Full transcript
0:00Did you know that the difference between
0:01a flop and a bestseller in the academy
0:04fantasy genre, especially medieval
0:06academy fantasy, often comes down to
0:08just three specific chapters? Readers of
0:11this genre have an extremely specific
0:13expectations that they want uh for
0:15instance, the fish out of water moments,
0:17the brutal social hierarchy, and the
0:19high stakes tournaments in a very
0:21specific order. My name is Jason
0:23Hamilton. I'm a fantasy author and
0:25honestly I'm the most obsessed
0:27storytelling nerd that I know and I use
0:29this channel as an excuse to study what
0:31makes stories work. To find out exactly
0:33what readers want, I analyze the top
0:35performing books in the young adult
0:37medieval academy niche. This sounds
0:40really niche. That's because I am
0:42specifically writing a book series
0:44that's in this niche. So, it's one that
0:46I already knew what the bestsellers
0:47were. I looked for books with a massive
0:50readership and high ratings. And then I
0:52used AI to strip them down to their
0:53structural bones. And what I found was a
0:55clear road map for taking a character
0:57from a m mundane nobody to the most
1:00powerful student in the school. And
1:02today I'm going to give you that road
1:04map. Now before we dive into chapter
1:06one, let's get one thing straight. Using
1:08a template is not cheating. It isn't
1:11uncreative. In fact, it fosters
1:14creativity. Constraint breeds
1:16creativity. And in the world of genre
1:17fiction, especially something as trope
1:19heavy as young adult academy fantasy, a
1:21template is just a promise that you're
1:23making with the readers. Readers don't
1:25pick up these books because they want
1:26you to reinvent the concept of
1:28storytelling. They pick them up because
1:30they want the dopamine hit of a specific
1:32experience. They want the underdog, the
1:35magic school, and the snarky love
1:36interest. And if you try to get too
1:38clever and skip the foundations, you
1:39aren't subverting expectations. You're
1:41actually just disappointing your
1:43audience. We're going to break this down
1:45into a standard 20 chapter structure and
1:48this fits perfectly into a roughly 60 to
1:5180,000word novel. Now, let's start with
1:55act one, which is the spark and the
1:57summons. Chapter one is the spark of the
1:59mundane. We start where all good heroes
2:02journeys start at rock bottom. You need
2:05to introduce your protagonist in a
2:06mundane low status environment. Maybe
2:08they are a servant in a non-magical
2:10village. Maybe they are a street rat.
2:12The key is dissatisfaction. They don't
2:15belong here and they don't want to be
2:16here. While they are doing something
2:18incredibly boring like scrubbing floors,
2:20delivering a package, feeding the pigs,
2:23crisis strikes. A bandit attacked, a
2:26wild beast, or a collapsing building. It
2:28needs to be something life-threatening
2:29to someone that they care about. And in
2:32this high stress moment, they snap. They
2:34instinctively release a burst of magic.
2:36And here is the catch. It can't be
2:39normal magic. It has to be unrefined,
2:41unique, or legally forbidden. They save
2:44the day, but they immediately realize
2:46that they are in trouble. Society fears
2:48this kind of power. The chapter ends
2:50with them trying to cover it up, but a
2:52witness or some kind of magical device
2:54has already clocked them. Chapter 2 is
2:57the summons. The consequences need to be
2:59immediate. The authorities arrive.
3:01Readers expect execution or prison, but
3:03you give them conscription. Because the
3:06protagonist power is so rare or raw,
3:08they are forcibly recruited to the
3:10academy. This raises the stakes. They
3:12aren't going to school because they want
3:13to learn. They are going because they
3:15have to. This journey serves a dual
3:17purpose. First, it tears the protagonist
3:19away from their family, establishing
3:21emotional stakes. Second, it allows for
3:24world building. Show us the divide. Show
3:26us the poverty of the protagonist home
3:28compared to the obscene wealth of the
3:30magical elite. This class resentment is
3:32a fuel for the rest of the book. Chapter
3:35three is the gates of the academy
3:37because now we hit the special world.
3:38The protagonist arrives at the academy.
3:41It should be overwhelming. The
3:42architecture is impossible. The magic is
3:44in the air. You need an intake process
3:46here, a sort of sorting hat moment, if
3:49you will. The protagonist is assessed
3:51and placed into a track. Usually, this
3:54is the lowest prestige track or the one
3:56with the highest mortality rate or, you
3:58know, something that the character does
4:00not like. This is where you introduce
4:02the cast, the roommate who explains the
4:04rules and the social hierarchy and
4:06crucially the antagonist. You need a
4:08kind of wealthy high status student or a
4:10cynical instructor to immediately look
4:12down on your hero. They are the face of
4:15the oppressive system. Chapter 4 is the
4:17first failure. You might be tempted to
4:19make your hero awesome immediately.
