This episode of TWA is brought to you by Campfire
Blaze. Do you want to make a fantasy world, but are
too lazy to build a detailed fantasy setting? Then urban fantasy is the genre for you! Wait. That sounds familiar? Oh right. I already did a video on urban fantasy back
when I started the channel. That’s okay. I’ve since read a lot more of the genre
and I have so much more to complain about… um I mean I have so much more insight I can
offer! So join me in this 2nd dive into Urban Fantasy
Reloaded. Last time I covered some of urban fantasy’s
usual suspects like werewolves, vampires, and plucky teens with mystical powers. But this time I would like to dig a little
deeper into some other common aspects of urban fantasy. Starting with, of course, the protagonist. When designing an urban fantasy protagonist
make sure to adhere to the three Bs: black leather, blank slate, and bad attitude. Our protagonist always goes against the grain
and would never wear a uniform except the standard urban fantasy female protagonist
uniform of black leather. Does she always dress in black to mourn the
death of her fashion sense? Well mostly its to match the book’s cover
art. Don’t forget the tattoos to complete the
punk look. If your protagonist happens to be a guy then
the cover artists will give him a hat no matter how much he never wears it in the story. On to the next B, blank slate. It is important to sand off any rough edges
the character might have in order to make sure that the reader can insert themselves
into the protagonist’s shoes. I mean they live a world where magic is real
could they at least have an opinion on that or some kind of reaction other than angst? Can I at least give them a motive that explains
why they decide to stick around in the dangerous edge between the modern and supernatural worlds? Why does the protagonist keep a job that requires
facing down mythical monsters and it doesn’t even pay a living wage? Because there must be nothing to get in the
way of audience projection and I’m sure it won’t backfire by instead giving the
audience nothing to latch onto. The final B in our list is bad attitude. It’s important to remember that the protagonist
conflates violence with strength of character, treats their colleagues with scorn, doesn’t
listen to people trying to help them, and only gets away with it because the plot supplies
them with an endless series of safety nets to keep them out of trouble. Does the protagonist’s bad attitude ever
get them into trouble? Do they burn bridges with social connections
that they really need to keep. Do any of these consequences fuel conflict
later in the story? Of course not. The protagonist is the only one that can deal
with the supernatural as everyone else is just fodder to prove how dangerous the magic
world is. We can’t have other competent characters
who simply oppose the methods or ideology of the protagonist. That might lead to conflict and someone who
isn’t the protagonist having an actual point. Remember, the protagonist isn’t a walking
time-bomb that causes untold collateral damage with unchecked power who probably needs to
be locked up to ensure public safety, but instead is just too cool to play it by the
rules. And if my 3 Bs don't work when designing a
protagonist then, well, that’s my B. But what if the audience calls out my protagonist
for being a walking disaster zone that can barely function in polite society, much less
deal with the supernatural? Well its time to break out the angst! You see the protagonist is secretly cursed
with this really awesome supernatural ability that they must keep secret from their closest
love ones because if it ever gets out then… um… it will be bad or something? And boy will they let you know it because
they never shut up about bad they have it. They have it so bad that it excuses all of
their poor behavior! I mean I get it! I suffer from depression and one of my symptoms
is an uncontrollable urge to embezzle money. Speaking of money, does our urban fantasy
protagonist have a job? Is that job hardboiled detective? If no then start over! A protagonist who does freelance detective
work that specializes in the setting’s magical side is a great way to get them into the plot
as it gives them a reason to get involved in dangerous situations. Now an important facet of detective work is
doing research, but thankfully a writer is exempt from this when writing detectives. I’m sure recycling a bunch of tropes stolen
from Law and Order as well as a handful of 80s buddy cop movies will equip me with all
I need to write an independent investigator. Hardboiled detectives focus more on characters
and their motives rather than the logic puzzle of the crime. These stories are often set in the underbelly
of society, but in urban fantasy this usually translates to an emphasis on characters who
live on the edge between the modern and supernatural world and thus can’t really turn to the
traditional authorities to solve their case. Since all of my characters’ motives can
be boiled down to “prop to make the protagonist look cool” I’m sure this will fit perfectly
with my story! Just remember to not sweat the details when
writing an urban fantasy detective because its not like writer will need any of those
details to stand out in a sea of urban fantasy private eyes. Besides, independent investigator sounds a
