What's up storyteller! Thank you so much for stopping by. Whether you've been reading my articles for a long time or this is your first foray into my corner of…
What's up, storytellers? You've seen the title of this video, so you know what's coming. We're going to be talking about the differences, the true differences between magic and technology.…
Updated May-26-2021 The time has come for us to talk about the types of magic systems. In this article, we’re going to talk about the four - yes, four -…
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An Interview with C. R. Rowenson - The Magic Engineer C. R. Rowenson is a fantastic and talented individual who has a lot to offer. He will be able to…
As in all the other articles (Using Magic-System Tropes and Making Necromancy Fresh Again), I’m going to be using my three steps for twisting tropes. You can read the first…
What’s the first thing you think of when I say “magic system”? As a savvy, hard-working magic builder I’m sure many different monsters, effects, and technology spring to mind. That’s…
In this article, we’re talking all about magic system tropes and archetypes. We’re digging into what they are, why they can be both good and bad for your magic system,…
Crafting a Believable Magic System with C. R. Rowenson (The Self publishing Show, Episode 317) A magic system, like any world-building in a novel, requires rules and structure so that…
What’s up, storytellers? I’m C. R. Rowenson, the magic engineer, and it’s time to talk about magic. In this article, we’re going to be digging into the magic of the…
What’s up, storytellers? I’m C. R. Rowenson, The Magic Engineer, and it’s time to talk about magic. In this article, I’m going to give you a NaNoWriMo magic system that…
First Draft Friday #31: Writing a Unique Magic System Author C. R. Rowenson is in a discussion with Alessandra Torre about what it takes to make your magic system unique.…
When possible, I like my videos and articles to get into the details of building magic systems and tweaking them, how they work and how to fix them. This one…
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Transcript below Normally I’d make a proper blog post out of this content, but I am currently swamped managing the Indiegogo Campaign and editing my book. For now, I have…
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Magic Systems for Writers/GMs with C. R. Rowenson C.R. Rowenson joins Terry and Paul to discuss magic systems, his Indiegogo campaign, and shows off some contents of his upcoming book…
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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…
Explore Podcast with Dr. Moiya McTier C.R. Rowenson is back to finish the magic system we started. We talk about runic magic systems, the recent supernova shortage in the Milky Way,…
Explore Podcast with Dr. Moiya McTier Explore is leaning more towards fantasy this week as C.R. Rowenson teaches us how to build magic systems! exolorepod.com
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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.
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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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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Types of Magic - Part 3 Right about now you’re probably thinking, “What’s this nutcase talking about ‘Types of Magic in Science Fiction’? Doesn’t he know there is no magic…
Congratulations! You've generated oodles of ideas and optimized alignment, and you're finally ready to start defining your magic system. Stage 3 is where your magic system should start taking on…
Welcome to Part 11 of Building a Viral Magic System Damn, Daniel. Back at it again with the Viral Magic! The last couple of times we worked the viral magic…
Welcome to Part 10 of Building a Viral Magic System Aaaand we’re back. Don’t ask “back from where”; it doesn’t matter. Plausible deniability is the only real edge we have…
Welcome to Part 9 of Building a Viral Magic System Guess what? We’re finally nearing the end of our work in Stage 3: Definition. It’s taken a lot of work…
While rational magic systems can provide a lot of benefits to your story , today we will cover 7 simple reasons you might need a nebulous magic system in your…
They serve as guidelines for exploring the vast and murky middle-ground between boundaries. More than that, they help me connect with the magic variables and conditions in new ways so…
You already know limitations are essential for a powerful magic system. We’ve talked about this in the past, but I need make sure I’ve given their importance the proper emphasis.…
You might already know, but let's review what limitations are and some of their many forms. From there we can discuss exactly why you need them and end the day…
There’s something important I want to talk about with you and I’ve put this off long enough. If you’re part of the mailing list, you already know some of this,…
Let me see if I’ve got this right. You’re building an extraordinary system for your book, game, screenplay, or interactive blood-puppet show. Thanks to some previous reading, you know the…
Welcome to Part 7 of Building a Viral Magic System Today is going to be fun! Why? Because today we're talking about one of my favorite parts of the magic…
If you are a storyteller and found your way here, I’ll assume you’ve at least heard the term “soft magic”. It doesn’t matter if you first heard of it here…
I usually start Stage 3 by considering the magic system variables. The thing is, we’re not going to walk through all of my answers. As tempting as it is for…
I was thinking about it the other day while staking myself some vampires — you’re welcome — and I realized there were more reasons one might use a SME for…
Today, we will look at how I took the knowledge gained from my research and developed more ideas for the viral magic system. That's right, more brainstorming!
