Cosy Fantasy Tropes - Talking Genre 2b

writing matters

14 Aug

In Talking Genre 2a I discussed my own definitions between Cosy, Clean and Spice, all terms used to suggest either style or levels of romance or violence.

To better define the style of cosy, I put together a list of my own tropes. There are others, but these are the main tropes cosy fantasy readers expect or look out for.

Cosy is an atmosphere or style which can be applied overtop of genre. Cosy Sci-Fi, Cosy Romance, Cosy Adventures, Cosy Fantasy and even Cosy Horror- it’s a style and feeling.

Note - the following Cosy Tropes for Fantasy are the ones I love to read, and am therefore writing. Others will exist, but I consider these important to the genre/subgenre/style of cosy fantasy or cosy magical realism in my case.

Cosy Fantasy Tropes

Cosy characters can have a dark past, but their story focus must be in moving forward, rather than dwelling in pain.

Cosy Fantasy is about hope - not just for the characters, but for the readers also.

This means that your main character’s outlook must be in focusing on helping others, trying and trying again after failures, and finding their true selves and passion. The main character finds personal growth through healing, recovery and rediscovery of who they really are.
It’s understandable why the cosy genre is so en-trende right now. As a repercussion to the state of our world where many of us feel we have lost control, we want to read about things that we can do to make the world a better place for those we love.

In a cosy fantasy it is not only the main character who wants to help others, but all the rest of the characters also. Communities come together to solve issues and to empower others to do so. The main character may become a hero simply for fixing a broken thing (often a shop or gathering place for community).
Cosy fantasy is about agency in your life and world, the belief that a person living an everyday life can make a difference in a small way, and those small ways can have big effects.
Why are there so many shops in cosy fantasy?

Simply because small town shops are often the centre of community, drawing and connecting characters together.

Favourites in cosy reads are cafes or teashops, bakeries or sweetshops, libraries or bookshops, inns or bars or other shops which offer needed assistance to the community such as herbal (or spell) shops. A few are set in small academies or farms.
Note that community and found family are what drives the cosy fantasy - the main character will come into his or her own not by conquering or fighting, but by personal growth found in connection.
In Cosy Fantasy, the stakes must be low. (Note - this can be very different within other genres eg. in cosy mysteries the main character is often challenged with threats to their own life by a villain).
Low stakes can be anything from having their shop shut down, to having the community turned against them. From creating a new shop business to restoring a destroyed one. Or finding a way for the whole town to survive against threats from outside.

Related to this is the expectation that a lot of conflict comes about through simple relationship problems. Characters will misunderstand others.

Other story goals may be the simple tiny quest of finding a lost object or person.
These story goals and stakes may seem small but they matter to not only the main character, but the community. Stakes are low, but emotions are high.

Aside from this bigger problem, the main characters should face more common everyday problems (yes, even in more pure fantasy worlds) such as having to do their taxes, or create marketing promotions for their business, or having to look after a family member, or not getting on with a sibling at all.
Yes, just like us.
Note - a lot of cosy fantasy doesn’t introduce a romantic subplot at all.
But where there is one, the romance should be clean. Spicy takes away from the cosiness. Often in cosy fantasy, there are only hints of an upcoming romance, or the main character denies their attraction for most of the book, because…busy on other things.
Cosy = Small Town setting.

This is because we need to get to know a community of characters, and a city would be too busy and big.

Cosy Fantasies are often set in traditional or quaint villages or small towns or islands.

Everyone knows each other, gossip flows like tea, and there's a weekly market day, and seasonal festivals.
This is fantasy we’re talking about here. It wouldn’t be if there was no magic.
This is not epic fantasy. There are no clashing world orders or huge adventurous journeys seeking out some mystical object which will save the world.
In cosy fantasy, the magic objects or races are not the elements which resolve things. They are just there as part of the community, part of the setting.

Mundane magic: This is a term to describe magic in regular, everyday life. They can include things like magically-powered appliances, spells for fixing a vehicle, or potions for cosmetics.
Other than these magical objects, cosy fantasy can include minor magical spells or a magical creature for a pet or companion.
Aside from the main character of a cosy fantasy (who may well fit with some of the following) there are some trope characters who turn up in a lot of the books. These characters are unconventional and typically add humour (and care) to the story, connecting the community.
- The eccentric or quirky character(s) with an unusual hobby or outlook on life. Not a total nutjob, but unreliable most of the time. For kindness reasons, the whole community just accepts and protects these types of characters.
- Interesting pets or familiars who may or may not talk or be magical, but add wit, and problems for the main characters.
- The outsider protagonist - many stories have a main character arriving into the small town and having to build both their business and find friends and support in the community.
- The Retired Adventurer - this is often combined with the outside protagonist above, for the main character. Or it’s the mentor character found inside the town.
- Reluctant Hero - again, this could be combined with the above. This character just wants to make coffee, or tend to their beehives, or harvest their fruit. They really don’t want to get involved - but they will.
- Recluses - Bookish, Hobbit, or Professor types - introverted reclusive characters aren’t judged harshly in cosy communities. Instead, they are welcomed and often provide assistance to resolve problems.
- Town Businessfolk, Law, and General Busybodies - firstly come across as annoyances, but found to have kind hearts, and work together in the town’s best interests.
- Villains - if there is a main villain he or she may well have a redemptive arc.
The setting and cosy characters are played out in snippets or a slice of life which readers relate to.

Emphasis is on the rhythm of ordinary life. Gardening, errands, and rituals. Sesaonal changes - holidays and harvesting, dealing with cold and heat.
Found Family is the theme of the week, month and year for cosy fantasies.

While the main character is often introduced into the small town as a retired adventurer just wanting to put up their sword and live a quiet reclusive life, the cosy fantasy introduces them to a community and the notion that they have found a family.
Even a quaint cosy story can sometimes contain darker underpinnings. The main character (and others) need to heal from something, afterall.
But the problems and themes are relieved by the normal comedy of life. Look to the crew of characters who surround your main character, many will be quirky and add comedy in personality and misunderstandings, conflicts and intentions.