Welcome To My Lair & Brain-Cave
I’ve been expecting you
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I’m C. R. Rowenson, but you can call me Clark, Overlord, or any suitably colorful profanity you can think of. I’m an author, chemist, and engineer; I’m here to help authors like you design and build marvelous magic systems for your fiction.
But What’s a “Magic System”?
As far as I’m concerned, magic is anything that enables actions or abilities beyond our current reality and understanding. That means a Magic System is the organization and structure placed around these abilities to provide an endless variety of flare and intrigue to your fiction.
Magic can create a tremendous sense of wonder and awe, like in Harry Potter. It can be used as a cornerstone for build your characters and world, like the awesome and terrifying adventures within The Dresden Files. Or it can be broken down with such diligence it almost feels like a new and awesome form of science, like in The Iron Druid Chronicles.
Magic is nothing more or less than exactly what you want it to be, whether that is the almost mechanical use of Allomancy in the Mistborn Trilogy or something far more nebulous and unknown like in The Black Company. I believe magic, including super powers, elemental forces, high magic, or sufficiently advanced technology, is the single best thing about reading and writing fiction.
Since it’s so important, we better make sure we do it right.
Why You’re Here
Maybe you’ve never been one for magic, but it might be the missing spice your story needs to reach true greatness. Or you’ve been working on your magic for years and can’t seem to get all the pieces to fit together just right. It’s also possible you’ve got a brand new system squirming around inside you and trying to burst from your chest like a stage-two Xenomorph.
All you need now is a way to survive the process. You can relax; you’ve come to the right place and I’m here to help.
Barring horrific calamities, a new post will go up every four weeks. Over the course of time, I will guide you through the steps needed to build a truly marvelous magic system. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Generating ideas and brainstorming
- Aligning your system to match your story
- Setting up rules and limitations for your magic
- Exploring pesky scientific laws and relationships
- Breaking down popular magic systems to explore why and how they work
- Discussing common mistakes and weaknesses in magic systems
If this sounds useful or interesting, if you are ready to work hard, and if you can’t wait to build mind-blowing magic of your own, then there is really only one question left to ask…
Who Is This Madman and Why Should I Listen to Him?
As I said, the name’s C. R. Rowenson. Trained in the dark and mysterious arts of chemistry and chemical engineering, I’ve since added writing to my grimoire. When I’m not working or writing, I spend my time blowing things up, spreading chaos, and killing people. Fortunately for everyone, it’s mostly in my head… mostly.
While I am an award winning author, that’s isn’t the only reason to listen to me, not by a long shot.
I’ve helped a number of authors design, build, and refine their magic. Over the years, I have developed dozens of magic systems for my own stories. And, the fact is, I’ve studied even more systems than that.
Still, that isn’t what this is about.
What it comes down to is my completely illogical and all-consuming love for magic. I want to see more and better magic in our media with every passing year. I want kids to have their imagination unchained by the sheer awesomeness of the stories they consume. I want to create magic systems better than anything that has come before it. And, most importantly, I want to help you do the same.
What do you say? Are you willing to come with me on this journey to fill the literary world with the kinds of magic of which it has never dreamed???