sending the story into the cave
I'm attempting to re-work my modern magic cross-world story (Kate & Paul, for those paying attention) into a true urban fantasy (i.e., it doesn't leave NYC, or if it does, the story is nonetheless Earth-based, about Terran humans not transplanted magical otherworlders).
And it is HARD. The web of relationships is profoundly altered by the elimination of the parallel world. Reasons for Kate to be targeted by assassins on the streets dwindle when there isn't an rage-driven magus from her homeworld determined to prevent her homecoming.
So why do people still want her dead?
I'm coming up with some really interesting ideas, and so far I am doing so without any nonhuman characters. I don't know if today's urban fantasy requires vampires/werewolves/elves or if mages will do. I leave the elves-in-manhattan-want-revenge plots to E. (So far. The World Spaceport idea that Men in Black visualized so well appeals to me a lot, just with magic instead of spaceships. Perhaps not yet.)
Kate and Paul as a pair have so much appeal to me that I would like to move forward with them without having to substantially change their relationship. It is tough to come up with a social network to accomodate that which can be layered on top of (or underneath, as the case may be) "normal" modern society, but strict hierarchical structures for modern mages are not unusual in SFF.
I'm thinking that there is going to be a lot of tension between Paul and that hierarchy, whatever it is.
I did have this one random vision of a brawl in a pub in which at least one mage started throwing coasters and shot glasses as weapons, casting explosive mana into them (rather a Gambit-like move, actually). At this rate half the action of the book will be in pubs or bookstores. Hey, the final confrontation could take place on a roof, behind a giant illuminated sign for some movie studio.... uh. Or not.
I'll come up with something! At least the brainstorming is back on track!
And it is HARD. The web of relationships is profoundly altered by the elimination of the parallel world. Reasons for Kate to be targeted by assassins on the streets dwindle when there isn't an rage-driven magus from her homeworld determined to prevent her homecoming.
So why do people still want her dead?
I'm coming up with some really interesting ideas, and so far I am doing so without any nonhuman characters. I don't know if today's urban fantasy requires vampires/werewolves/elves or if mages will do. I leave the elves-in-manhattan-want-revenge plots to E. (So far. The World Spaceport idea that Men in Black visualized so well appeals to me a lot, just with magic instead of spaceships. Perhaps not yet.)
Kate and Paul as a pair have so much appeal to me that I would like to move forward with them without having to substantially change their relationship. It is tough to come up with a social network to accomodate that which can be layered on top of (or underneath, as the case may be) "normal" modern society, but strict hierarchical structures for modern mages are not unusual in SFF.
I'm thinking that there is going to be a lot of tension between Paul and that hierarchy, whatever it is.
I did have this one random vision of a brawl in a pub in which at least one mage started throwing coasters and shot glasses as weapons, casting explosive mana into them (rather a Gambit-like move, actually). At this rate half the action of the book will be in pubs or bookstores. Hey, the final confrontation could take place on a roof, behind a giant illuminated sign for some movie studio.... uh. Or not.
I'll come up with something! At least the brainstorming is back on track!