Contemporary fantasy is what I write, and I consider it different from Urban Fantasy -- different enough to rate a thread, anyway.
You see, what I write tends to happen in a world much like ours -- science is the Big Force, people tend not to believe in the supernatural, and tend to laugh at people who do.
But the city isn't the important part; it's the fact that it's our world. For me, the key isn't the place, it's the attitudes ; the culture, which, by and large, is that of our world as it is now. Hence . . . Contemporary Fantasy.
At least part of this year's NaNo will take place in rural areas -- farms and small towns. That doesn't exactly lend itself to "Urban Fantasy." Part of the project will take place in a large-town/small-city, too. A college town, essentially. Now the final set of problems/confrontations will very likely happen in a large city (hard to properly justify a bunch of supernatural creatures operating a human trafficking ring out of a small town or even a small city, knowing what I do about the way such things are done), but that's only a third of the book, or thereabouts.
So . . . Contemporary Fantasy.
Anyone else running this particular track with me this year?
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50,081 / 50,000
Oct 14, 2009 - 11 38
Actually, I don't think (despite the name) Urban Fantasy concerns itself necessarily with cities. Modern-day settings with magic and/or magical creatures seems to be all it takes.
Of course, if you're lucky it'll just get shelved under "Sci Fi/Fantasy" at Borders anyway. ;D
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Oct 14, 2009 - 11 46
Of course, if you're lucky it'll just get shelved under "Sci Fi/Fantasy" at Borders anyway. ;D
Think it depends on who you ask -- I was told I don't write Urban Fantasy by several people.
As for Border's . . . please! I much prefer Barnes and Noble's! :-D
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51,990 / 50,000
Oct 14, 2009 - 12 14
I'm pretty sure I'm writing Contemporary Fantasy this year. I'm so terrible with defining fantasy subgenres, haha.
----------Anyway, yes. While a lot of the action in my NaNo this year occurs in a rather large city, it isn't a city that actually exists, so, to me, that rules out "urban fantasy".
28,934 / 50,000
Oct 14, 2009 - 12 46
To be brutally honest, I don't see much point in trying to diversify genre labels.
Sure, dark fantasy... epic fantasy... urban fantasy... kind of steers readers into the right direction.
But genres such as dark or urban fantasy have to tip their hat to their grandpappy, horror.
I just think by writing "comtemporary" fantasy may lead to a lot of confusion. Urban fantasy has become a standard way of saying "fantasy written during the present era" with publishers, editors and agents alike, and unless you're the next Stephenie Meyer you're going to have a difficult time convincing them otherwise.
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Oct 14, 2009 - 12 57
Really? I dont follow that logic at all. I could see if your non-existant city was set in the year 1066 that you wouldnt want to use "Urban fantasy" because of the connotation of modern times, but to me "contemporary fantasy" has much more of connotation of "current real world+magic" and the setting of an imaginary city would not fit as well in that category. ----------
"To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it." - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
2009-Brother Monkey, Brother Lion, Sister Crow2009 -Bunnystar Galactica Psychic Bunnies IN SPACE
51,990 / 50,000
Oct 14, 2009 - 13 18
Oh, I see what you mean, yes. I suppose I should have been clearer, haha.
The story is set in modern day, on planet Earth. The characters aren't about to go travelling to Minneapolis or Rome or something, however. Most, if not all, of the locations and cities in the story don't actually exist in reality, but the laws of physics and other cultural concepts that we have are present in the story. And, of course, there's the whole magic thing... haha.
Like the original poster, I consider the scientific principles with which we base your society, cultural norms, etc., to be a key factor in the story even if the cities we have aren't. I'm not sure if this makes any more sense to you or if I'm just rambling now, but either way, I just see the concept of what I'm writing to fit contemporary fantasy better than urban fantasy--because when I hear "urban fantasy", I tend to think something like "New York city, people using magic to blah blah blah..."
This is the trouble with such finicky subgenres, haha.
