Top 5 Tips for Writing Magic Systems
Here are my top five tips for writing magic systems in your story. Hopefully at least some of these will help you in your writing endeavors. If you’d like to hear more detailed thoughts, check out my video on this topic.
1.Create Rules and Boundaries
The most important thing to consider when writing a story with magic is to create rules and boundaries for how magic works. Even though magic can work however the author wants it to, that doesn’t mean that it can be written however best fits each situation in a book. There needs to be consistency and structure for the reader to follow, understand, and believe. Just like how science has rules that show how the world works, magic should have rules to show how it works too. It isn’t necessary to explain all the rules to the reader, but as the author, you should know exactly how your magic system works and where its limitations are.
2.Don’t Make Exceptions or Overpowered Characters
Make sure to stick to the rules when writing the story. Making exceptions, especially when the characters are in danger and can’t get out of said danger, will feel false to the reader. It is important to find a way to resolve any issues without making exceptions or creating a character that is really overpowered. If magic gets a character or characters out of trouble whenever anything gets tough, then what is the point of the conflict at all? The story would just end at the beginning with the characters fixing everything with a wave of his or her hand. Make the rules and stick to them. Create realistic characters and events that fall in line with the rest of the story. Use this restriction as a way to think more creatively instead of taking the easy route out.
3.Decide What Purpose Magic has in the World
Deciding magic’s purpose will mostly help you as the author. Setting a purpose will help shape the world, the characters, the setting, and a lot of other important elements in the story. Make sure to think about the role magic plays in the story. What is it used for? How did it come to exist? When and how was it discovered? Knowing the answers to these questions will change how you write magic in different events and will generate different expectations to the reader. Again, this isn’t something that needs to be specifically stated in the story, but it is important to know as a foundation to the world the story will be set in.
4.Consider How Magic Effects Culture and Society
Make sure to take some time to consider how magic effects the cultures and societies in your story. This is highly tied to the purpose of magic and how the magic works. Depending on how magic is used and how it works, different cultures and societies in the story will feel differently about it. If magic is only able to be used by select people, non-magic users will feel different towards magic than if everyone has it. Maybe magic is seen as bad in one culture but good in another. Maybe it is a lost art forgotten by all until it is starting to resurface. Take time to consider how cultures and societies are shaped because of magic. It will add a lot of sophistication and maturity to the created world and the people who live in it.
5.Consider How Magic Effects Your Characters
Also make sure to consider how magic effects each character specifically. As the author, it is imperative to completely understand the characters you are writing. This includes knowing if each character wields magic themselves, or if they hate magic, or maybe they don’t even believe in magic. Every character will be effected differently because of their background with magic, magic users, and how much knowledge he or she has on the subject. To create good sophisticated characters that touch the reader, it is important to really look at their relationship with magic and those who use it.
And there you go. These are my top five tips for writing magic systems into a fantasy story. I hope you enjoyed them, and I hope they are helpful. I’d love to hear any of your tips on how to write magic into a story. Let me know if I missed anything important. Good luck with your writing endeavors!
