 Fantasy: November 08, 2017 Issue [#8587] |
  Fantasy
This week: Got Magic? Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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Fantasy Newsletter by Dawn
There are many options for magic. How one comes up with the idea for the magic system can vary and will help develop the story/world.
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When it comes to speculative fiction, in particular, there are so many possible elements and decisions when can have to make. There are many opportunities to create when coming up with entire new worlds. And there are going to be different times when certain decisions get made when coming up with the world/story. Magic is just one of the many elements we consider, more so with fantasy but not limited in that range for the various genres under the spec-fic umbrella.
The first big question is: When do you decide to put magic in a story?
Yep, how to you make the decision? One could maybe know from the vary beginning and start developing the magic system before even character names come into the mix. Others, might not even get the magic really settled in until they are in the middle of writing a novel. It can all vary for the writer and it's not just a variable in that one writer does it different than others. Okay, some might have the same method for every story they write but if you are like me, it doesn't all go the same. I make the decision of whether to have magic or not at various stages of coming up with the story idea.
One option, for example, is to come up with the magic first. The "what if" question where you wonder what might happen in a world where there is this particular kind of magic or rules to the magic or consequence, or any other question dealing with the magic at the start. I'm working on right now in fact. For one of my NaNo attempts the idea first came to me about the magic dealing with music and pitch. From there I developed the world a little (okay, not much at all), the characters and their story. But the magic came first.
Then there is the one I'm a little more prone to do. Think of and write the magic into the story/novel in the middle of writing. There might be the thought of how it would be good to include magic earlier in the development process but any detail and question doesn't really get answered and even then you're not sure if you will include magic until you get writing. Pantser approach as some call it.
One could even decide after a story is written to add magic. Since we often have to rewrite stories before even editing, it is plausible to have to add magic to a story that didn't have any in the first draft.
On the other hand, you can also decide to not have magic. Not every fantasy story and world has to include a magic system even though the idea of magic and the genre of fantasy do often go well together. It's not the only way to go. There are many options for stories and this is just one element in the mix.
Once you decide to add magic, then you have many more questions to answer. There is still a whole world to build so get to work. Or, you can just write. That works too. Either way, consider the question at whatever stage in the process works best for you and the story: Is there magic?
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How do you first get the idea for the magic in your fantasy world?
Last month my fantasy newsletter discussed maps and creating them as part of the world building process.
Comment by Elizabeth 
I created a map (using Paint) for my NaNo project last year, and it helped me so much. It was a lot easier to describe the travel through a fictional setting when I had a way to actually look at it. There was no forgetting whether something was west or north when I had a map to show me. The map was probably one of the most useful pieces prep I did for that project.
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