This, my dedicated friend, is the last post in the Why I Love the Mistborn Trilogy series. This is post number twelve and I’ve been waiting over a year to…
What fascinates me is how Hemalurgy seems to dig and worm its way into the world around it, sapping away vital energies to extend and strengthen its own existence. It…
Today we're taking a stab at aligning our virus-based magic system using the speed-dating exercise. We'll still have plenty of gaps in the end, but this is another step forward.
no, I’m not done talking about the trilogy, though today’s topic differs from those we’ve had before. Today we'll look at how the magic connects to the story in a…
Generating Deadly Ideas for Our Viral Magic System Part 1 of Building a Viral Magic System I’m so excited! This system has been kicking around in my head for over…
Sanderson’s Exploration of the Metallic Arts And Why I Love It Artwork by Watermother2004 Welcome to Part 9 of Why I Love The Mistborn Trilogy We’ve already discussed the simple…
Did you know we’ve been talking and working on building better magic systems for over two years now? Crazy how time flies when you’re talking about something you love. We’ve…
20 Interesting and Underused Subjects for Your Magic System Welcome back! I’m glad you came willingly and any protests to the contrary will be ignored. If you’ve been following this…
How to Find a Subject Matter Expert for Your Magic We’ve covered the basics of using Subject Matter Expertise for your magic and some of the pros and cons of…
Feruchemy: Making Boring Objects Awesome Again Welcome to Part 7 of Why I Love Mistborn Symbolism is a powerful tool in any writer’s tool belt. This is true whether you’re…
3 Big Reasons to Use Subject Matter Expertise in Your Magic Welcome back! This is Part II of our little discussion on using Subject Matter Expertise with your magic. A…
The Metallic Fuel of Allomancy is Just Awesome Welcome to Part 6 of Why I Love the Mistborn Trilogy Artwork by Manuel Castanon There are lots of things I love…
Welcome back! Let’s get right to it. No time for delay and funny business; I’ve been drinking green tea all day and I’m FREAKEN PUMPED!!! That’s all the silly, I…
This section is more for fun than anything. Tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) continue to grow in popularity and are something I cannot recommend enough. If you’re looking to learn more…
While you can’t be successful without skill, good tools certainly make things easier! Following are various everyday tools and software programs with brief rundowns of their benefits and the best…
Without a story, very few people will care about the magic system or world you created. Writing is the core skill of most storytelling, be it for novels, games, RPG…
While it is easier to find content on worldbuilding than it is for magic-building, some resources are better than others. This page is dedicated to the resources I feel go…
What? My website isn’t enough for you? Huh? Huh?! Just kidding. I want you to have absolutely EVERYTHING you need to build a kick-ass magic system for your story and…
Non-Magical Counters in the Mistborn Trilogy Welcome to Part 5 of Why I Love the Mistborn Trilogy Art Created by Marc Simonetti There are so many cool things you can…
How to Make Building Magic Easy with Subject Matter Expertise Even with everything we’ve discussed in the 4 Stages of Building Marvelous Magic, building a new system is always a…
Hemalurgy and Entropy are Peas in a Scary Pod Art Created by Marc Simonetti Welcome to Part 4 of Why I Love the Mistborn Trilogy Yup, you read that title…
Stage 0 of Building Marvelous Magic: Where to Start Building I have to come clean. I lied to you… and not just about the mystery meat. I said there are…
5 Resources to Help You Make A Novel Worthy of Your Magic The moment has finally arrived. You’ve worked hard. It’s taken weeks, months, or even years of blood, sweat,…
Allomancy is the Perfect Blend of Physics and Imagination Art Created by Marc Simonetti Welcome to Part 2 of Why I Love the Mistborn Trilogy Let’s get the gushing out…
"But what if my magic isn’t ready for that? How can I know if it’s finished?" Wow, voice in my head, you always have the best questions. Writing these posts…
Welcome to Part 1 of Why I Love the Mistborn Trilogy It’s time to confess, I love Brandon Sanderson’s fiction. I’m sure this comes as a shock to many of you……
Exploring the Outstanding Magic from "Passage to Avalon" Today, we’re going to approach magic systems a little differently. Mike Thayer recently released his first book The Epic Adventures of The…
Before you can move on to defining your magic in Stage 3, you’ve got to do a basic alignment check on your magic system first. Today, we’re going to walk…
Brainstorming and Idea Generation is a vital part of any creative endeavor, and building a magic system is no different. You've got to invent creative effects, decide on rules, build in…
You generated ideas in Stage 1; you checked the alignment in Stage 2; and you added definition in Stage 3. That means it's time, at long last, to discus the…
I don’t know exactly where you are relative to the creation of your magic. This could be your first time and this shared intimacy makes you blush, or mayhaps you’ve…
Building a Marvelous Magic System is just like any other part of writing fiction: Done correctly, it makes the world come alive, ignites the reader’s imagination, and is completely unique.…
The 4 Stages of Building Marvelous Magic Building a marvelous magic system is just like any other part of writing fiction: When done correctly, it makes the world come alive,…
It doesn’t matter if the inspiration came in the form of your favorite authors latest book, a fever-dream not yet washed from this reality, or 1.21 Gigawatts straight from the…
You could say that I’m a fan of magic. You’re right, of course. I’m far more than just a fan. I live for magic, breathing deep the creative fumes until…
Building Marvelous Magic Stage 3: Defining Your System Maybe you woke up this morning with a brand new magic system bursting from your skull. Or maybe you’ve been…
WellHiThere! How are things on the magic front? Any problems trimming your magic system? If I had to guess, I would say… "Hard," and "Yes." But let’s be honest, it’s always…
Yes! Here's Seven-ish Reasons Why Hookay, so, here's the world and here's you. That's You in There The long process of building and planning a magic system has begun, and it's…
Sanderson's 1st Law of Magic Can be Broken *Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links* Welcome back to my series on Building Magic Systems. Last time we talked about Hard and…
Brainstorming Your Magic: 4 Important Questions You Need to Ask Welcome back to the series on How to Build/Understand a Magic System. Last time I showed you how important…
4 Reasons Planned Magic is Better Magic I don’t care if you’re a creator (writer, game designer, or dungeon master) or a consumer (reader, gamer, or whatever), a planned magic…
