Helping Authors Build Marvelous Magic Systems One Stage at a Time
What’s up storyteller? Today’s article is going to be a little bit different because I have spent a long time developing a tool called the Magic System Blueprint, and I want to talk about that with you today. Whether it’s Harry Potter’s witchcraft and wizardry, the superpowers of Marvel, or the Star Wars hyperdrives, good magic systems enhance and augment every aspect of a story. But building a good magic
If you’re already familiar with the types of magic systems, then you’ve probably wondered, “Which one should I use? Which one is best?”.
That’s exactly what we’re talking about today.
Updated May-26-2021 / Originally Published Dec-11-2016 Formerly “Types of Magic Part 1: Hard Magic, Soft Magic, and Everything In-between” What’s up storytellers? I’m C. R. Rowenson, the magic engineer, and it’s time to talk about magic. It’s here. The time has come for us to talk about the types of magic systems. So in this article, we’re going to talk about the four. Yes, four universal types of magic systems.
Updated Mar. 31st, 2021 Originally Published Sept. 5th, 2018 What’s up, storytellers? I’m C. R. Rowenson, and it’s time to talk about magic. Specifically, about how to create a magic system I’ve built a lot of magic systems over the years, dozens of them, both on my own and while helping various authors build their own systems. While going through all of that, I discovered that there’s a seven-stage process
I throw the term “Magic System” around a lot these days, especially building and blogging about them. Today we are going address some of the basics. By the end of the post, you will have a better understanding of what magic is, where it fits in with fiction, why you need a system, and most importantly, start you on the road to building one yourself.
Ready?
As a magic-builder and writer, you will get asked many questions about your story, your world, and your magic system. There is one question in particular that I’m sure you’ve already been asked many times, and it is vital that you have a good answer prepared. The Question: How common is magic in your world? To properly answer this question, you need to analyze one of the fundamental qualities all
Since the release of Restrictions May Apply: Building Limits for Your Magic, I have started work on my next book. I won’t give away many details yet, unless you happen to be on my mailing list, but it has led to some interesting discoveries. One such discovery is the power of perspective when building a magic system. Perspective may seem like an odd thing to talk about on a magic-building
We recently talked about several of the more important magic system variables you need to address, but they’re only the start. To finish mapping out your system, there are five more magic system variables you need to know about. If this is your first time hearing about magic system variables or want a refresher, this post will tell you what you need to know about magic system variables. Now, let’s
Magical effects determine what your magic-users can do, but magic system variables determine what your system actually is.
Here are the five most important magic system variables of them all.
“You’ve got to have limitations for your magic system!” Sound familiar? Even if you haven’t heard it from me a dozen times over, I’m sure you read in an article somewhere or heard it on a podcast or at a conference. It has become so common it’s nearly on the same level as “you’ve got to have engaging characters.” Engaging characters are important, and the magic needs to be limited
