Writing Magic with Hope Ann
Magic. Now that's a tricky subject. Personally, I only take issue with it if it's overtly demonic, but every person has their boundaries, and I have Hope Ann here to talk about the subject.
Hope is the author of a brilliant series of allegorical fairy tale retellings that I love, and her use of magic is beautiful. Let's turn things over to her.
Hope is the author of a brilliant series of allegorical fairy tale retellings that I love, and her use of magic is beautiful. Let's turn things over to her.
Hope Ann
Christian/Fantasy/Retellings
Author of Burning Rose
What is magic?
Definitions of magic are notoriously hard to pin down. From witches hunched over bubbling cauldrons and muttering spells, to beautiful women with love potions, to men using surges to fly—different pictures come to a readers mind when confronted with the word ‘magic.’
I don’t care for the term myself, since in the real world magic is evil and not something to be tampered with. In books, I prefer the having ‘power systems’ because the only similarity to real magic tends to be the ability to do things one normally can’t do. In the context of this article, that is how I’ll use the word ‘magic’—for abilities beyond a normal person in this world.
In some systems, ‘magic’ is more science than anything else. Called ‘hard magic’ by some, it’s simply how the world works. People have peculiar abilities. Plants induce visions. Portals are a matter of fact. Brandon Sanderson’s books are good examples of the use of hard magic.
There’s also ‘soft magic.’ This is when power comes from something—normally a spiritual side of magic. Power is drawn from a force, either unnamed, or a good vs. bad spiritual force. Think of Chronicles of Narnia with the good and bad sides of magic.
Then, of course, you can mix these two in any way imaginable, with power coming from a spiritual source, but rules and regulations applying as well.
How does one write magic?
No matter what kind of ‘magic’ you are writing, there are a few questions you’ll want to answer to prevent it from being a ‘go to’ solution for any and all problems.
For example who has access to these abilities? Is it genetic? Does one need to have a certain measure of faith or skill or learning? If everyone runs around being able to do everything, even the coolest abilities will become normal. Figure out the who and why of each magic system to create tension, problems, and unique characters.
Also, what does this magic do? No power should do everything. Even the villain’s abilities need to have some sort of flaw. Do your powers control elements? Are they mental powers? Think unique as you delve into all the possibilities. How can you twist common abilities? Can your character have two contradictory powers? Do they have powers that combine to make a third?
More important than what your powers can do, is what they can’t do. Limitations make any power interesting. How many powers can one person have? How are these powers fueled? What is the result of using these powers? Can they be stolen or fade? How long can they operate before they succumb to exhausted?
Why have magic?
Magic can add cool elements to any world, but you don’t want them to feel like a tacked on part of the story, there for nothing but to add a bit of glamor.
How does your magic system weave into the plot? Just as each character and scene should move your story forward, your very world should do the same. Your power system should be woven into the very fabric of the story. It is part of your characters and part of your world. It should also cause more problems than it solves, or at least add to problems. If a character is able to use his ability to heal another, then perhaps add the problem of finding the strength needed to perform the healing.
Do these powers weave into the lives of the characters? Do your characters depend on them too much, perhaps. Are they afraid of them? If it is a hard type of magic, how do they use their abilities or do they wish they had or didn’t have them. If your magic is a softer magic, how does it connect to the spiritual lives of your characters?
Finally, does the magic weave into the theme of your story as a whole? It should play a larger role than simply being there for the characters to use or discard as they please. The powers, lack thereof, causes, and effects, should play an important role in both the arcs of your characters and where they end up, mentally and spiritually as well as physically.
Just because you can create a magic system doesn’t mean you need to. If you do, however, make sure it’s more than cool. Have fun with it. Make it unique. Give it limitations. And, above all make sure your magic system intertwines with your characters and plot to mean actually mean something.
Excellent post; you've got a lot of great suggestions here! And yes, it is important that the magic have an effect on the story and not just be there for the sake of being.
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