(Sorry for the long comment) I want to write urban fantasy like Monster Hunter International. Fast paced action, monster hunters armed to the teeth, and the occasional one-liner. How can I write urban fantasy without it being too goofy or comedic. Like a semi-serious, embraces genre, and plays it straight but still has the occasional joke. Sort of action/horror/comedy.
@@zionleach3001 Hi Zion, sorry for the late response! To be honest, you describe the type of UF books I like. I haven't come across too many that are too goofy. Mind you, some cheesiness comes with the territory, and some people may not find cheesy what others do. I would start with your character, develop their backstory and give them some kind of dark misbelief about themselves that determines the way they make decisions. Now give them a dark sense of humor, or make them sarcastic, etc. One thing you could do is have the humor can come from a different character which could annoy your MC. The way your MC deals with them could be funny, all while keeping the focus on the monster hunting and bad assery--and keeping the one-liners to a minimum. Hope that helps!
@@KillianWolf Thanks. I watched a video from Bad Writing Advice... Yikes, had no idea some urban fantasy had so many bad cliches. Seems a lot of urban fantasy caters to the "I hate my parents." Edgy teen group. My urban fantasy ideas are very based on Devil May Cry. The M.C. cracks plenty of jokes that are actually funny and don't make you cringe when hearing them.
Hi! I am new to your channel and am trying to write an Urban Fantasy-- what would an Urban Fantasy reader accept of a Young Adult Urban Fantasy? (I'm still trying to decide if mine should be, Young adult/New Adult).
Hi Sara! The key difference between young adult and new adult is the goals and ambitions of the main character; how a 16 or 17-year-old would see the world, and react to circumstances vs how a 20-year-old would think and react. A 16-year-old might be discovering themselves and trying to manage high school, while reacting to a magical world, while a new adult would be dealing with bigger issues such as not making enough money to feed themselves, needing a job, and now they get abducted by werewolves (as an example lol). New adult books also tend to be steamier, but they don't necessarily have to be (edited to say that some readers might expect it a little). Do what's best for your story. In mine, my character had to be in her twenties because I needed her to be able to take care of a patient by herself. A 16-year-old wouldn't have been qualified.
so, what kind of genre would be a story set in a modern world, with knights, magic, monsters, and some level of technology, without fire weapons and not the real world?
Hi Vitor! If this is an entirely different world that you're creating (As in, not the map of our current world) then I would call this epic fantasy/ high fantasy. Then you can get into the subgenres like sword and sorcery, fairy tale retellings, etc. But definitely epic :) Hope this helps! My next series is going to be more epic fantasy, so I'll be making videos on this in the future too.
I really want to write some urban fantasy but I'm not sure if what I want to do is ok, I was wondering if it's ok to stray from traditional themes so vampires can walk in sun and werewolves can shift when they want to and fairies are just the term for a different kind of witch. Is it ok to change the origins and facts a bit?
Hi! Yes, it is absolutely okay to change traditional themes and make them your own for the sake of your world. Go for it! In Tru Blood, vampires could be in the sun by drinking fairy blood, in Twilight, vampires were able to live normal lives in the day. Check out some urban fantasy authors of today- many of them have changed traditions and made them their own. We don't need to stick to traditional norms when it comes to fantasy- totally have fun with it!
Can you have urban fantasy romance? I've got this idea for my first novel which is about this guy who used to be an assassin for an organisation who use people with telekinetic powers as deadly weapons, he murders someone there after betraying them and he later meets this woman who takes him in for a while and they slowly start to fall in love. I've thought about setting it in Manchester where I live in the UK I can just vision how badass that would be especially a telekinetic fight 😄😁 your video is really helpful ❤️
Hi Antonia, thank you so much for watching and I'm glad you found my video helpful. The genre Urban Fantasy normally does have a romantic subplot but it is not the focus of the book or series. If you read many romances or paranormal romances, there is a certain push and pull of a relationship that takes the reader through the journey of the main character's feelings for each other while magic and paranormal stuff happen in the background (and at least one character will have powers). In Urban fantasies, you'll have the plot be focussed on a big event(s), villain, etc, but there can absolutely be a romantic subplot where the main characters fall in love, or main character and antagonist, etc fall in love. Your plot can definitely be centered around those two characters, and if one has telekinetic powers, or psychic abilities (any power) you can get away with making it a paranormal romance. If your characters falling in love is not the central pint, then keep it as a subplot and make it urban fantasy. Hope that helps. :)
Thanks for watching! What's your favorite UF book or series?
Dresden Files and Guild Codex
@@FortCollinsWriters I am loving the Guild Codex! I took a short break to read something else, but I'm picking up book 4 this weekend!
(Sorry for the long comment) I want to write urban fantasy like Monster Hunter International. Fast paced action, monster hunters armed to the teeth, and the occasional one-liner. How can I write urban fantasy without it being too goofy or comedic. Like a semi-serious, embraces genre, and plays it straight but still has the occasional joke. Sort of action/horror/comedy.
