figure calls him up.
1:37It's a job, and our hero shouldn't want
1:39it. He's cynical. He views this as a
1:41nuisance. This establishes his voice,
1:43which is worldweary, sarcastic, and
1:46often reluctant. And this is the
1:48baseline for your masquerade. Show us
1:50the normal before you break it. Chapter
1:522 is the scene of the crime. Now the
1:54hero gets to work. He arrives at the
1:56scene of the incident. And this is your
1:57chance to show, not tell, the magic
1:59system. He needs to use specific
2:01supernatural senses or tools to find
2:03evidence the cops missed. The twist here
2:05is immediate. This isn't a normal job.
2:07The evidence points to something way
2:09above his pay grade, like a dangerous
2:11entity or violation of magical law. He
2:13realizes the stakes aren't just about
2:15his paycheck anymore. Someone is
2:17watching him. You need a minor
2:18confrontation here or a warning from a
2:20hidden observer just to prove the threat
2:22is real. Chapter three is the
2:23authorities warning. In classic noir
2:25fashion, you need the pinser dynamic.
2:27The hero is investigating a dangerous
2:29villain. So now you need the good guys
2:31to pressure him too. A powerful figure
2:33from the supernatural governing body,
2:34whatever that looks like, a council, a
2:36cabal, the wardens confronts him. They
2:39tell him to drop the case or they give
2:40him an impossible deadline under threat
2:42of execution. So now the hero is
2:45trapped. He's being hunted by the bad
2:46guy and squeezed by the law. He refuses
2:48to back down, usually because of the
2:50stubborn moral code, or maybe because he
2:52just needs the money that badly. But
2:54chapter 4 is called the client meeting.
2:56We need to care about the villain.
2:58Action means nothing without emotional
2:59context. So, the protagonist has a quiet
3:02moment with the client. This scene
3:03shifts the motivation from financial to
3:05moral. The client reveals a secret they
3:07were holding back. Maybe it's a hidden
3:09heritage or a dark past. The protagonist
3:11realizes he is the only person in the
3:12city capable of fixing this mess. though
3:15he solidifies his role as the reluctant
3:17protector. Chapter five is the sidekick
3:19and the sanctuary. You need a pacing
3:21break, so the hero goes to his home
3:22base. This is his sanctuary. We meet the
3:24sidekick or ally. This character handles
3:27the exposition and often the comic
3:28relief. They analyze the clues found in
3:30chapter 2 and realizes that the enemy is
3:33vastly clearer and more dangerous than
3:35anticipated. This scene highlights the
3:37found family trope and it shows us what
3:39the hero is fighting to defend. Chapter
3:41six is the first ambush. The talking is
3:43over. The antagonist knows the hero is
3:44sniffing around and they send a message.
3:47While following a lead, the protagonist
3:48gets ambushed and this is not a fair
3:50fight. These are minions or hired guns,
3:52but the attack is surprisingly lethal.
3:55The hero has to use magic and physical
3:57violence to survive. He barely makes it
3:59out or manages to capture one guy for
4:02questions. Chapter 7 is the
4:03interrogation in the underworld. The
4:05hero takes the info from the ambush and
4:07goes on the offensive. He descends into
4:09the CD supernatural underbelly. Think of
4:11a goblins market or a vampire nightclub
4:13or a wizard's dive bar. He uses
4:15intimidation to get answers. This
4:17establishes the detective element of the
4:19story. He meets an untrustworthy
4:21informant or something like that. They
4:23give him a lead, but they have their own
4:24agenda. Nothing is free in this world.
4:27Chapter 8 is crossing the threshold.
4:28This is the end of act one and the point
4:30of no return. The lead takes the
4:32protagonist to a dangerous location or
4:33forces a ritual that commits him to the
4:35conflict. He uncovers proof of a larger
4:38conspiracy. And it's not just a murder.
4:40It's actually a power grab or an
4:41apocalyptic ritual. The hero realizes he
4:44cannot turn back now, even if he wanted
4:45to. So, the door has closed behind him.
4:47That leads us into act two. Act two is
4:50where most writers get lost. They wander
4:51around aimlessly. But in urban fantasy,
4:53act two is a straight line of
4:55escalation. Chapter nine is the
4:57impossible threat. You need to establish
4:59the power gap immediately. The
5:01protagonist encounters a threshold
5:02guardian like a monster or a mage
5:04guarding the next step. This enemy is
5:06way stronger than the hero. The hero
5:07cannot win in a fair fight. He has to
5:10retreat or use a dirty trick to survive.
5:12This shows the reader that brute force
5:13won't work. It forces the hero to be
5:15clever. Chapter 10 is mundane
5:17interference. Just when things get
5:19magical, drag it back to reality. The
5:21real police or a mundane obstruction
5:23gets in the way. The hero is detained or
5:26questioned. He then has to navigate the
5:28masquerade. He has to lie to the cops to
5:30protect the secret world while knowing
5:31the real killer is getting away. That
5:33isolates him. He is trapped between the
5:35supernatural monster and the human law.
5:37Chapter 11 is the B story connection.
