![\""This](\"https:\/\/aidanmoher.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/emergency-test.jpg\" "\\"\"This")
\nCreating a new magic system isn\u2019t all that hard. Do I hear a few dissenters in the audience? For the sake of the next exercise, let\u2019s assume I do. Time to play a quick round of Magic Mad-libs! <\/p>\n
\nCreating a new magic system isn\u2019t all that hard. Do I hear a few dissenters in the audience? For the sake of the next exercise, let\u2019s assume I do. Time to play a quick round of Magic Mad-libs! <\/p>\n
Fill in the blanks: What\u2019d you come up with? In a forested world populated by squirrels, practitioners known as fuzzummoners can call upon mystical oak trees to fuel a form of acorn magic? Me too! Weird.<\/p>\n Once a basic concept is pinned down, it\u2019s still not difficult to flesh out the system. There are so many types of magic systems swarming the shelves these days, they\u2019ve started to lump into familiar categories. Here are a few common approaches:<\/p>\n If creating the magic system isn\u2019t hard, what\u2019s the difficult part then?<\/p>\n Making the magic matter.<\/strong> Arcane acorn bombs and fire-wielding fluffy tails are all well and good, but if the reader never gets beyond the \u201cOh, that\u2019s kinda cool\u201d reaction, something is wrong. What, then, makes magic meaningful? It must be part of a tripod. No, not a War of the Worlds-style tripod. Let me clarify.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a debate that pops up every so often in writerly circles. Which is more important to a novel: the plot or the characters? The answer, of course, is both (argue that in the comments, if you want<\/em>). For fantasy novels, though, I submit that you\u2019ve got to add a third element. Which is more important: the plot, characters, or magic system? <\/p>\n All three must be equally invested in and reliant on each other; otherwise, you end up with an off-balanced or toppled tripod. When working on a novel, I ask myself a number of questions regarding the balance of characters\/plot\/magic. They usually run along these lines:<\/p>\n If these questions are truly taken into account and addressed, magic can become much more than just a few nifty ideas cobbled together. Readers can be engaged by the magic because it\u2019s intertwined with characters and events they care about, rather than sitting off in its own little corner, waiting to be called upon when the story demands.<\/p>\n If not, though, a magic system can devolve into a handful of glitter and a few golden stars stuck to the page, able to catch the reader\u2019s eye but quickly revealed as little more than window dressing.<\/p>\n And, call me crazy, but I think most readers prefer books that don\u2019t leave their clothes covered in glitter. My next guest post will research this vital issue further: Glitter-dispensing fantasy novels…yay or nay?<\/p>\n This concludes the emergency test of your magic system.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Creating a new magic system isn\u2019t all that hard. Do I hear a few dissenters in the audience? For the sake of the next exercise, let\u2019s assume I do. Time to play a quick round of Magic Mad-libs! Fill in the blanks: \u201cIn a(n) adjective world populated by noun, practitioners known as made-up-word can call… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[90,38,102,296,295],"class_list":["post-9676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-dungeons-dragons","tag-fantasy","tag-guest-post","tag-josh-vogt","tag-magic"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cIn a(n) adjective<\/em><\/u> world populated by noun<\/em><\/u>, practitioners known as made-up-word<\/em><\/u> can call upon energy source<\/em><\/u> to fuel a form of noun<\/em><\/u> magic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
![\"Gardens](\"https:\/\/aidanmoher.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/gardens-of-the-moon2.jpg\" "\\"Gardens")
<\/p>\n![\"Gardens](\"https:\/\/aidanmoher.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/gardens-of-the-moon-1.jpg\" "\\"Gardens")
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