If you’re like me and grew up in the ‘90s and early 2000s, then you may be familiar with a boy wizard by the name of Harry Potter. Rowling’s epic saga detailing out the seven years of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for young Potter captured the imaginations of both young and old alike. Eight movies followed suit (with the last book broken out into two movies), and even now, we still hear about the wizarding world in both film and gaming. I personally got into the series after seeing the first two movies, which like bait on a hook, reeled me into the books.

The mixture of modern day settings with fantastical creatures and magic not only make for good stories, but in the right hands, can reinvigorate a child-like wonder in its readers. We saw this with Harry Potter at the height of its popularity. In fact, we still see this with Harry Potter. Did you know Quidditch is now an actual competitive sport? If you don’t believe me, check out the US Quidditch website and see the kind of influence that fiction can have on people.

There’s so much more to urban fantasy than just Harry Potter. One of th reasons I think this genre of story is so popular, is because many of us are ingrained with tales of modern magic from a young age. Ever hear of a jolly old fat man in red using magical reindeer to deliver presents? What about a giant egg wielding bunny rabbit that delivers candy and hides plastic eggs? And don’t get me started on that creepy fairy that sneaks into the bedrooms of children to steal teeth from under their pillows. What is her problem?

But what makes for a good urban fantasy tale? As with any story, having the three elements of story-telling down is a must. Plot, setting, and characters. Without those, there is nothing to tell. With urban fantasy though, we have a fourth story element to keep track of, the “fantastical” element. This element is what puts the “fantasy” in urban fantasy. What’s involved with managing this mystical fourth element? I think it can be boiled down into two simple questions: what are the rules of the magical element? What is society’s perception of magic?

There Are Rules

Whether we like it or not, rules rule our lives. Many exist for a reason. They exist either to protect us, or to ensure we don’t walk all over each other. In literature, rules serve a much different purpose. With the magical element of urban fantasy, rules are less about safety and more about consistency.

As limiting as it sounds, the rules of the world you create are a lot like a cage for which the characters and plot fit into. When done correctly, the cage is more than big enough to accommodate all the characters, their needs, and still have plenty of breathing room left over. Now on one hand, this sounds limiting. After all, don’t cages, by their own definition, trap us? Not in this case.

Limiting ourselves forces us to think outside the box. One rule involving magic that is often seen: use of magic incurs a physical toll on the user’s body. This effect limits our characters as it caps their magic to prevent them from spraying spells like a tommy gun. This also opens up a wealth of possibilities in the narrative. If a character is running from the law, they’ll want to use magic to aide in their escape. But, they can’t over do it, or they may pass out from exhaustion. So what do they do? This further complicates the character’s situation if they are attempting to save a life. While use of the cage may at first sound limiting, you can see how it just opened up several doors for us to explore.

One must carefully weigh the rules they use in writing urban fantasy. Like with cages, it’s easy to go too far and place our characters in a place that doesn’t even let them stretch out their arms. We need to approach our rules with care. When done correctly, that cage will turn into a paradise that will lock in not only us writers, but our readers as well.

Perception

The other question to answer: what is society’s perception of magic; will help to shape not only the characters, but the overall plot as well. With this question, there are three primary possibilities to consider: society is not aware of magic, society is aware and accepting, and, society is aware but is not accepting. Each of the three options allow for a plethora of stories to be told.

If considering a tale where humans are unaware of the magical elements, then the story may lean towards Harry Potter or the Stone Blood series of books. In both of these book series, the human world and the magical world are somewhat separate. Unlike Harry Potter where the wizarding world stays grounded with elements such as cauldrons and flying broomsticks, the Stone Blood series takes a different approach. Vampires roam through night clubs, consuming illegal forms of blood (similar to drug addicts with narcotics, only more violent). Meetings are scheduled with iPads for royalty, while their magic keeps the darkness at bay. The Stone Blood series by Jayne Faith merges the human technology a bit more with the Faerie realm. One element that these two series share is how their plot mainly revolves around their magic based realms more-so than the non-magic ones. Harry and Petra both spend time in the human world, but the main plot points occur in their magical based worlds.

In the Grimnoir Chronicles by Larry Correia however, society is very much aware of the existence of magical beings. However, due to the time period in which the book takes place, there is still some prejudice against the magically inclined. This allows for some fascinating scene construction and character interactions. I can vividly remember the beginning of the book, Hard Magic, and how a young girl was traded off to a farmer who recognized her as having special abilities. The scene shows both the unease some people had towards her (like her own parents and siblings), while also showcasing people who cared regardless (such as the farmer). Such freedom allows the plot to travel in all manner of directions. In this particular case, the main conflict is that of a super weapon capable of destroying entire cities. The story could have easily just focused on the girl growing up, and it would’ve still been an excellent read.

Push Hard Magic in the right direction, and you end up with our final option: the magically inclined are hated by society. This option sits a bit more special with me, as the novel I’m currently working on, falls into this category. What I’ve learned in this world, is that the human hatred for magic tends to play a major role in the plot of the story. For not only does my story occupy this chair, but it shares the seat with a beta-read I did for someone.

An entire group of people being hated/persecuted (be it for physical characteristic or having the “wrong” set of beliefs) is nothing new in the real world. Unfortunately, there are plenty of examples to pull from for inspiration. What this allows for though, is a tale that can both feel so far away, yet hit so close to home at the same time.

With the story I’m working on, magicals are synonymous with evil. They are the root of all crime, and there are few who would argue against the purging of them from society. It’s reflected in the culture through books that are published, and television shows that air. A deafening wave of anti-magical propaganda corrupts any innocence that may try to slip through the cracks. This places the human hatred of magicals at the center of the story. The main characters constantly deal with its affects, and must find a way to not only survive, but open the eyes of others to make the world livable.

Such atrocities in fiction can lead to both depressing, and uplifting tales. The depressing nature comes from the story’s setting and the types of pain inflicted on the magical community. Even the story I beta read, I found myself both shocked and amazed at the dark world the author had constructed. Even in that tale though, the characters being hunted found laughter, and had hope for a better future. This is where we can see people pull themselves out of the dark, and into a brighter future.

Wrapping Things Up

No matter which variation of urban fantasy one prefers, or what kind of creatures inhabit the lands, there’s a special kind of magic that these tales bring to life. Some may opt for a darker, gritty look into the world, while others have more of a spring in their step. It’s a genre full of possibilities, just so long as everyone plays by the rules.