5:39The protagonist escapes the red tape and
5:41seeks help from a love interest or a
5:43close ally. This slows the pace down a
5:45bit. We need emotional vulnerability
5:47here. They talk about the past or their
5:49trauma and it raises the personal
5:50stakes. If the hero fails, this person
5:53also will likely die or come to harm. He
5:56gets a key piece of info or a magical
5:58item from this ally. Chapter 12 is the
6:00discovery. Using that new resource, the
6:02hero breaks into a secure location like
6:04an office, a lair, or a warehouse. He
6:07finds the smoking gun, which is a
6:09dossier or an artifact or something that
6:11reveals the antagonist's true intention.
6:13The discovery is worse than he thought.
6:14It usually involves a betrayal or
6:16corruption of something pure. And by the
6:18way, I have published a book that goes
6:20into more depth on the genre of maleled
6:21urban fantasy. And you can buy that book
6:23on Amazon, but you can also get it at no
6:25extra charge along with many other book
6:27genre analyses by joining the
6:29Storyhacker Gold group. And I walk you
6:31through the entire process to go from
6:32having nothing to having your book in
6:34hand, all with the tools you need to
6:35market it. And we even get into how AI
6:37can help enhance your process without
6:39diminishing your creativity or
6:40compromising your ethics. So go check
6:42that out in the link below. Chapter 13
6:44is called the sanctuary breached. This
6:46is your midpoint. And in urban fantasy,
6:48the midpoint usually means something
6:50blows up. The hero returns to the safe
6:52house, the one we established in chapter
6:535, and it's compromised. The bad guy is
6:56sent to hit squad. The wards fail. The
6:57hero has to fight a defensive battle in
6:59his own living room. High collateral
7:00damage, and a sense of safety is
7:02destroyed. But chapter 14 is the
7:04midpoint reversal. The battle ends with
7:06a pirick victory. Bad guys retreat, but
7:08the hero is wrecked. A second character
7:10might be hurt or taken. The hero is
7:12bleeding and his home is trashed. He
7:14realized that reaction is dead. He can't
7:17just investigate anymore. He has to go
7:19to war. The genre shifts from mystery to
7:21survival. Chapter 15 is recovery and
7:24rage. The hero licks his wounds in a,
7:27you know, rundown motel or on a friend's
7:29couch, and he is emotionally volatile.
7:32He tries to push his allies away to
7:33protect them, but they refuse to leave.
7:35This reaffirms the bond. They hatch a
7:37plan that is dangerous and definitely
7:40illegal. Chapter 16 is the deal with the
7:42devil. The hero isn't strong enough yet,
7:43so he needs an edge. He seeks out a
7:45morally gray third party, a demon or a
7:47fa lord or a crime boss. He makes a
7:50bargain, and he trades a favor or a
7:51piece of his soul for power or
7:53information. This foreshadows trouble
7:56for future books, but he needs it to
7:58survive tonight. Chapter 17 is the
7:59betrayal. The new intel actually leads
8:02him into a trap. Turns out a trusted
8:04member of his circle or that authority
8:05figure from chapter 3 was actually
8:08working for the villain. The hero is
8:10captured or pinned down and the betrayal
8:11cuts deep. No one can be trusted. This
8:14is the all is lost setup. Chapter 18 is
8:16the escape. You planted a seed earlier
8:18in the book. A minor skill or an item
8:20like Czechov's gun. And now the hero
8:22uses it. He escapes the trap and it's a
8:24gritty painful sequence. He leaves
8:26bodies behind. He crosses a moral line
8:28he was trying to avoid. He is desperate.
8:31Chapter 19 is the second pinch point.
8:33The villain realizes the hero escaped.
8:35He accelerates the timeline. He attacks
8:36a civilian target or a love interest to
8:38draw the hero out. He sets a deadline.
8:40Come to me by sundown or the city burns,
8:42that sort of thing. The stakes are now
8:43at maximum. And that leads us into act
8:46three, starting with chapter 20, the
8:48dark knight of the soul. At this point,
8:49the hero is exhausted and he's
8:51outgunned. He has a moment of despair
8:53where he thinks about running. He looks
8:54at a totem, a picture, a voicemail, and
8:57remembers why he fights. He accepts that
8:59he might die, but decides to make it
9:01count. Chapter 21 is gathering the team.
9:04He rallies the survivors, like the
9:06sidekick, the love interest, maybe a
9:07former rival. They outline a suicide
9:09mission, and everyone gets a role.