@@zionleach3001 Hi Zion, sorry for the late response! To be honest, you describe the type of UF books I like. I haven't come across too many that are too goofy. Mind you, some cheesiness comes with the territory, and some people may not find cheesy what others do. I would start with your character, develop their backstory and give them some kind of dark misbelief about themselves that determines the way they make decisions. Now give them a dark sense of humor, or make them sarcastic, etc. One thing you could do is have the humor can come from a different character which could annoy your MC. The way your MC deals with them could be funny, all while keeping the focus on the monster hunting and bad assery--and keeping the one-liners to a minimum. Hope that helps!
@@KillianWolf Thanks. I watched a video from Bad Writing Advice... Yikes, had no idea some urban fantasy had so many bad cliches. Seems a lot of urban fantasy caters to the "I hate my parents." Edgy teen group. My urban fantasy ideas are very based on Devil May Cry. The M.C. cracks plenty of jokes that are actually funny and don't make you cringe when hearing them.
I'm part of the Unpublished Club as well and going through a massive rewrite. Good luck with your launch!
Thanks! Good luck on your re-write as well!
Hello, great content! Just discovered your channel and really like what you are doing. Keep up your amazing hard work!
Thank you so much!
@@KillianWolf You're welcome!
Hi! I am new to your channel and am trying to write an Urban Fantasy-- what would an Urban Fantasy reader accept of a Young Adult Urban Fantasy? (I'm still trying to decide if mine should be, Young adult/New Adult).
Hi Sara! The key difference between young adult and new adult is the goals and ambitions of the main character; how a 16 or 17-year-old would see the world, and react to circumstances vs how a 20-year-old would think and react. A 16-year-old might be discovering themselves and trying to manage high school, while reacting to a magical world, while a new adult would be dealing with bigger issues such as not making enough money to feed themselves, needing a job, and now they get abducted by werewolves (as an example lol). New adult books also tend to be steamier, but they don't necessarily have to be (edited to say that some readers might expect it a little). Do what's best for your story. In mine, my character had to be in her twenties because I needed her to be able to take care of a patient by herself. A 16-year-old wouldn't have been qualified.
I can make a video on this to talk a bit more on it if you like 😂
@@KillianWolf ohh okay, thank you so much for your reply! It helped a lot!
@@saramarie7626 You're welcome!
so, what kind of genre would be a story set in a modern world, with knights, magic, monsters, and some level of technology, without fire weapons and not the real world?
Hi Vitor! If this is an entirely different world that you're creating (As in, not the map of our current world) then I would call this epic fantasy/ high fantasy. Then you can get into the subgenres like sword and sorcery, fairy tale retellings, etc. But definitely epic :) Hope this helps! My next series is going to be more epic fantasy, so I'll be making videos on this in the future too.
I really want to write some urban fantasy but I'm not sure if what I want to do is ok, I was wondering if it's ok to stray from traditional themes so vampires can walk in sun and werewolves can shift when they want to and fairies are just the term for a different kind of witch. Is it ok to change the origins and facts a bit?
Hi! Yes, it is absolutely okay to change traditional themes and make them your own for the sake of your world. Go for it! In Tru Blood, vampires could be in the sun by drinking fairy blood, in Twilight, vampires were able to live normal lives in the day. Check out some urban fantasy authors of today- many of them have changed traditions and made them their own. We don't need to stick to traditional norms when it comes to fantasy- totally have fun with it!
Can you have urban fantasy romance? I've got this idea for my first novel which is about this guy who used to be an assassin for an organisation who use people with telekinetic powers as deadly weapons, he murders someone there after betraying them and he later meets this woman who takes him in for a while and they slowly start to fall in love.
I've thought about setting it in Manchester where I live in the UK I can just vision how badass that would be especially a telekinetic fight 😄😁 your video is really helpful ❤️
Hi Antonia, thank you so much for watching and I'm glad you found my video helpful. The genre Urban Fantasy normally does have a romantic subplot but it is not the focus of the book or series. If you read many romances or paranormal romances, there is a certain push and pull of a relationship that takes the reader through the journey of the main character's feelings for each other while magic and paranormal stuff happen in the background (and at least one character will have powers). In Urban fantasies, you'll have the plot be focussed on a big event(s), villain, etc, but there can absolutely be a romantic subplot where the main characters fall in love, or main character and antagonist, etc fall in love. Your plot can definitely be centered around those two characters, and if one has telekinetic powers, or psychic abilities (any power) you can get away with making it a paranormal romance. If your characters falling in love is not the central pint, then keep it as a subplot and make it urban fantasy. Hope that helps. :)
@@KillianWolf thank you ill start reading some urban novels and paranormal romances 😊😄
@@antoniamcgregor3285 That's the best way to start 😊 When you do find where you want to place your book, it'll be easier to market later.