Introduction
I'd like to offer you a warm welcome to my blog. I write what you want to read, so feel free to drop a topic below! I hope you enjoyed visiting Timothy Bateson's blog. If you haven't stopped by, make sure to check him out!
My name is Erin Casey, and I'm an urban fantasy/YA fantasy/medieval fantasy writer. My first book The Purple Door District came out December 2018, and the next book in the series, Wolf Pit, will be released in December 2019. To learn more about my series, and all the other projects I'm doing, find me on my website, twitter, instagram, and facebook.
If you've come here from OWS CyCon, you can find my booth here. If you're new to OWS CyCon, CyCon is a weekend-long book online convention where you can meet authors, vote on book covers, check out interviews and readings... all without putting on pants! I'm also involved in cover wars, character wars, and several panels. Be sure to visit the CyCon website and Facebook events acting as the hub for all of our events. Sign up for our newsletter or RSVP to the event to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the bookish goodness we have to offer. Be sure to visit the Fantasy Sci-Fi Reader's Lounge, especially on Sunday, May 19th from 11am-12pm when I'll host an author takeover event.
Now, with all the logistics out of the way, let's get into the heart of the blog post!
Fantasy and Society
Whether you write epic fantasy or urban fantasy, you have to find a way to integrate the fantastical world into "normal" society. How you do that depends on several factors of world building. We're going to talk about a few of these in hopes that they'll get you started in developing your fantasy world.
Who Knows? The first question to ask yourself is who knows about magic and your "not human" characters (we'll call them parahuman in this case)? Are your parahumans just starting to come out in society or are they a secret hidden away from the government?
For example, in The Purple Door District, society is starting to learn about parahumans. There's a government section that is specifically devoted to the parahumans, though they generally keep to themselves unless otherwise needed. The way parahumans can find each other is by going to Purple Door Districts, safe havens that are marked by purple-colored doors, or purple-colored items at the front of the building. In this case, some people know about the parahumans, and others don't. They try not to announce themselves because Hunters lurk in the shadows, people who think parahumans are an abomination and want to kill them.
What about your world? Whether society knows about your parahumans or not can play a major factor in the danger your characters may endure.
Jobs/Economy: What kind of jobs do your parahumans have (whether they're "out" or not in society)? Are werewolves more likely to take on heavy-lifting jobs like construction or maintenance work while suave vampires are more adapt to being lawyers? Do you have places that are run by magic (think of a coffee shop that's powered by magic and produces drinks with potions that help with stress, anxiety, weight loss, etc.)? Or do their abilities not influence where they work or what they do? Note: If you find the idea of a fae-run coffee shop interesting, check out my story Coffee Chaos on wattpad.
Introducing Your Readers to Your World: Once you have your world established, how do you want to introduce the magic and society to your readers? Some writers will introduce a character who is human or not very aware of the parahuman world and slowly integrate them, and the readers, into the world. In other cases, you can use someone who knows about the world but has a very different view of it to help your readers adjust. Stick with some familiarity so that the readers don't feel completely overwhelmed.
Government: As mentioned, The Purple Door District has a government faction that knows about the parahumans and keeps them in check. What about your world? How is the government involved? Do the parahumans have to watch their backs? Are they free to roam in society as they are? Does your world resemble X-Men where some government officials call for sanctions against them while others want to protect their rights? It's good to figure this out ahead of time because it can help you know just how much trouble you can get your characters in with or without government involvement.
How Powerful Are Your Parahumans? Do they have abilities that could threaten all of humanity? Think of Professor Xavier and Cerebro and how his ability almost took out all humans/mutants in the 2nd X-men film. Are there fae who have their own world and government and could easily take over humankind? Or are your parahumans more like groups of vampires and werewolves who can be considered a threat but can't take over the entire world? Knowing this allows you to figure out how society might either accept or fear the parahumans. You can also play around with the characters who have different power levels. How would an overpowered character react to a situation vs someone who is weaker? Figuring out how you can integrate the fantasy element into society will help you further develop your characters.
These are just a few elements to think about when you're integrating fantasy into society. One thing to keep in mind is that you want it to be believable. Know why parahumans act the way they do, or why society treats parahumans a certain way. Be creative, and most importantly, have fun!
I hope that you found these tips helpful. If you want to learn more about integrating fantasy into society, take a look at Kayla Matt's blog.
Happy writing!