Magic Systems (Writing Fantasy)

 

    During the Christmas holidays, my brother and I were discussing the novels were reading. My brother was reading Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson and I hadn't picked up a book in a while, so I described the fantasy novel that I was writing. My brother then told me about the interesting magic system of Mistborn and I thought about my own novel. Was it interesting enough? Does have enough layers? How can I improve it? 

These questions are why I'm here now writing this blog update. So, let me pose the question to the internet, how does one write and depict good magic structures?

The first step is to know where the magic comes from. Is magic a resource, an element or is it within the body naturally? Is it something that ancient gods have gifted your characters, or is it something that was stolen? To create a well-planned magic system you must think of the way the characters and the magic interact, from where does this magic come? Is it emerging or disappearing? In Lord of the Rings, the magic in the world is slowly disappearing as it is becoming the era for men. 

    Let's assume that our magic system is emerging magic, it's a new resource, untapped and strong. How does it interact with the characters? Is it something that you can just grasp? Or is it something you must learn? If it is the latter, then what form of learning does that take? In Avatar the Last Airbender you learn bending in a similar way to learning martial arts, in Harry Potter, it's both physical wand movements and terminology/spells that interact. If you want it to be simply physical interactions, such as martial arts, then you can associate said movement with a real-life thing. For example, in my novel The Year of the King the magic is done through 'weaving', your fingers weave the strands of magic. I placed a real-world action into my magic system, thus allowing there to be visual realism so the readers can visualise it easier. 

After you decide how magic can interact with people, you should ask yourself, what limitations will these people have? Are there? Where does the energy come from to wield said magic? Your understanding of your magic system can be planted in reality, for example in Name of the Wind you must be able to do everything physically if you wish to complete it magically. Limitations can vary from strength to control to understanding. Are you stronger because you understand the magic further and therefore can't lose control? Are you stronger because you are a physically stronger person? 

There is also my favourite part, which is naming and organising, and I know this sounds boring but it doesn't have to be. If you create a magic system sometimes you might not want the people who wield it to be called 'magicians' and you may not even want it to be referred to as 'magic', depending on how deep you want your world-building to go. In my magic system, because the two major strands are Weavers and Animators the greater umbrella term for them are 'Artisans'. Truly, you can use any everyday term and use it with association to your magic system, you can also create a whole new term! 

I think the best thing to do, however, is to have fun. Magic, after all, isn't real in the same way it is in fantasy novels, so there are plenty of avenues you can approach it from. You can take inspiration from movies, books, and television shows and integrate those ideas into your own novel, adding a special flare that only you are capable of adding. Either way, good luck and have fun with your fantasy writing!