[Perry] Magic Systems: The Hook
In keeping with the New Years theme, we’re going to be spending a bit of time talking about something that can help in the planning stages of a novel or to help refine ideas that may already be kicking around in our heads.
Let me ask you guys something, what’s one of the first things that come to mind when I say Star Wars?
Was it Darth Vaders troubled past? Was it the lovable rogue, Han Solo? Perhaps it was Luke Skywalkers journey from whiny twit to hero.
…Or, far more likely, a lightsaber popped into your head with its customary fwoom, breeooom sounds and how badly you wished you had one when you were younger.
What about Harry Potter? Did you think about the plucky young orphan Harry? Or the tragic story of Severus Snape?
…Or, far more likely, you thought about what life would be like if you had a wand, or went to Hogwarts, or had a flying broomstick.
As much as I adore the characters, do you know what the first things that come to my mind when you bring up Tami’s Choose?
It’s taking a ride on Hank’s Miraj. It’s having a ticker companion like Bones. It’s having a glowing hammer of smashy doom like Gerard does.
When starting a new project in the realm of speculative fiction, one of the biggest challenges when it comes to the planning phase if figuring out just how this work will be different and set apart from the real world.
Your magic system, whether it be comprised of spells, technology and gadgets or fanciful creatures, is going to be one of the biggest draws to your world. There’s a fair chance that your magic system is going to be the thing that your reader takes away from your story so it’s important to make it vivid and as ‘hooky’ as you can get it.
I’ve found that the biggest draw to any magic system I’ve encountered are things that I wish I could have in my day to day life. As I read through a story, a part at the back of my mind is always wondering how cool it would be to be able to cogsmith in real life. I wonder how interesting it would be to be able to clap my hands together and perform an alchemical transmutation. I think about how convenient it would be to be able to perform sympathy in real life and turn off that light across the room so that I don’t have to get out of my warm bed.
I think it’s important to understand that interaction and to play off of it, coming up with something that will leave an indelible mark in the mind of your reader.
Now, granted, this isn’t always the case. I can think of a handful of books in the realm of fantasy and science fiction that had magic systems that I most definitely did NOT want to be a part of my daily life (Stephen King’s IT for example *shudder) but largely speaking, this is something that will hold true.
In the coming weeks, we’ll explore this topic together with a little more depth to help iron out some of the wrinkles when it comes to creating and refining a magic system that works for your story.
For now, I’ll share with you guys that some of my favorite magic systems include:
- Sympathy from The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
- Allomancy from Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
- Alchemy from Fullmetal Alchemist
What’re some of your favorite magic systems and why?
19 Comments
all of Sanderson’s magic systems are great. Though Allomancy is my favorite
God, when I first ran into Allomancy…there’s a segment right near the beginning of the first book where you first really see it (and Kelsier!) in action against the Hazekillers.
Completely floored me. I was totally hooked just from that and I kept reading as much out of a desire to see more of the magic system as the story itself ^^
Have you read the novella “alloy of law” yet? If not, DO IT. It’s allomancy in a wild west setting. It gets more fun where there are guns and trains.
Yes I did!
I thought it was wonderful how Sanderson basically created his own urban fantasy within his fantasy universe by pushing the timeline forward.
Also, the more subtle interactions he introduced by creating the twinborn with the mix of allomancy and feruchemy was just…perfect!
Oooh, I love the Alchemy from FMA. I thought that was fantastic. I also really liked the way magic worked in the Black Swan (Mercedes Lackey) and you’re right … my favorite bits tend to be the ones that would be neat to have in real life.
Though I’ve seen her name often, I don’t think that I’ve ever read Mercedes Lackey.
And to be perfectly honest with you, I spent an embarrassing amount of time clapping my hands and snapping my fingers after seeing FMA for the first time haha.
Lackey was the writer of my youth, the one that young me adored beyond all reason. =]
I wish FMA had maintained its pacing. The end rushed at you so quickly it stopped making sense.
…You’re talking about the original FMA? Not the FMA: Brotherhood series?
I believe so, yes.
There was actually a good reason for that.
When the original series was about halfway through, the comic story wasn’t finished so they got the go ahead to take the anime ending off in another direction entirely.
Six years later, they restarted the series with the intention of staying true to the story of the source material and it’s flat out amazing.
Ah, that sounds familiar. I think I heard about that about when I stopped illegally downloading anime episodes, and I refuse to pay current prices for episodes. XD
If you’re interested, you’re in luck!
Funimation, the company that produced the series has kindly made every episode of the series (in subbed and dubbed format (but subbed is better >>)) available for streaming on their website.
http://www.funimation.com/fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood/episodes
Oho, that IS awesome! I’ll keep that link — I need a good series to run on the treadmill to!
How about the first magical system I was fond of? It was in “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” by Roald Dahl. He has to earn it and it makes him a better person by the end.
Mmm, I don’t think I read that one.
How did it work?
It’s a kids short story, so my memory is a little foggy.
Basically, there’s a wealthy man that likes gambling (because the one thing people with money love to do is accumulate more of it) and he finds this dusty old book in a library that explains how, through meditation, you can accomplish real magic. So, he works on it and finds he is able to see the other sides of cards and predict the near future. So, he sets out gambling and, in addition to winning a ton of money, becomes sick of the greed he sees in and around himself. So he starts throwing money off of his balcony to the people below (until the cops stop him) and finds joy in giving rather than accumulating.
This is probably more accurate though: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonderful_Story_of_Henry_Sugar_and_Six_More#The_Wonderful_Story_of_Henry_Sugar
Hehe while it sounds fun, I’m not sure how well it’ll hold up now given that I have a hard time getting into any of his other works ^^.
Not too much to your point, but I also enjoyed the basic systems in a cartoon movie called “Flight of the Dragons” and in a game called “Arcanum of Steamworks and Magick Obscura”. Both contain an element of “science and magic don’t mix”. Humanity effectively destroys magic through science and technical growth in “Flight of the Dragons” (fueling only an evil wizard) and the magical realm has to seal itself off (http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=j0j0Bjy6hFc). (Christianity effectively does this in many Arthurian legends as well.) Arcanum is a frustrating and deadly game if you try to go middle of the road. Powerful wizards short out technological weaponry and powerful technological weaponry fizzles magic. You *have* to pick one path to survive.
I find it fun how sometimes it’s the simplest/most polarizing magic systems that intrigue us the most.
I find that the simpler the systems are, the more shades of nuance a reader can find in it =)