"He said I was nuthin' but a rabbit."
"But you are a rabbit."
"Yeah, but I ain't a nuthin-but-a rabbit."
-- Pogo, as quoted by CP
( Another semi-long one, but not a rant. Just a quiet muttered contemplation. )
I guess what I'm getting at is that I think writing in urban fantasy -- while I do love the city, and I do love the conflicts -- is something that, inherently, doesn't feel entirely like me. It feels like decorating my house with a lot of crown moulding: underneath it, I'm a ranch home, whether I like it or not. And instead of following the trends and trying to cover my story in three feet deep of superfluous magical in the vein of 'do it because it's cool and hip', maybe it's time to set aside my bias about "well, traditional fantasy is just so boring, with those quests and the obligatory visits to inns where all they serve is ale and stew..." and start looking at what the story is really about, and whether it's truly served by its setting.
If I take out the magic, what's left?