How to do it wrong

Something I love to read is a good, solid urban fantasy. I just love it. I kind of dabble with urban fantasy with my writing, but most of what could be called urban fantasy with my stuff would be a blend of urban, mixed with paranormal romance. I need my romance in there when I write-it just comes out now matter what.

When it comes to reading though, urban fantasy is one of my favorite genres, especially right now. There’s something about that mix of action, fantasy, intrigue, mystery…and often, the romance. *G* I don’t know if I could really tell anybody how to do an urban fantasy right, but I think I can tell you some ways to do it wrong.

Here are some tips, if you’re trying do it wrong.

Don’t make any sense
Even in a fictional world, some laws of logic should apply. Magic, to me, sounds like a form of energy. I go over to my light switch and flip it on and even though I don’t understand all the logistics, I know that energy is coming from somewhere. Magic should do the same. If you want to write urban fantasy wrong, make the hero or heroine’s magic come from absolutely nowhere, have no source.

Make it too easy
Two of the urban fantasy series I’m really in love with right now are the Kate Daniels books by Ilona Andrews and the Corine Solomon books by Ann Aguirre-although I’ve only read one of the Corine. Both of the heroines have a ‘magic’ of sorts, but they aren’t easy. They come with heavy costs to the users and they should. Magic, to me, doesn’t seem to work if it’s all nice and easy and everything gets tied up with a pretty little bow. So if you want to do it wrong, make the magic in your urban fantasy nice and easy, with no expense to user and no consequences, no costs, etc, etc etc.

Make something from nothing
Okay… I love the tv show CHARMED. I love it. I adore it. But if it had been an urban fantasy series I’d been reading? I probably would have dropped it after two chapters–right about when Prue put her hand on the bar in the very episode and said, “Now where’s the cream?” (or whatever the line was… Remember what I said about things making sense? Logic applying? You can’t create something from nothing and if your hero or heroine are going to suddenly have these massive, unique powers they never had before, the reasonings as to why need to make sense. Saying a little chant may not be enough. Picking up a charm in a little out of the shop may not be enough. So if you want to do it wrong, have your hero or heroine wake up one day, out of the blue and they now have the ability move things with their minds, jump tall buildings, create fire, etc, etc, etc.

Hitting the heat level ‘wrong’
Now while I do love a good, solid romance mixed with my urban fantasy… Kate and Curran by Ilona Andrews…(happy sigh), Cat and Bones by Jeaniene Frost…(happy sigh), and then Mercy and Adam and Anna and Charles by Patricia Briggs (happy, happy sigh), one thing that will knock me, a veteran romance and urban fantasy reader out of a book is a heavy-handed attempt at bringing some heat into a book. If it reads clumsy, chances are it felt clumsy to the writer…I would think. So here’s a tip…if romance just isn’t your thing, even though you hear it’s popular, one way to do it wrong is to try and force some heat into your story.

Using somebody else’s voice
At this point in time, almost every story has been told in some way, shape or form. The thing, though, the story hasn’t been told by you. Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series have some basic things in common with quite a few stories–older man, younger woman, dangerous boy, innocent girl, vampire, innocent lamb. The stories have been told. They’ll be told again, and again.

The stories have been told, but they haven’t been told by you and that’s what can make your story unique. Each writer brings a different voice to the table and that’s what can make your story stand out. But if you want to do it wrong, try to copy somebody else’s voice, mimic their storyline, try to evoke the same response.

Make it too neat
One of the best things about urban fantasy is the potential for more books. Don’t tie up all the strings so tightly there is little or no room for more books in the future. So, as crazy as this sounds, if you really want to do it wrong, don’t leave readers begging for the next installment. Satisfy them in one quick gulp.

Nope, I can’t really tell anybody how to write an urban fantasy the right way, because the right way is going to be different for everybody. In the end, all writers have to find their own right way.

Shiloh Walker
http://shilohwalker.com