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Oct 14, 2009 - 14 01
My NaNo is pretty much everything but contemporary/urban, but I like the way you're thinking. See, I live in a pretty insignificant state (maybe one of the biggest cities, but that's not saying much) and I do not relate to the novels about "Oh my god! The big city! The shopping! The rich people! The stuff you can do!" I've actually stopped reading novels that went into all that garbage and forgot about the actual story!
Actually, I could see supernatural creatures operating a human trafficking ring in a small/smallish town. A novel I was going to write that never made it beyond excited chattering had that as part of it. Now, I do see how it would be more effective in a big city (for starters, there's more chance they'll get away with it because people probably don't notice if anything unusual happens in a big city, whereas in a small town, people are more likely to notice weirdness). Either way, sounds good so far.
----------I don't have plot bunnies, I have plot demons. They're more demonic than the demons in my novels. Go figure.
50,942 / 50,000
Oct 14, 2009 - 15 51
Glad you like the sound of it, thanks.
The big city is much more practical for human trafficking, however. I speak from (academic) knowledge, as I am a Criminal Justice major, and have actually studied this particular crime fairly intensely (and thus scarred myself for life).
The things about a big city that are most important for a human trafficker are these; relative anonymity, in that, as you said, people don't notice things like they do in smaller cities and towns, and the ready availability of many varieties of transportation. (Thus a coastal city is best -- New York, LA, Boston, Miami, etc.) So, while I have critters with supernatural abilities doing the crime, I am going to stick with a larger city -- simply because they do work with ordinary human beings, and must take the needs of the normals into consideration.
If you want to learn something about human trafficking in a fictional format, I recommend Greg Rucka's "Walking Dead," the sixth (or seventh, depending on how you look at it) novel in his Atticus Kodiak series. I don't think it's out in paperback yet, but that's what libraries are for. (Warning: Despite the title, it is a straight mystery/suspense novel, no fantastic elements.) (Second Warning: It WILL give you the creeps at minimum, possibly nightmares.)
(It gave me both.)
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9,000 / 50,000
Oct 16, 2009 - 14 14
I like the title of Contemporary Fantasy for my own satisfaction, for some reason it feels like it fits my current and previous attempts better than urban fantasy. If I ever get published, then publishers can put my book wherever they like, but in the interests of NaNo and trying to find other WriMos who I feel like are writing along similar lines, I'll probably flit between here and the UF thread. Thank you for making this thread!
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Oct 16, 2009 - 15 21
As for Border's . . . please! I much prefer Barnes and Noble's! :-D
ahahahahaha. I had to quote that. I work at a BN. Sorry to say, though, a plot that that'd probably be under scifi/fantasy at our store too. But there are definitely a buncha books that go in unexpected categories. Confuses the customers which makes me giggle.
I do agree with a previous poster that Urban Fantasy is really contemporary fantasy by any other name. I don't expect an Urban Fantasy to be in a city. I expect it to take place in modern times, maybe be a little darker than a general fantasy novel. That and, y'know. Have some magic. -grins-
I think worrying about what your genre is called is less important that just writing your novel and making it exactly what you want it to be.
----------"With fronds like these, who needs anemones?" -Owl City
NaNo '09- first try! "All That Glitters Isn't Gold" 0/50000
50,942 / 50,000
Oct 17, 2009 - 09 29
*shrugs* I'm worried about it for my own sake, really. For me, quantification is part of the writing process.
I distinguish between Urban Fantasy and Contemporary Fantasy primarily because I have lived mostly in small towns and small cities for most of my life -- and I am well aware that the differences between ordinary life in small towns and small cities and life in big cities (urbanized areas, in other words) are freaking huge -- which means that fantasies set in the two settings should have differences that are just as large. Maybe larger, given the potential scope of things.
