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There are a few elements that fantasy is known for. Magic is such one and is perhaps the one that pops up when people think of fantasy. There are as many different styles of magic as there are many fantasy worlds and that number only grows with each passing year. The power of story magic helps make for a riveting tale.
What exactly is story magic, you might wonder? It’s magic that’s so crucial to the world that the story takes place in that it is an instrumental part in the plot. The Wizarding World in the Harry Potter series is the perfect example of this. Everyone who lives in that world is either a wizard or witch and know many kinds of spells. Harry learns many of these spells, some of which would prove vital to his struggle against Voldemort. Without the use of magic, it would just be a wholly different story.
The question then is how do you incorporate it into the story? Story magic only works in worlds that are solely magical-based. Remember, there are many different types of magic which means you’ll need to decide which ones you want to bring into your story. You’ll also need to determine how they work.
While there are so many styles of magic to choose from, there too are many different uses of magic. When creating spells or other magic-based powers important to the plot, you’ll have to decide what kind of use they have. Are they regenerative, destructive, or something else? Can everyone use them or can they only be used by certain magical practitioners?
Story magic only works in worlds where magic dominates nearly every aspect of life. In other words, people in these realms are so dependent on magic that they cannot imagine what life’s like without it. If the story you’re making is in such one, you have to structure every facet of life around magic to make it work.
This is article number twenty-seven in the series looking at writing a fantasy book. For more articles, go to our blog page. There’s plenty more for you to peruse through!
So you’ve decided to make a tale where story magic is key to the plot. While you have a lot of work to do to put it all together, there is one inescapable thing you must do. You have to consider incorporating different kinds of magic in your story. It’s easier said than done.
The thing is, you can’t simply rely on just one style throughout the story. Fantasy readers expect the tales they read to have various kinds of magic. Not only does multiple types help make for a scintillating tale, they’re also great for worldbuilding since each one of them can do something no other can.
That means you have to think about which styles you want to include in your story. Popular ones you can use are:
There’s even more than the eight mentioned just above! You can work on coming up with ideas during a brainstorming session and further flesh them out when you’re outlining your novel.
One principal rule regarding magic that you must always keep in mind is that each type has a polar opposite. Thus, no style is more superior than others, otherwise everyone would use it and it would make the plot a tad boring. When creating different kinds of story magic, think about what it’s strong and weak against.
This is one part you want to take as much time as you need to. Don’t rush it. Take the time to really consider what you want to put in your book. You’re simply creating the foundation on which your world is based which means you have only one shot to make an excellent impression on would-be readers so you need to make it count!
You’ve taken as much time as you needed to think about what styles of magic you intend to weave into your story. Now comes the time to think about how to use each one of them. Think of it like you’re building upon the foundation you already created.
This is where you further flesh them out. In worlds brimming with magic, the battlefield is one many people think of when they think of magic in battle. People love reading about epic fights between wizards using all kinds of spells. These spells can cause effects you can only imagine of. When creating spells, don’t just come up with ones your characters can use for attacking or defending; think about what effects they cause as well, for it’s quite likely a character will get hurt during a pivotal skirmish.
Magic isn’t just used for battle. You can use it in other ways. One great use of story magic is to solve puzzles that can only be solved by the use of magic. It could be lighting a torch on a statue or rotating an object floating in midair through magic. These puzzles are tied to the plot, meaning the characters must solve them before they can continue, and they also show how much they’ve learned throughout the story.
One way to use story magic is to change an object into something else. This is called transfiguration and this branch of magic can be important at times. There will be times where a plot-related object will need to change in some capacity, whether it be in size or texture and transfiguration is used to make it happen. You can even transfigure people if the plot calls for it!
Throughout the story, characters get hurt in a number of ways which means they’ll need something that will help them recover quickly. This where regenerative magic comes in. Using this power enables characters to get back to health rapidly after suffering a physical injury or ailment. This power can prove immensely helpful in a pivotal battle that will dictate the trajectory of the plot.
Part of the charm of story magic is seeing wizards destroy an object in a number of seconds using a wide variety of of spells. It could be a statue or a building getting blasted to oblivion or the power of fire melts it completely. Destructive magic is a crowd favorite and it can help shape the story in interesting ways!
The counterpart of destructive magic is creation magic and it can prove quite useful in the plot. There may be times where your characters will need to create an object out of nowhere in order to move forward and this power enables them to do so. There are many ways you can use this to great effect!
A core component of story magic is the world it takes place in. Since this particular aspect of magic plays a dominant role in the plot, it must be equally dominant in the world. That is, magic must be so steeped into the world that it would be impossible for it to function without it.
Going this route means you must consider every facet of daily life when establishing the setting. That means you need to think about how buildings get their power, how people travel from one place to another, and so on. Adding up all these things can make for an exhaustive list but it’s important to do so.
The goal here is to create a world that feels real but is wholly magic in nature. Doing this make it easier for your readers to fully immerse themselves into the world you’ve created from scratch.
You want to make it clear from the first page that the world your readers are about to enter is unlike any they’ve ever read. Show them something that only happens in it. After all, the world will be the backdrop of your story and it will affect it at key points in the plot.
While many worlds in which magic plays a prominent role in the plot are set in medieval times, you can use another era, like a futuristic for example, if you want to go in a different direction. You’ll simply need to adjust things to make it work since humans will have different levels of magic in different eras.
Story magic is something unique to the fantasy genre. It gives readers a glimpse into a world far unlike ours which can leave a lasting impression on them. When creating a story in this vein, the objective is to create a great story using a world that leaves them wanting more!
One vital step in story magic is thinking of what types of magic you want in the plot. Going with more than one enriches it and makes it more interesting. Furthermore, there will be a time where each one of them will play a prominent role in the story — think of it like giving them a moment to shine — and the variety will make it better!
The next step is to consider the different uses of magic. Including a healthy mix of different branches like regenerative and transfiguration helps make your world feel more dynamic. Think about what you’d like to bring into the story and how they’ll impact it.
Last and not least, it’s imperative that you create a setting where magic plays an essential role in everything. It needs to be so interwoven into the fabric of the world that it’s difficult to imagine otherwise. You have a lot of things to take into consideration, things like transportation or communicating across long distances, which means you’ll need to come up with a list and work on fleshing out each item in a way that works.
It can be hard to create a story where magic plays a dominant role in a great number of things but it’s worth it, for you’ll have created something different and also stands out!
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Sunfire
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