Urban Fantasy

[crash]

So I just want to get some opinions about Urban Fantasy and how you think I should go about it. My plan is to set the story in an area I grew up in, since I'm very familiar with the climate, geography and people there. I don't know if some of you would consider it lazy or if it's a good idea for a first time writer to use a familiar setting.

 

[CupofJoe]

They say "Write what you know" [which always seems a strange thing to say in a forum of Fantasy Writers].
But if you use a familiar setting it may have resonance to you and help spark ideas.
I have an old church near me that I visit fairly often... to think [not to pray].
The feelings I have found and thought about while sitting in that dark stone building has appeared in at least half of what I've written...

 

[wordwalker]

The trick is to be sure you get the reader excited with why things are the way they are, and avoid assumptions since you're on such familiar turf (literally).

 

[crash]

The trick is to be sure you get the reader excited with why things are the way they are, and avoid assumptions since you're on such familiar turf (literally).

Yeah, my location is Vancouver Island. I spent nine years of my life there and I'm fairly familiar with the place. I know that Victoria's were all the tourists go to, but I also know the nooks and crannies and the places the tourists don't go to or stay away from (Naval bases, biker bars, Nanaimo in general) on the southern part of the island.

 

[Penpilot]

Actually setting it in a place you know is probably a really good idea. It'll save you on a lot of research. Why do work when you don't need to. It's definitely not lazy. When you've lived in an area, you have intimate knowledge of that area which outsiders don't.

On a funny note, I'm from Vancouver and that's where I set my Urban fantasy. Go Canada.

 

[crash]

Actually setting it in a place you know is probably a really good idea. It'll save you on a lot of research. Why do work when you don't need to. It's definitely not lazy. When you've lived in an area, you have intimate knowledge of that area which outsiders don't.

On a funny note, I'm from Vancouver and that's where I set my Urban fantasy. Go Canada.

Internet High Fives!

 

[Ophiucha]

British Columbia, represent!

I don't see any harm in using a place you are familiar with as a setting. Many of the urban fantasy stories set in New York are written by New Yorkers, many of the urban fantasy stories set in California are written by Californians. And pretty much all of the 'urban' fantasies set in small town, New England are written by writers from New England. It's pretty common, and it helps ease you into writing fantastical elements without having to worry about the nitty gritty parts of worldbuilding like architecture and cartography that are often time consuming and potentially rather uninteresting (depending on where your interests lie, of course). Plus Victoria has a lot of history, there are tons of old Victorian buildings that could be used to justify how fantasy creatures came over from the 'old world', and many movies are filmed in Victoria, which could be an amusing plot point.

 

[Addison]

It sounds like a great idea. And using a setting you're familiar with isn't lazy, it's smart. Using what you know. Little tip, use what you know less, and what you feel more.

I too write this kind of fantasy. A road block I came across was overdoing the fantasy part. I wanted to put so much magic in my story that there wasn't enough room for my human character to breathe. So pick out what fantasy elements, exactly, you want in your urban setting. Figure out how they work in your world, their culture, their magic, their beliefs etc.

I love Urban fantasy, any fantasy that takes place in a modern setting. So go for it! Good luck.