I also think this way because to me, reading and writing are largely inseparable -- I write the sort of things I'd want to read, of course -- and I am very picky about what I read. I very, very rarely read "high fantasy" -- you know, swords, sorcery, worlds like Middle Earth or Narnia. I never read steampunk (hate me if you like, I find it boring and insipid), and I'm pretty picky about my Urban Fantasy. So . . . I write the same way, most times.
I'm weird. I know it. Hell, I revel in it!
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72,183 / 50,000
Oct 17, 2009 - 11 06
I agree, when I think "urban fantasy" I think "vampires/werewolves/fae/whatever - in - San Francisco/NYC/yourlargecityhere" also. And every one I've picked up feels like I'm reading someone else's novelization of their LARP journal where poseurs fake their way through Vampire: The Masquerade in the middle of the financial district. Oh wait, I actually did read one of these this year. Almost read two till I stopped myself. They're becoming cliches of cliches.
On reflection mine wouldn't be either urban or suburban or contemporary fantasy. The fantasy elements are not living under the surface of the "realworld," it an alternate window-world that has no effect on this one at all. Until it does. But that's a whole other subset...
(Edited to clarify, if that's possible)
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Oct 17, 2009 - 15 23
I definitely like the idea of "contemporary fantasy" as a name for what I write (when I'm not doing science fiction) - while I do have imaginary places, they're generally the size of a building, and there is a noticeable lack of grit, grime, and night-time violence. They need cars and pizza delivery guys and cell phones and hot and cold running water and the internet, not dripping pipes and random drive-by shootings.
Probably the closest I'll be getting to an "urban" setting in my NaNo this year is an abandoned warehouse in or near the port of Los Angeles and Long Beach - after they spend about two hours there, my characters will flee to the suburbs and rural areas, where (sorry) it really is a lot easier not to be noticed, at least when you're doing really strange things (by that I mean attacking someone with lightning or inadvertently slipping from your current plane of existence for a few seconds.) Big cities are great for "normal" anonymity - you can be a hooker or a homeless person - but not so much for the kinds of stuff my characters do.
I mean, I pretty much hate "big" cities in the urban-area-everyone-on-top-of-you-oh-I-haven't-seen-the-sky-in-two-weeks kind of sense. I don't want to live there, and I don't want to write about people hanging out there.
(I'm willing to accept that "urban fantasy" officially includes this in the minds of bookstore owners and buyers, and I will be much too happy to have a spot somewhere in Barnes & Noble to much care about where they've stuck me... I'm just saying I like the name as a label for my own use.)
----------Sarah Marie Parker-Allen
Around chapter 8 my main character has to decide whether or not to undo the events that led to the total annihilation of Austin, Chicago, Lima (Peru) and Vancouver/Seattle. It's harder than it sounds, okay?
18,071 / 50,000
Oct 17, 2009 - 17 21
I'd guess I agree with you on wanting the distinction, but I also agree that the world at large is likely not to make that distinction with us.
I'm also writing a book that includes contemporary fantasy, to a degree (it might even be considered future, but it's a very near future, so really contemporary). But I'm having trouble nailing down a genre because it's hoping to be a contemporary fantasy/satire/comedy/morality-play sort of thing. So for myself, I have to try to ignore genre since trying to figure out exactly how to classify it might bog me down (but I can understand you needing to do it--just an interesting difference).
So, I've been posting in the fantasy threads, but could probably also go to other threads to learn more...
Anyway, good luck figuring it out. I think you're on the right track defining it for yourself.
----------First NaNo 2009
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Oct 17, 2009 - 17 45
Okay, my story is set in a world similar to 21st century Earth, only with magic. Magic is not hidden; in fact, mages advertise in the yellow pages and on tv and the internet. It's just that to hire a mage, you have to pay through the nose. Oh, and fantasy races abound - elves, orcs, vampires, werewolves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, dragons...... hopefully I can do these without making cliches of them!
So, does my story qualify as urban or contemporary fiction?
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Oct 17, 2009 - 18 04
er...just a small point.:
contemporary
Dictionary: con·tem·po·rar·y (kən-tĕm'pə-rĕr'ē) pronunciation
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary
adj.