9:11Weapons are loaded, spells are prepped,
9:12grim camaraderie. Chapter 2 is the
9:14infiltration. The team approaches a
9:16stronghold, like a skyscraper, a ruin,
9:18or a portal, and they use stealth to
9:20bypass the outer defenses. Tension is
9:22high and it goes smoothly at first, but
9:24almost too smoothly. Chapter 23 is the
9:26plan falls apart. And this is where
9:28everything goes wrong. The team is
9:29separated. The hero is cut off. He has
9:31to proceed alone towards the center. And
9:33this forces the one-on-one confrontation
9:35that we've been waiting for. Chapter 24
9:37is the revelation of evil. The hero
9:39reaches the boss. The antagonist reveals
9:41the full plan, and it's honestly
9:42horrific. They offer the protagonist a
9:44join me temptation. The hero rejects it
9:47with a quip. Chapter 25 is the
9:49sacrifice. The battle begins and it goes
9:51badly. To break the defenses, an ally
9:53makes a sacrifice of some kind. They can
9:56get hurt or use up all their magic. The
9:58hero sees this and absolutely loses it
10:00and he fills with cold fury. Chapter 26
10:03is the duel. This is direct combat with
10:05magic and fists. The environment is
10:07destroyed. The hero tries to use the
10:09mcguffin he found earlier, but it
10:10doesn't work right. He has to improvise.
10:12He and he fights dirty to win. Chapter
10:1527 is the moral choice. The villain
10:17might be down, but not dead. The
10:19authorities scream for an arrest. The
10:20hero knows the system is broken, so he
10:23executes the villain or ensures a fate
10:24worse than death. The threat is gone
10:26forever, but this defines him as an
10:28anti-hero. Chapter 28 is the immediate
10:30aftermath. So, at this point, we're at
10:32an adrenaline crash. The hero surveys
10:35the ruins. The client is safe, but the
10:36cost was high. He shares a look with the
10:38survivors, and they too are changed.
10:40Chapter 29 is the cleanup. The cleaners
10:43arrive to cover up the magic. The hero
10:45is debriefed. He gets yelled at for
10:47breaking the rules but let go because
10:48he, you know, saved the day. The
10:50masquerade is then restored and he has
10:52made powerful enemies which sets up the
10:54sequels. Chapter 30 is the funeral or
10:56the hospital which is a quiet scene
10:58visiting the injured or burying the dead
11:00and it grounds the fantasy in real
11:02emotion and yet the ally usually
11:04confirms that the fight was worth it.
11:06Chapter 31 is payment and reflection.
11:08The hero gets paid. He pays his rent or
11:10feeds its cat. He returns to his routine
11:12but the routine feels different at this
11:14point. that he is actually leveled up.
11:16Chapter 32 is the new threat. Relaxing
11:18in the sanctuary, the phone rings or a
11:20package arrives. Some kind of new
11:21monster has arrived. A new mystery. The
11:23hero size, grabs his coat, and steps
11:25out. Fade to black. All right, so that
11:27temple works perfectly for book one. And
11:29it sets up the hero, introduces the
11:31magic, and forces a reluctant guide to
11:32be a hero. But then what happens if you
11:34write book two or book 12? Urban fantasy
11:36series like this have been known to go
11:37on for a little bit. The number of
11:39sequels in urban fantasy vary wildly and
11:41it's more like a TV procedural than an
11:43epic fantasy trilogy. You might write 20
11:45books about the same guy. And because of
11:47that, you can't just copy and paste the
11:49template. Things actually have to
11:51evolve. So, let's start with what
11:53changes. First, the refusal of the call
11:55disappears by book two when the phone
11:57rings. In this case, he answers it
11:59because he's a pro now. You don't need
12:00three chapters of him saying no again.
12:02Second, the masquerade becomes a tool,
12:04not a shock. He knows how to hide the
12:06bodies. he knows who to bribe. Third,
12:08the stakes escalate. In book one, he
12:11saves a client, and in book five, he
12:13saves the city. In book 10, he might be
12:15fighting a god. Fourth, the cast
12:17expands. You pick your strays. The team
12:19gets bigger, meaning your combat scenes
12:21can get more complex. But what stays the
12:24same? The DNA of the genre must stay the
12:26same. Readers want the same case of the
12:28week kind of feel to it. You still need
12:30the cold open showing him doing his job.
12:32You still need the investigation phase.
12:34Don't lose the detective work. You still
12:36need the midpoint disaster. You must
12:38stop hunting and start being hunted. You
12:40still need the power disparity. If the
12:41hero gets stronger, the villain must
12:43also get scarier. When you sit down to
12:44outline book two, use the template as a
12:46skeleton. Keep the pillars like the
12:48inciting incident and the midpoint and
12:50the climax, but swap out the details. If
12:52he's rich now, swap the financial
12:54struggle for a leadership struggle. The
12:56core emotion creates the ultimate
12:58structure. The details are just the
13:00dressing. Structure offers freedom. Once
13:02you know exactly what the walls are, you
13:03can paint whatever you want on them. And
13:05by the way, I have published a book that
13:07goes into more depth on the genre of
13:08maleled urban fantasy. And you can buy
13:10that book on Amazon, but you can also
13:12get it at no extra charge along with
13:14many other book genre analyses by
13:16joining the StoryHacker Gold group. And
13:18I walk you through the entire process to
13:19go from having nothing to having your
13:20book in hand, all with the tools you
13:22need to market it. And we even get into
13:24how AI can help enhance your process
13:26without diminishing your creativity or
13:28compromising your ethics. So, go check
13:30that out in the link below and I'll see
13:31you in the next