Being a Better Writer: Working With—and Crafting—a Hard Magic System · 9:10pm Jun 12th, 2023
Welcome back everyone! Woo, does it feel good to have this regular bit of work as part of my Monday morning again! Yep, if you missed the word, I’m back from Alaska, and back at work on new projects. Such as Axtara – Magic and Mayhem, which is already coming along quite well! Who’s ready for more banking, more finance, and of course, a little bit of magic and mayhem?
Almost a rhetorical question, I know. Believe me, I see the likes each time I talk about Axtara. She’d be flattered by the enjoyment. Me? I smile.
Well let’s see. The one other bit of quick news I have before we dive into today’s Being a Better Writer post is that there will be a sale coming for the UNSEC Space Trilogy. After last week, it seems that’s what people wanted for the milestone. I’ll have more information later this week, but it looks like it’ll be a weekday sale.
And with that … I’m ready to tackle today’s topic. Which is not as straightforward as some think it is.
Now, a quick aside before we dive in. This piece is naturally a companion piece to one from April, shortly before my trip, that was written on Soft Magic systems and how to use them in your writing. Hard Magic is the other side of the coin (and don’t worry, there will be a light refresher of both below the jump, though you can always check out the aforementioned post if the light refresher only stirs your appetite for knowledge), and I did want this post to be closer to that one, but … scheduling and trips.
Now a second aside: I can already hear the thoughts of some among you saying “But I write Science Fiction/Romance/something-not-Fantasy, so why would I need to learn about something that isn’t going to apply to my chosen genre?”
I shall give you two reasons. First, just because you’re not writing in the genre doesn’t mean it may not be helpful to see how the nuts and bolts of said genre work. In a similar manner, you might be a mechanic who works on tractor engines, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t be interested in seeing how a rally car engine and transmission work, nor that you won’t spot similarities that might make you think “Oh, so that’s how they do it. Interesting.”
Second, even if you don’t write fantasy, there are always areas of fiction that “overlap,” so to speak. In the example given above, both a tractor and a rally racer still have a gearbox, and tractor racing is a thing. There may come a time when you’re writing your Romance, your Sci-Fi, your Cozy Slice-of-Life and realize that there’s something applicable to Hard and Soft Magics and how they’re presented to what you are setting up. Doesn’t mean that they are magics, but rather than there will be a similarity that you’ll recognize, one which may help you figure out how to better do something.
With that said, and some reason given for you non-Fantasy writing folk to stick around, let’s hit the jump and dive right in. Let’s talk about how you build a Hard Magic System.