1. Belonging to the same period of time: a fact documented by two contemporary sources.
2. Of about the same age.
3. Current; modern: contemporary trends in design.
Will mean dated in about 5 years time.
----------You have a problem with me? Then spit it out. Or do you only do passive/aggressive. Because nobody has ever accused me of being passive.
50,942 / 50,000
Oct 19, 2009 - 09 26
contemporary
Dictionary: con·tem·po·rar·y (kən-tĕm'pə-rĕr'ē) pronunciation
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary
adj.
1. Belonging to the same period of time: a fact documented by two contemporary sources.
2. Of about the same age.
3. Current; modern: contemporary trends in design.
Will mean dated in about 5 years time.
Actually,with the speed with which our world changes, I'm not sure it will take five years.
The point is, it's not Urban -- Contemporary seemed the best term to use under the circumstances.
"Modern" implies the heavy inclusion of modern technology -- at least to me -- so seemed like an unlikely word to fit.
I am, however, open to other suggestions . . . .
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1,339 / 50,000
Oct 19, 2009 - 10 47
eh, there are lots of things set anytime post WW2 that would fall under the umbrella of "contemporary".
I would kind of like to see elfs at Woodstock, dwarves in a disco, halflings in Ray-bans, an aqua tee-shirt and white sport coat with the cuffs turned up, orcs at an all night rave.......
well maybe not.
----------"To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it." - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
2009-Brother Monkey, Brother Lion, Sister Crow2009 -Bunnystar Galactica Psychic Bunnies IN SPACE
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Oct 20, 2009 - 08 05
I may be beating a dead horse here, but just feel like posting.
I'd say pretty much any fantasy set from earth 1900ish to present would be contemporary fantasy.
I don't know if urban fantasy is really all that different. All that's really required is that it be predominantly set in a big city.
Urban fantasy seems to be dominated by Joss Whedon and White Wolf RPG clones which I enjoyed the 1st time around but have no interest in reading about currently.
My nano-novel will be CF too and hopefully it will be a little different. We'll see.
Genre naming isn't really important. I'm in the write-it-1st-then-worry-about-genre-later camp.
Good luck!
Nick
855 / 50,000
Oct 20, 2009 - 09 09
"Urban fantasy" as is commonly written now falls under the broader label of "contemporary fantasy".
I think we can all agree, for example, that Harry Potter is contemporary but not urban.
I have to disagree with the above poster who claimed that "urban fantasy" implies anything in the modern world to publishers. It woud be better if they would not make statements like that, when they clearly do not have any evidence, and are in fact incorrect. Urban fantasy is specifically about a story that takesplace in a city during the Modern age. When you start to move into earlier periods, things get fuzzy.
----------All lines are arbitrary; otherwise, we wouldn't have to draw them. ~Nicholas Vesiri
http://atsiko.wordpress.com
1,339 / 50,000
Oct 20, 2009 - 09 11
I would place stuff set WWII or before more in a "Historical Fantasy" bucket than "Contemporary Fantasy"-although its pretty squishy line. ----------
"To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it." - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
2009-Brother Monkey, Brother Lion, Sister Crow2009 -Bunnystar Galactica Psychic Bunnies IN SPACE
3,194 / 50,000
Oct 21, 2009 - 16 20
Writing contemporary fantasy this year...not sure yet whether or not it'll be urban because I haven't settled on a setting yet >.< Might end up being suburban fantasy? lol.
Basically involves a group of gamers who get magical powers and totally nerd out with them. Feels like it's been kind of influenced in conception by Dresden Files, Big Bang Theory, too much time of TV Tropes, and the webcomic Darths & Droids...we'll see what hellish nightmare arises from a parentage like that *gryn*
----------"Do what you want for a pirate is free and you are a pirate!" #.^
50,942 / 50,000
Oct 21, 2009 - 20 58
I do that all the time -- in RPGs. My players are so used to playing themselves "Jacked Up" that they are shocked when I start saying things like, "Okay, for the next campaign, I need everyone to be a high school student with some sort of combat-useful skills. No total nerds, please." (Shocked is putting it mildly -- I actually had two of my players say, "Yeah, right," in response to that speech.)
