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Urban Fantasy and Me
Jan. 15th, 2009 12:37 pmBeing a random compendium of tropes, neither good or bad, which I wish to avoid for various reasons in my own prospective book.
The Revolving Door Boyfriend Syndrome
The Problem: I've discussed my problems with UST as the be-all and end-all of characterization before, but I'll reiterate. If Boyfriend A and Boyfriend B don't work out, I'm less inclined to believe it when Boyfriend C is "the One". By the time we reach Boyfriend Z, I find myself wishing the protag would just hire a boy whore and get it over with. It's gonna be less trouble than consorting with a guy who is inevitably going to turn out to be a louse/die tragically/not work out. Obviously, same thing goes whatever the gender or sexual orientation.
The Solution: Know who the protag is going to end up with, introduce her early on, have a compelling reason why they can't just get together (in the 21st century, we're rapidly running out of taboos to keep lovers apart. And you wondered about the appeal of period pieces). Construct the story to make their romance unexpected, yet satisfying... a pleasing surprise, as it were. E.g. Veronica Mars/Logan Echolls (early seasons), John Crichton/Aeryn Sun.
Oh, and don't make the love rack something cliched and stupid like a homosexual having unrequited love for a heterosexual. I mean, really now, if you're not going to go there, don't bring it up.
The Paranormal Investigator
The Problem: Not a bad trope, but just one that's been done to death (likewise with vampires, werewolves, and any and all government agencies devoted to hunting down monsters, especially if they're also tasked with keeping it from a public that's "not ready to know"). It makes sense enough. After you've come up with a character, their tragic backstory, and an overarcing plot to plug them into, you need an episodic series of one-off plots to move things along. What better than to give the protag a job where the plot will literally waltz into their office and ask for their kindly involvment? It's like a barbarian whose hobby is hanging out in inns, making new friends.
This includes any wizards-for-hire, risers, witches, and God knows what else whose jobs are CSI-ed (you know, how the science-y Crime Scene Investigators somehow manage to get into gunfights and interrogate suspects like on any other crime show, even though THAT'S NOT THEIR JOB?) into Dashiell Hammond Land.
Solution: Have a plot which dictates adventures just from the characters' motivations and goals (when your five-year mission is to seek out new life and new civilizations, you don't need a Holodeck). For instance, a quest narrative. Cliched in high fantasy, refreshingly novel in URBAN fantasy. Also, have a character call a "paranormal investigator" for help and find out it's a phone sex line ("Press 1 for a vampire, press 2 for a werewolf").
The Heinlein In-Out
The Problem: Sex is like spice. Sometimes, it can liven up a mesquite chicken and make it taste just great. But sometimes it's not called for, which is why you shouldn't put spice on red wine. The same goes for sex and children's books, unless you're K.A. Applegate, in which case holy shit did the femme fatale just use witchcraft to rape the hero and make him her slave? Sorry, I've been reading Everworld. But jesus christ, man.
Basically, too much sex (or general relationship stuff... Date Night with Kisten, looking at you) and not only is that little thing called a plot starved for attention, but the audience starts to know more than they wanted to about the author's fantasy life (Piers Anthony). And without naming any names (middle initial K. Other two are L and H), too much sex just disappoints readers who are interested in characters and plot and things beside schlick and fap.
The Solution: Trains. Going into tunnels.
Oh You Just Made That Up
The Problem: Perhaps I've been spoiled by the Dresden Files' rather clear-cut magic system, but the spells in the Hollows series don't make much sense. I can follow up to a point, but then it's all "ah, the demon can't follow us because it's after midnight on the 36th meridian in a leap year while I'm wearing orange panties!" Anyone else have that problem?
Solution: Guns. Lots of guns.
The Ending
The Problem: I know I'm going to be crucified here, but though I really like the journeys in all of Neil Gaiman's work, the endings always leave me flat. I remember Neverwhere having an exchange where the hero asked whether his Crowning Moment of Awesome was pointless and the love interest having to assure him it wasn't, Stardust had the villain just kinda... give up, and American Gods had the hero calmly derail the evil scheme by explaining how everyone had been lied to. After which, they just went home. Is it just me or are Neil Gaiman's books always anticlimactic?
