How to write Urban Fantasy
Magic hiding inside a city that mostly declines to notice. Track the masquerade, the factions policing it, and what it costs everyone when it slips.
Includes
Urban Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy
Beats readers look for
- Masquerade Slip
- Case Opens
- Informant
- Ward Breaks
- Faction Clash
- Bargain
- Magic Cost
- Turf Scene
- Reveal
- Cleanup
Story structures that fit
- Seven-Point Structure: You write the ending first, then work backwards. Best when you know how it finishes but not how to get there.
- Save the Cat: The most prescriptive of the set: fifteen beats with percentages attached. Best when you want to be told where things go.
- Three-Act Structure: The plain spine. Eight beats, no ideology. Best when other frameworks feel like too much scaffolding.
Worth keeping track of
- Masquerade & Rules
- Factions & Territory