4:21Please don't. The classes begin and the
4:24protagonist needs to fail hard. Their
4:26background hasn't prepared them for all
4:28of the theoretical stuff. They get
4:30humiliated in class by that rival we met
4:32in chapter 3. And this reinforces the
4:34fish out of water status. This is also
4:37the perfect time to bring in the love
4:38interest, usually a high-ranking
4:40talented student. They witness this
4:42humiliation, but they don't help. The
4:44interaction should be tense, filled with
4:46judgment or cold indifference, and this
4:48is the enemies part of the enemies to
4:50lovers arc. The protagonist retreats to
4:52the library of the training yard,
4:54determined to catch up, and failure
4:56breeds grit. Chapter 5 is the
4:58alternative path. So standards methods
5:00aren't working. So the protagonist needs
5:02to get creative. They find, say, an old
5:05book or a forbidden tool or a weird
5:07mentor who lives in a basement. They
5:09start training in secret, usually at
5:11night. And this shows that the reader
5:12that the hero is proactive. They aren't
5:15just waiting for a teacher to spoon feed
5:16them wisdom. During one of these secret
5:19sessions, they see something they
5:20shouldn't. Maybe a sketchy conversation
5:22between faculty members or a magical
5:24anomaly. This plants the seed of the
5:26mystery. The school is not safe. There
5:29is a conspiracy rotting the foundation.
5:31But the social pressure is just as
5:33dangerous as the conspiracy. And that
5:36leads us to act two, part one, sparks
5:38and sabotage. Starting with chapter six,
5:41sparring and sparks. We move from books
5:44to fists. The curriculum shifts to
5:46combat or dueling. The protagonist grit
5:49allows them to survive against a skilled
5:51opponent. They don't have to win, they
5:53just have to not die. This earns them a
5:56grudging nod from the love interest who
5:58is either paired with them or forced to
6:00intervene. This is your first charged
6:02moment. A mix of hostility and
6:05attraction. The love interest offers a
6:07tip or a warning. The protagonist
6:10realizes this elite student is under
6:12their own kind of pressure. They aren't
6:13just a snob. They are sort of trapped as
6:15well. Chapter 7 is the social gauntlet.
6:18Magic schools are just essentially high
6:20schools with fireballs. You need a
6:23social event, which could be a festival
6:25or a dining hall ceremony or a holiday.
6:27The protagonist has to navigate
6:29politics, not magic. The rival group
6:31will try to prank or sabotage them, and
6:34this is where the hero's friends, aka
6:36the outcasts that we met earlier, step
6:38up. The hero stands their ground
6:40publicly. The night ends with a quiet
6:42encounter with the love interest.
6:44Barriers lower slightly. Maybe there's a
6:46shared drink or a joke. Uh, but then a
6:48misunderstanding or interruption slams
6:50the wall back up. You have to keep the
6:52tension simmering. Quick pause. If
6:54you're an author who wants to start
6:55writing more books, I put together my
6:57complete AI prompt pack that helped me
6:59and many others in my community write a
7:01book in a month. It's completely free.
7:03Hit the link in the description. Join
7:04the free weight list for Story Hacker
7:06Gold. Then you just answer a couple
7:08quick questions and I'll send you the
7:09full prompt list plus a few extra free
7:12goodies. I'll also email you when I open
7:14the paid Story Hacker Gold group, so you
7:16can join if it feels right. There's no
7:18commitment to join, though, and you'll
7:20still be able to get all of the freebies
7:21you signed up for either way. All right,
7:23back to the video. Chapter eight is the
7:25sabotage. So, in this chapter, we have
7:27midterms that are coming, and the stakes
7:29are getting real. The rival group
7:31decides they are done playing nice. They
7:33either steal or destroy the protagonist
7:34equipment or notes. The hero spirals
7:37into self-doubt, and they fear
7:38expulsion. While scrambling for a
7:40solution, the protagonist finds a
7:42tangible clue related to that mystery
7:44from chapter 5. Maybe they see a teacher
7:46meeting a known enemy of the state. And
7:48this connects the bullying plot to the
7:50larger save the world plot. Chapter 9 is
7:53the midpoint trial. This is the pivot
7:55point of the entire novel. A highstakes
7:58public exam or a tournament of some kind
8:01takes place, but something goes wrong. A
8:03monster gets loose or a magical
8:05explosion happens and the safe academic
8:08approach fails to survive. The
8:10protagonist is forced to use that unique
8:13forbidden magic from chapter 1, the
8:15thing that they have been hiding. And
8:17this time it's public. It's undeniable.
