'nother Mike (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mbarker) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
writercises2022-01-02 06:29 pm
mbarker) wrote in writercises2022-01-02 06:29 pm
TECH: Being Smart with Magic (moldy oldie!)
Original Posting March 26, 2018
Writer's Digest, January 1991, on page 32, had a short sidebar by Piers Anthony, with the title "Being Smart with Magic." He starts out with some definitions. "Science fiction is the literature of the possible. Fantasy is the literature of the impossible.… The key impossible element of fantasy is magic."
Now according to Piers, "magic is not science, and should not be treated as such." He gives the example of a magical transformation of form. Don't bother worrying about making the mass stay the same. "Conservation of mass is science, and you don't want it polluting your fantasy." The old rules are gone. However, there are some rules you still need to pay attention to.
The rules of good storytelling. "Start with a good story and tell it well; if you do not, no amount of magic will make it fly. You are trying to encourage your reader to willingly suspend his disbelief, and he won't do that if you have obscure characters in a confusing situation inconsistently developed, with a pointless conclusion."
Another rule? Make your magic integral to the situation. "Don't take a mundane story and plug in magic and think that makes it good." Make sure that the magic is a necessary part of your story. "Apply this test: if you can remove the magic and still have a coherent story, then the magic may be extraneous."
Don't let science govern your magic, but… "The magic should be consistent. … Rules are essential, because magic is inherently as limitless as the imagination, and your story will become nonsense if reasonable constraints are not put on it." Rules are what make the game fun. If magic can do anything, there is no challenge! You need constraints.
"It isn't necessary to have special effects." You don't have to have glowing amulets, jags of lightning, and so forth. "If you believe in your magic, let it express itself in its own fashion. On the other hand, if you want to have fantastic effects, consider the magic of illusion. Since there is no substance, you can certainly have anything happen.
"In short, be smart about your magic. Don't overuse it, don't make it garish, do think it through so that it makes a genuine contribution to your story."
So there you go. A good story, where the magic is a necessary part, and is consistent. Sounds like it could be fun.
Practice? Well, obviously you need a story with some magic in it. Now consider, is the story well told? Is the magic a necessary part of it? Is the magic consistent? If you've got special-effects, do they fit?
Now, tap your heels together three times, and say, "There's no place like home."
Writer's Digest, January 1991, on page 32, had a short sidebar by Piers Anthony, with the title "Being Smart with Magic." He starts out with some definitions. "Science fiction is the literature of the possible. Fantasy is the literature of the impossible.… The key impossible element of fantasy is magic."
Now according to Piers, "magic is not science, and should not be treated as such." He gives the example of a magical transformation of form. Don't bother worrying about making the mass stay the same. "Conservation of mass is science, and you don't want it polluting your fantasy." The old rules are gone. However, there are some rules you still need to pay attention to.
The rules of good storytelling. "Start with a good story and tell it well; if you do not, no amount of magic will make it fly. You are trying to encourage your reader to willingly suspend his disbelief, and he won't do that if you have obscure characters in a confusing situation inconsistently developed, with a pointless conclusion."
Another rule? Make your magic integral to the situation. "Don't take a mundane story and plug in magic and think that makes it good." Make sure that the magic is a necessary part of your story. "Apply this test: if you can remove the magic and still have a coherent story, then the magic may be extraneous."
Don't let science govern your magic, but… "The magic should be consistent. … Rules are essential, because magic is inherently as limitless as the imagination, and your story will become nonsense if reasonable constraints are not put on it." Rules are what make the game fun. If magic can do anything, there is no challenge! You need constraints.
"It isn't necessary to have special effects." You don't have to have glowing amulets, jags of lightning, and so forth. "If you believe in your magic, let it express itself in its own fashion. On the other hand, if you want to have fantastic effects, consider the magic of illusion. Since there is no substance, you can certainly have anything happen.
"In short, be smart about your magic. Don't overuse it, don't make it garish, do think it through so that it makes a genuine contribution to your story."
So there you go. A good story, where the magic is a necessary part, and is consistent. Sounds like it could be fun.
Practice? Well, obviously you need a story with some magic in it. Now consider, is the story well told? Is the magic a necessary part of it? Is the magic consistent? If you've got special-effects, do they fit?
Now, tap your heels together three times, and say, "There's no place like home."