lot better on your tax forms than vampire slayer or chosen one. Now what about the supporting characters? They exist to either get in the protagonist’s
way for no good reason, or to help the protagonist for no good reason. Just visit the hardboiled defective aisle
of the story trope store and buy a stock cast and it should be good. Don’t forget to make everyone young, attractive,
and single. No married couples allowed in urban fantasy. Got to maximize the shipping potential. See. That could have been worse. I could have a supporting cast that bridges
both worlds and can be used to highlight aspects of the setting. I don’t know what I would have done if those
characters actually had their own motives instead of just obsessing over the protagonist. With the rest of the props… um I mean cast
fleshed out, or partially if they’re undead, I can now focus on the worldbuilding. Urban fantasy has a lot of the worldbuilding
already done in the form of our modern world. All I have to do is add magic! Now a little magic goes a long way which is
why I’m just gonna pour the whole mythology soup into the story! How much mythology? All of it! Greek gods, Hindu gods, Celtic myths, Norse
mythology, Irish folklore, Egyptian pantheon, Native American legends, and hey might as
well weeaboo it up a bit and add in some Japanese mythology as well. Don’t forget to dump in the Lovecraft mythos
wholesale. Also might as well plunder Tolkien while I’m
at it. He stole from the best after all! Should I… like make adjustments to the myths
and legends I add into my story? Of course not! Why reinvent when I can water down? No need to adjust these myths and reinterpret
them to better fit with the story or to mesh them with other mythologies in interesting
ways. I mean who would want to see the Greek titans
tangle with Cthulhu? Or even worse, be one of those try hards who
just makes things up from scratch. How do all of these extremely overpowered
mythical beasts go unnoticed in a modern world full of cameras and people desperate for internet
pseudo-fame? Who keeps these powerful supernatural forces
in check when they could easily bowl over modern civilization? Why does a race of magical elves who are immune
to all modern weapons while possessing a god complex bigger than Jupiter feel the need
to hide rather than just take over? Because all of these questions pale in comparison
to my impulsive need to add magical crap into my setting without considering its impact
on said setting. Should I make a hard magic system or a soft
magic system for my urban fantasy? Remember to just pick one, and then don’t
commit. Start with a hard magic system that has very
specific rules, then just ignore those rules later. Or start with a soft magic system only to
then beat the audience over the head with rules unexpectedly in the middle of the story. Better to spend my time enamored with the
magic part of my setting rather than trying to mesh the magical elements with modern technology,
you know, the ‘urban’ part of urban fantasy. Come to think of it, maybe I should consider
exactly where to set my urban fantasy? When setting an urban fantasy story in a real
world city a writer need not worry about getting local landmarks right. What are the locals going to do? Fact check me? Man they act like they live there or something. Besides, actually go outside to a real urban
area for research? Are you crazy? Why would I do that? I haven’t left my house for over ten years
and I’m not going to start now! With my urban setting fully realized, and
by fully realized I mean that I looked up a top 10 landmarks article for the real life
city and got through the first 3 entries, with that out of the way I can turn my attention
to the plot. Urban fantasy sometimes has overarching chosen
one plots, but just as often tends to focus in on fairly small scale plots that keep with
the whole hardboiled noir feel of the genre. This means that a lot of urban fantasy plots
tend to be either mystery plots, who done it magic edition, monster of the week, missing
person of the week, or the occasional macguffin plot coupon quest. All of these are perfectly serviceable plots
so long as the urban fantasy writer remembers to stick doggedly to the template and not
to tweak these plots in any meaningful way like mixing them together, have competing
villainous groups clash unexpectedly, or resolve one plot only for it to bleed into another
higher stakes plot. Also avoid foreshadowing future plots in the
current one. That would ruin the surprise. Better that the next monster just come out
of nowhere rather than have any kind of buildup or even worse planting subtle clues that all
of the incidents are linked. If sticking to a cookie cutter template is
too hard, then an ever better alternative is to just not really have a plot. Merely string a series of action and love
making scenes together with the thinnest of pretexts. If a writer stumbles at any point in the makeshift
string plot then don’t worry, just have the character magic their way out of it even
if it breaks the previously established rules. What other plots could I use? How about a love triangle romance? Just kidding. What genre do you think this is? Paranormal romance with its paltry love triangles? Mere love triangles are not sufficient for
urban fantasy. The protagonist’s love life is of such magnitude
that it can only be tracked by complicated flowcharts and only then is a romance plot
worthy of urban fantasy. It’s not urban fantasy unless it’s weirdly
