Helping Authors Build Marvelous Magic Systems One Stage at a Time
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
I’ve got lots of ideas and I have the bones of a story. What I need to know is which type of magic system I need to build… and I suppose you already know the answer because of the post title… Maybe I could have planned that better.
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!
I told you before this post would dig into the details of the magic in Stage 3: Definition… well, I lied.
I didn’t mean to! Let me explain.
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 broader sense.
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 a year; I can’t believe I’m finally building it. This will be an awesome series, and I can already tell. Whenever I work with someone starting a new magic system, I always recommend beginning with Stage 0 to pinpoint where to
Sanderson’s Exploration of the Metallic Arts And Why I Love It Welcome to Part 9 of Why I Love The Mistborn Trilogy We’ve already discussed the simple elegance of the Metallic Arts from The Mistborn Trilogy, their deliberate combination with Newtonian physics, why Hemalurgy makes me both scared and happy, and more besides. By this point, I’m sure you know what I’m about to say: “Blah, blah… I Love Mistborn!…
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 covered lots of information in those years, and I mean a lot, so this year I thought we’d do something special. I’m taking that age-old writing advice “show, don’t tell,” and I’m putting it to use right here and now.