Solution: Explosions. Lots of explosions.
The Revolving Door Boyfriend Syndrome
The Problem: I've discussed my problems with UST as the be-all and end-all of characterization before, but I'll reiterate. If Boyfriend A and Boyfriend B don't work out, I'm less inclined to believe it when Boyfriend C is "the One". By the time we reach Boyfriend Z, I find myself wishing the protag would just hire a boy whore and get it over with. It's gonna be less trouble than consorting with a guy who is inevitably going to turn out to be a louse/die tragically/not work out. Obviously, same thing goes whatever the gender or sexual orientation.
The Solution: Know who the protag is going to end up with, introduce her early on, have a compelling reason why they can't just get together (in the 21st century, we're rapidly running out of taboos to keep lovers apart. And you wondered about the appeal of period pieces). Construct the story to make their romance unexpected, yet satisfying... a pleasing surprise, as it were. E.g. Veronica Mars/Logan Echolls (early seasons), John Crichton/Aeryn Sun.
Oh, and don't make the love rack something cliched and stupid like a homosexual having unrequited love for a heterosexual. I mean, really now, if you're not going to go there, don't bring it up.
The Paranormal Investigator
The Problem: Not a bad trope, but just one that's been done to death (likewise with vampires, werewolves, and any and all government agencies devoted to hunting down monsters, especially if they're also tasked with keeping it from a public that's "not ready to know"). It makes sense enough. After you've come up with a character, their tragic backstory, and an overarcing plot to plug them into, you need an episodic series of one-off plots to move things along. What better than to give the protag a job where the plot will literally waltz into their office and ask for their kindly involvment? It's like a barbarian whose hobby is hanging out in inns, making new friends.
This includes any wizards-for-hire, risers, witches, and God knows what else whose jobs are CSI-ed (you know, how the science-y Crime Scene Investigators somehow manage to get into gunfights and interrogate suspects like on any other crime show, even though THAT'S NOT THEIR JOB?) into Dashiell Hammond Land.
Solution: Have a plot which dictates adventures just from the characters' motivations and goals (when your five-year mission is to seek out new life and new civilizations, you don't need a Holodeck). For instance, a quest narrative. Cliched in high fantasy, refreshingly novel in URBAN fantasy. Also, have a character call a "paranormal investigator" for help and find out it's a phone sex line ("Press 1 for a vampire, press 2 for a werewolf").
The Heinlein In-Out
The Problem: Sex is like spice. Sometimes, it can liven up a mesquite chicken and make it taste just great. But sometimes it's not called for, which is why you shouldn't put spice on red wine. The same goes for sex and children's books, unless you're K.A. Applegate, in which case holy shit did the femme fatale just use witchcraft to rape the hero and make him her slave? Sorry, I've been reading Everworld. But jesus christ, man.
Basically, too much sex (or general relationship stuff... Date Night with Kisten, looking at you) and not only is that little thing called a plot starved for attention, but the audience starts to know more than they wanted to about the author's fantasy life (Piers Anthony). And without naming any names (middle initial K. Other two are L and H), too much sex just disappoints readers who are interested in characters and plot and things beside schlick and fap.
The Solution: Trains. Going into tunnels.
Oh You Just Made That Up
The Problem: Perhaps I've been spoiled by the Dresden Files' rather clear-cut magic system, but the spells in the Hollows series don't make much sense. I can follow up to a point, but then it's all "ah, the demon can't follow us because it's after midnight on the 36th meridian in a leap year while I'm wearing orange panties!" Anyone else have that problem?
Solution: Guns. Lots of guns.
The Ending
The Problem: I know I'm going to be crucified here, but though I really like the journeys in all of Neil Gaiman's work, the endings always leave me flat. I remember Neverwhere having an exchange where the hero asked whether his Crowning Moment of Awesome was pointless and the love interest having to assure him it wasn't, Stardust had the villain just kinda... give up, and American Gods had the hero calmly derail the evil scheme by explaining how everyone had been lied to. After which, they just went home. Is it just me or are Neil Gaiman's books always anticlimactic?
Solution: Explosions. Lots of explosions.
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