Hi, guys!
Now, if you’ve been following along, you know I like fantasy books. Give me a book with very little tech and a shit ton of magic, and I’ll eat it up.
But writing them can be tough. Magic systems can be taxing to put together.
So, to help you build a complex, SOLID magic system, I have a few things for you to consider.
First and foremost, does it have limits? What can magic be used for…and what can it not be used for?
Can it heal? Can it kill? Do people use it to manipulate time or elements? Can they summon things or people? Can they teleport or raise the dead?
Can they do some other thing I haven’t listed? The world is vast, and magic pushes the boundaries even further. So, feel free to be as creative as you wish.
But there will be limits. You need to decide what your magic is able to do and where to draw the line.
Second, are there different types?
Maybe different types do different things. Maybe there’s elemental magic and healing magic.
Third, you need to decide what those results cost.
Blood sacrifices? Does it make them tired? Or…maybe it doesn’t cost them anything, at all, though that’s less likely. (That’s crossing into the realm of supernatural/paranormal stuff with innate abilities. Vampires, demi-demons, werewolves, etc.)
You need to figure out what they have to give up in order to get what they want.
Fourth, how do they use it?
A series of hand gestures or waves of a wand? A complicated ritual? Maybe it comes down to a specific string of words, chanted in just the right way. Do they simply have to ask their god for power or is the magic stored in plant and animal matter, and they just have to mix the right things together in a potion?
There has to be a method of harnessing the power you’ve given them access to.
Fifth, is it widely available?
If your magic system is based on asking a god for power, obviously someone who’s never heard of that god won’t have access. Maybe it’s widely available and anyone can practice magic, they just have to learn how to do it. Perhaps, it’s hoarded by the rich and powerful or handed down through bloodlines.
All of these things define your world. Magic is linked to the very fiber of the fantasy world you’re building.
You cannot just say, “Well, it’s fine. It works because it’s magic,” and expect your reader to accept that.
Because it’s bullshit.
I’ve said it so many times, and I’ll say it again. You’re already taking the time to write a book…You may as well do it well.
Don’t half-ass it. Think this shit through.
In the end, you’ll end up with a better book. (Just don’t info-dump your world building on your readers all at once.)
Now, as for my own projects, I’ve jumped up to 53,483 words on my current WIP (whose magic system is heavily dependent upon their god).
Where Darkness Leads features many types of magic, distributed amongst the populace through blood lines and the amount of elements used for their creation. And I got a decent amount of editing done on it this week.
Keep reading. Keep writing.
Later.