That could be a lot of fun -- hope you can write it without laughing yourself sick . . . !
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50,069 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2009 - 07 09
Mine is probably contemporary fantasy as explained in the original post. I've been struggling on what it was because I wasn't sure it was fantasy after reading the "you're a fantasy writer" list. It's not Tolkien or Brooks or any high fantasy, but I have creatures and powers. My story reminds me of Marvel or DC, actually. Plus, mine will take place in Montana, and even the biggest cities there aren't huge, so there goes the truly urban part of things.
----------If you are in difficulties with a book, try the element of surprise – attack it at an hour when it isn't expecting it. (H. G. Wells)
42,516 / 50,000
Oct 30, 2009 - 16 23
I'm also heading down this path of "contemporary fantasy".
----------I was actually very unsure of what I would categorize my novel as, but this seems to fit really well.
50,942 / 50,000
Oct 30, 2009 - 16 57
Glad to see you all. I know that there are a lot of people who say that we're over-categorizing, but for me, that's kind of necessary. Despite the fact that I write fantasy, I tend to think logically.
But -- over genre-selective or not . . . at least we aren't trying to demand our own forum like, ah . . . some people elsewhere on the fantasy forums.
So . . . while I have everyone reading . . . how much do you hate writers who get details about real cities wrong in their fiction? I've seen people get really torqued over this, and seen others shrug it off. How about you folks?
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2,553 / 50,000
Oct 30, 2009 - 17 20
So . . . while I have everyone reading . . . how much do you hate writers who get details about real cities wrong in their fiction? I've seen people get really torqued over this, and seen others shrug it off. How about you folks?
I think it depends. Did you put the golden gate bridge in NYC or accidently put someones favorite bar two blocks over from where it should be?
Personally I do not write outside Pittsburgh, pa or Manchester, uk because those are the only two cities I KNOW. I just don't tempt fate.
“Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.”
----------“Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.”
50,942 / 50,000
Oct 30, 2009 - 17 45
So . . . while I have everyone reading . . . how much do you hate writers who get details about real cities wrong in their fiction? I've seen people get really torqued over this, and seen others shrug it off. How about you folks?
I think it depends. Did you put the golden gate bridge in NYC or accidently put someones favorite bar two blocks over from where it should be?
Personally I do not write outside Pittsburgh, pa or Manchester, uk because those are the only two cities I KNOW. I just don't tempt fate.
Unfortunately, I have never spent any serious time in a big city -- so I have to get creative, which can get me in trouble. I can hit Chicago for a few hours if I need to . . . but it won't do as a setting, I need coastal America.
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3,041 / 50,000
Oct 30, 2009 - 17 57
Yes, but how do you feel about Waldenbooks? ^_^ I work at one of those. And *we* give much better customer service than any of the nearby Barnes & Nobles (or the Books-A-Million). Anywho...
(Yes, people, I am well aware that Waldenbooks and Borders are the same company. I have worked there for three years now.)
Yeah, your story just sounds like Fantasy to me. :P (As in, that's the section I would shelve it in.) Contemporary Fantasy sounds like a perfectly legitimate/reasonable subgenre to me.
As others have said, just write the story and don't worry about what genre it is!
----------2007: Untitled, unfinished (lost steam around 17k)
2008: Didn't participate due to college and nearly full-time hours at work.
2009: Burnt Dreams
3,041 / 50,000
Oct 30, 2009 - 18 00
Doh! I knew I'd forgotten to research something.
Off to search for information on London in the 1490s!
----------2007: Untitled, unfinished (lost steam around 17k)
2008: Didn't participate due to college and nearly full-time hours at work.
2009: Burnt Dreams