Majik
Well, “magic” in fact. What is magic in fantasy? As individuals, we experience magic every day and take it for granted. The gadgets and technologies we have available are, let’s be frank, magic. I learned this in the early days of the internet and WWW when in a demo, we connected to a website hosted the other side of the globe.
But fantasy magic? What is it? How does it work?
My take is that its an artful invention that helps the story move along or provides pivotal elements that drive the plot. Hence, IMHO, it’s how it affects the plot that matters. Some fantasy writers devote a lot of time to magic systems; what can and cannot be done, the effect of using magic on the user and so forth. Fine. But it MUST relate to the plot and also, perhaps, the characters. Otherwise it’s just description and/or padding. Magic is integral to plot in fantasy (if it has magic, of course—but that’s another major topic right there. But I won’t delve into this in this post).
My current project has magic. Two, possibly, since there is witchery and wizardry. Are they separate? Well, in the story, to some degree. Witches are female and wizards male. That is, the magic system reflects the character or gender of the individual. Of course, that begs the question about warlocks and sorceresses but, hey, let’s not complicate matters too much. Perhaps these categories are crossovers between the M-F magics? To be honest, I’m not one for having a detailed system though I do have some consistencies in ‘how magic works’.
Let’s have a look at these:
Magic has a cost. This is usually in physical exhaustion from excessive spell casting. But it could also include the psychological.
Magic is powerful and hence potentially difficult to control but not always totally effective.
Learning or training to be a magician is necessary; that is to say, whilst there may be naturally adept individuals, these need to learn to control how they use magic. Otherwise, it’s wild and unpredicatable. Think of riding an unbroken horse! Wild!
The user needs to perform some action, be it verbal or physical, when performing magic.
Magic leaves traces and, in some configurations, has a user signature identifying the caster.
There are different types of magic. I’ve considered orientations such as earth, fire, water, air and a fifth element to differentiate magic users and to limit their all-round ability. If a magician is too powerful or doesn’t pay a price, then they can dominate the action, which wouldn’t do, would it?
In some instances, I’ve gone back to traditional magic as with Tarot or the practices of witches (as reported via the media). This is familiar to readers and hence provides a useful reference point to help understanding of what is happening without resort to a lot of explanation (or ‘showing’) that holds up the action.
Magic, of itself, is neutral but can be used for good (e.g., healing) or evil (e.g., killing). Hence, the consequence of its use lies with the user.
I have mixed views as to whether magic users aspire to power over non-users—or not. My current view is that it depends on the individual and what their motivation is.
There should be considerable effort (i.e., some investment and/or cost involved) in developing expertise in the magical arts.
I’m sure there are other points that could be made about magic and how I incorporate it in my writing. Butthese ten points probably capture my approach to using magic in fantasy stories.