8:19It shocks everyone, students and faculty
8:21alike. The threat is neutralized, but
8:23the secret is out. The protagonist is no
8:25longer just a struggling student. They
8:27are a dangerous anomaly. That leads us
8:29directly into part two of act two, which
8:31is the conspiracy unravels. Starting
8:34with chapter 10, the interrogation. You
8:37can't have a massive display of
8:38forbidden magic without some kind of
8:39fallout. So, in this case, the
8:41protagonist faces a disciplinary council
8:43of some kind. They are accused of using
8:46whatever they call it, dark arts. They
8:48are on the brink of expulsion or
8:50execution. Even the mentor figure or the
8:53love interest intervenes. They vouch for
8:55the hero saving their life but putting
8:56them on strict probation. The
8:58protagonist realizes that the accident
9:01at the midpoint wasn't an accident. It
9:03was a hit. Somebody wants them dead.
9:06Chapter 11 is the secret alliance. The
9:08student body now fears the hero and they
9:10are isolated. This pushes the
9:12protagonist and the love interest
9:13together. The love interest offers to
9:15help them control this vi volatile power
9:17and we get a sort of training montage
9:19but a little bit more intimate. Late
9:22nights, heavy breathing, aggressive
9:23sparring that turns into a near kiss,
9:25that sort of thing. The love interest
9:27reveals a secret about the corruption of
9:28the realm. Their goals align, and they
9:30are now partners in the investigation.
9:33Chapter 12 is the trap. So, they follow
9:35a lead. They break curfew to infiltrate
9:37a restricted area like the archives, the
9:39dungeons, the headm's office, and maybe
9:41they find proof of treason, but someone
9:43is letting enemies into the school, but
9:45it's a trap. The secondary antagonist,
9:48usually the bully acting as a pawn,
9:50corners them with a monster or some kind
9:52of enforcer. A fight breaks out. The
9:54protagonist has to protect their
9:55friends. It results in a serious injury
9:57to the friend or the hero themselves.
9:59That leads us into chapter 13. All is
10:02lost. This is your emotional low point.
10:05The fallout is disastrous. The
10:07protagonist is blamed for the breach.
10:09Their key friend is injured or expelled
10:11because of them. The love interest is
10:13forced by their family or duty to
10:15publicly distance themselves. They
10:17basically say that they can't be seen
10:19with them anymore. The proof that they
10:21found either destroyed or confiscated.
10:24So now the hero is isolated, hated, and
10:26powerless. They consider packing their
10:28bags and running away. Chapter 14 is the
10:31clarity. The protagonist is wallowing in
10:33despair. Then a subtle message arrives,
10:36a token from the mentor or a note from
10:38the love interest, and it reignites
10:40their resolve. They realize that they
10:42possess a piece of information regarding
10:44the magic system or the conspiracy that
10:45only they can utilize. They decide to
10:48stay. They know the villains plan to
10:50strike during the final exam. They rally
10:52their few remaining allies for a
10:53desperate plan and they are going to
10:55fight. Which leads us right into act
10:57three, the final trial. Starting with
10:59chapter 15, the final trial begins. The
11:02end of tournament begins and the
11:04atmosphere is suffocating. The
11:06protagonist has to perform difficult
11:08magical tasks to pass the grade, all
11:11while watching the shadows for an
11:12assassin. They use a mix of their unique
11:14power and the refined skills that they
11:16learn from the love interest, and they
11:17impress the crowd, but this angers the
11:20conspirators forcing their hand. Chapter
11:2316 is the true enemy revealed, where the
11:25trap is sprung. The true villains reveal
11:27themselves. It's rarely the student
11:29rival because they're rarely the
11:31masterminds. It's usually a trusted
11:32teacher or administrator. They unleash a
11:34massive threat intended to destroy the
11:37academy or kidnap the protagonist. Chaos
11:39erupts. The student rival flees or gets
11:42knocked out immediately. The protagonist
11:44is the only one standing who can stop
11:45it. Chapter 17 is the unleashing. This
11:48is the fireworks factory. The
11:50protagonist engages the villain.
11:52Standard magic fails. The hero has to
11:53fully embrace their unique dangerous
11:55power. Pain casting. Standard magic
11:57fails. The hero has to fully embrace
11:59their unique dangerous power. Whatever
12:01that is. Then they have to use it
12:03without holding back. The love interest
12:05fights backtoback with them, defending
12:07them physically while the protagonist
12:08prepares this magical nuke, for lack of
12:11a better term. The hero risks burnout or
12:14death to cast the decisive spell.
12:17Chapter 18 is called the cost of
12:19victory. The where the broad threat is
12:22neutralized. The protagonist collapses.