horny all the time to the point that the author can’t keep it in their pants for like five
freaking minutes jeez! See the difference between urban fantasy and
paranormal romance is that in urban fantasy the romance is designed to ruin the plot where
as in paranormal romance the romance is the plot. So I have my romance added, what else do I
need? Urban fantasy often has a strong element of
supernatural horror running throughout it. Since I have no idea how to write horror I
think I’ll use the next best thing! EDGE! Yeah. I’ll give my urban fantasy story a bunch
of pointlessly dark EDGE! EDGE is pretty easy to write for urban fantasy
if one remembers the 3 Bs again. Though in this case it stands for Blood, Booze,
and Boobs. I mean if vampires are involved your are probably
going to get at least 2 of those. Just generously sprinkle those 3 Bs into the
story along with some curse words and the story will be edgier than Vlad’s landscaping
service. Will the tone come across as juvenile? I don’t know I can’t hear it? Now that I've proved my writing prowess I
think everyone will recognize that my urban fantasy setting is the perfect place to add
a bunch of social commentary. And in today’s cultural climate this is
a definitely safe idea that can in no way backfire if mishandled! My plot and characters may be barely functioning
and paper thin, but I’m sure I’ve got the skill to flawlessly navigate serious real
life issues that affect actual living people in a story about witches making out with faeries. Research multiple perspectives on a hot button
issue, learning the actual culture of a marginalized people who will be represented in the story,
maybe ask more than one person if this is a good allegory and not like really racist
if you think about it for more than five seconds? Nah. Full steam ahead! I would never shy away from a hot button issue! See! Here’s a segment in this video’s script
about diversity in urban fantasy… Yeah we’re moving on. In fact, I think I’ll just end the video
here. Like I’m going to stick my hand in that
dumpster fire. KNIGHT COMMANDER: There is only one thing
that can stop the Sponsorship Wars now! The Knights of Artistic Integrity will marshal
its most elite forces! We must mobilize… the Ad Block Force! CONSPIRACY GUY: Good Illuminate that is the
dumbest name I've ever heard… KNIGHT COMMANDER: Ad Block Force! Assemble! The eternally indomitable Sir Adblock! SIR ADBLOCK: No ad shall get past me! KNIGHT COMMANDER: The valiantly intractable
Adnnihilator! SIR ADNNIHILATOR: Kills the shills! YEAH! KNIGHT COMMANDER: The ever stalwart Sir Popup
Crusher! SIR CRUSHER: Precision! I hit the X every time! KNIGHT COMMANDER: The always reliable Sir
Commercial Breaker! SIR BREAKER: I’ll be back before these messages! KNIGHT COMMANDER: The most definitely not
a spy from the ancient conspiracy, the most trustworthy Sir Newguy! CONSPIRACY GUY: This video is brought to you
by Campfire Blaze! SIR ADBLOCK: And don’t forget our noble
and ever vigilant leader, Knight Commander McStabby Pants! KNIGHT COMMANDER: Ugh. Why do you keep calling me that? SIR ADBLOCK: Because it’s funny. CONSPIRACY GUY: Besides, what are you going
to do about it? Give us a stern warning? KNIGHT COMMANDER: Ugh. Whatever. I’m not gonna rise to that. Together we are… THE ADBLOCK FORCE! SIR ADNNIHILATOR: Nows wheres we goin! YEAH! KNIGHT COMMANDER: To the Megacorp vaults! But how will we get there? CONSPIRACY GUY: Simple. We use a force so dangerous and unpredictable
that even JP himself has never mastered it! Continuity from previous episodes! The secret is Campfire Blaze which is a browser
based writing organization tool to help aspiring authors, and dungeon masters to keep their
plots straight. It has the tools needed to organize plots
with timelines to help visualize the plot’s flow as well as a host of other tools like
a word processor, character sheets, character arcs, relationship details, and even tools
to flesh out magic systems, languages, and artifacts that allow for an entire series
bible to be constructed. Multi user support allows for real time collaboration
for cooperative tabletop projects, fan works, or multi author books. It is also the key to beating everyone else
to the Megacorp vaults! SIR CRUSHER: Wait. That kind of sounds like an Ad. CONSPIRACY GUY: Um… It totally isn’t. I’m merely explaining how the sponsor works
so that we can use it to put a stop the Sponsorship War. See in a previous episode a group or rebels
used it to escape into the sewers. We can use the same thing to step right into
Megacorp’s Vaults! SIR CRUSHER: Oh. Good. For a second there I thought you were reading
bullet points off an Ad. CONSPIRACY GUY: Of course not. How could I be doing that when TWA fans can
try the free version of Campfire Blaze or build your own subscription by choosing only
the modules you need by going to bit.ly/TWA3-21. TWA fans can also use the coupon code TWA21
at checkout to receive 20% of all lifetime purchases of Blaze modules! Link is in the description below. SIR CRUSHER: Wait. What was the last part? CONSPIRACY GUY: I said that the portal is
ready. We merely need to step through and then all
of the sponsors will be mine!... to destroy once and for all... for artistic integrity
of course and not for the culmination of all of my plotting to make sure the entire TWA
expanded universe falls under my control. Mwa ha ha ha!
