eimarra | Entries tagged with magic

What else?

Magic can be big and flashy or small and quiet. It can follow such clearcut rules it’s almost a science, or you can leave the book wondering what exactly it’s good for. (Years on, I’m still trying to guess what Radagast the Brown might do, as well as what other colors of wizards there might be in Middle Earth.)

Brandon Sanderson talks a lot about how he thinks about magic systems. His first law is an attempt to avoid deus ex machina situations, while his second discusses the relationship between abilities and limitations. His posts are definitely worth checking out if you’re interested in creating your own magic systems.

When you’re reading, do you like high magic or low magic worlds? Ones where the magic has rules or is mysterious?

This is a post for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. My theme is epic fantasy, and blog posts will cover authors, books, tropes, themes, or anything else I can think of to fill the alphabet. Check out some of the other bloggers participating or follow my blog by e-mail if you like what you’ve read.

Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.

. . . specifically, the knowledge of magic and magical creatures.

Three basic models exist that I can think of:

1) Only the select few know that they don't live in a mundane world. Examples include Buffy and Dresden Files (by Jim Butcher).

2) The truth is out, and everyone knows that there are non-humans out there. Examples include Laurell K. Hamilton's work, both her Anita Blake and Merry Gentry novels.

3) The truth is sort of out there, but not necessarily all of the truth. Mercy Thompson's world (by Patricia Briggs) is a good example of this.

I'm starting up my revision of Witchy Woman (aka Pepper, aka NaNo 2007), and it has occurred to me that I'm not sure which model holds true. Having done the read-through, it seems that the concept of magic is not foreign to everyone, but even those who've heard of its existence don't believe in it. Mostly. But there are bits where no ones heard of it. So I need to make it consistent, and to do that, I need to decide what the truth for Pepper's world is.

I'm hoping for feedback here: Are there models I've missed? Do you think some models intrinsically work better than others? Do you have a favorite type you like to read (or write)?

Thanks!

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Please note that examples are representative only. I could've included many others, such as T. A. Pratt's Marla Mason books,