12:24There is a cost like an injury or the
12:26loss of a magical tool or the exposure
12:28of a secret identity. and authorities
12:30arrive to secure the scene. The love
12:32interest tends to the protagonist. The
12:34bond is solidified. There is no more
12:36will they, won't they? They are a team
12:38now. The villain might be captured, or
12:40they might escape to fight another day,
12:42leaving a lingering threat. Chapter 19
12:44is the new status quo, aka recovery
12:47mode. The protagonist wakes up in an
12:49infirmary. They are cleared of
12:51wrongdoings. In fact, they are hailed as
12:53a hero, or at least as a valuable weapon
12:54that the academy wants to keep. And the
12:57social hierarchy has shifted. The
12:59bullies are cowed. The protagonist has a
13:01secured a spot for the next year. And
13:03they reconnect with their friends.
13:04Everything seems perfect. But this is a
13:06series, right? And in the final scene,
13:08while the academy celebrates, the
13:11protagonist realizes the truth. The
13:12defeated teacher was just a pawn. A
13:15larger external power is moving pieces
13:17on the board and a war is coming. The
13:19protagonist looks out over the academy
13:21walls, ready for the next year, but
13:23knowing that peace is temporary. All
13:25right, so you have the road map. You
13:27have the beat sheet designed to take
13:28your protagonist from zero to hero. But
13:31chances are if you are writing in this
13:32genre, you aren't just writing one book.
13:34You're writing a trilogy or a quartet,
13:36maybe a saga. So the question naturally
13:39becomes, does this plot template work
13:40for book two? The answer is yes and no.
13:44And I know that's frustrating, but let
13:45me explain. The template I just gave you
13:47is designed specifically for the origin
13:49story. It relies heavily on the fish out
13:51of water trope and the initial discovery
13:53of powers. Once you hit book two, your
13:55protagonist is no longer a fish out of
13:57water, at least not in the same way, and
13:59they're usually one of the most powerful
14:00students in the school. Therefore,
14:02strictly following the book one template
14:04for a sequel will feel repetitive.
14:06However, we can't just throw structure
14:07out the window. If book one is about
14:10survival and discovery, the sequels are
14:12about mastery and consequence. So,
14:14here's what changes. First, the scope
14:16expands naturally. In book one,
14:19everything is about grades and bullies.
14:21In book two, the field trip becomes a
14:23major plot point. The protagonist gets
14:24sent to the front lines of a war using
14:26the skills they learned in the first
14:28book or perhaps to a neighboring enemy
14:30kingdom as a spy. The academy remains
14:32the home base, but the plot is no longer
14:35confined to the dorms. Second, the
14:37romance evolves. You can't keep doing
14:39the blushing crush thing forever. In the
14:41sequels, the relationship deals with
14:43harder realities. Often, the main
14:45characters are forced onto opposite
14:47sides of conflict. The traitors dynamic
14:49is huge here. Someone has to betray the
14:52others to save the kingdom. But here's
14:54what must stay the same, and this is
14:56where most authors mess up. You cannot
14:58abandon the academy part of academy
15:01fantasy. Even if your character is
15:03fighting a war, you must maintain the
15:05academic structure. Readers crave the
15:07feeling of progression. So there should
15:08still be mentors, lessons, and a clear
15:11hierarchy of moving from novice to
15:13apprentice to master, etc. You also need
15:16the tournament. In book one, we have the
15:18midpoint trial and the final exam. In
15:20the sequels, you still need these kind
15:22of set pieces. So, a grand tournament
15:24between rival schools, a candidacy trial
15:27to become an elite guard. Call it
15:29whatever you want, but keep the
15:30competition. And finally, the rivalry.
15:33You still need a peer rival. Even if you
15:34have a dark lord, you need someone that
15:37the protagonist's own a even if you have
15:40a dark lord, you still need someone who
15:42is the protagonist's own age to measure
15:44themselves against. If you stick to the
15:46generated momentum of the series,
15:48escalating the war while maintaining the
15:49schoolyear structure, your sequel will
15:52practically write itself. And speaking
15:54of writing those books, if you want to
15:55go deeper into this, you really need to
15:57check out the story hacker gold group.
15:58I've published a book that goes into
16:00more depth on the genre of young adult
16:02medieval academy fantasy. And while you
16:04can buy that book on Amazon, you can
16:05actually get it at no extra charge along
16:07with many other book genre analyses just
16:09by joining the stack story hacker gold
16:11group. I'm working on getting at least a
16:13hundred up there. So, that will
16:15essentially be uh $500 saved if you go
16:20through the StoryHacker Gold group as
16:21opposed to buying them all individually.
16:23And there we take you through the entire
16:25process from having nothing to having
16:27your book in hand all with the marketing
16:28tools and the ethical AI workflows to
16:30make it happen. So, click the link in
16:32the description to join us and I will
16:33see you in the next