Your Wonderful Guide to World Building

Magic

Hi guys, I owe you all an apology. I've been really neglecting this book, and most of my books. I started writing this at the start of September in case you were confused. I've said multiple times in my random book that this book is hard work, but all books are and other authors manage to get chapters out. I'm sorry for the wait, but from now on I will try my absolute hardest to produce content, whether I'm tired or not. Enjoy this chapter!

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Hello, happy September! School starts tomorrow for me *sighs*. Forgetting that, today we're going to be looking at magic, which overlaps slightly with next week's topic. Tumblr is brilliant for this topic, so I'll be referencing several posts and their creators so you can check them out yourself! The first post is written by metteivieharrison.

12 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Magic System

1. How is it learned and executed?
2. How is it accessed?
3. Does it have a will of its own?
4. Is it restricted in space and time?
5. What does available magic do?
6. How does it relate to the character, plot and theme of the book?
7. What is the cost of magic?
8. What can it not do?
9. How long does it last?
10. Who can use it?
11. How to others react to it?
12. Why haven't people with this power taken over the world?

Plenty of food for thought here. Take a good search through Tumblr, as some people have brilliant ideas which you can take inspiration from. Take note of the inspiration, you can't steal their idea. As a side note, how do you find those book idea posts you find screenshotted on Pinterest? I have Tumblr but I can't seem to find them.

Back to the point, I've taken these next steps from an article on well-storied.com. These points have explanations as well, so I'll be paraphrasing. There is more to the article though, so I suggest checking it out

How to Create a Magic System in Six Simple Steps

#1 - Define its use

How is it summoned, what abilities do the user gain?

#2 - Identify its users

What are magic users called? How do you 'gain' magic? Different factions, who can use magic?

#3 - Outline its limitations

Is magic limited? Can it be stolen? What effect does the magic have on the user? Is there a limit to magical abilities? How can the user be defeated?

#4 - Establish its dangers

Can it be used for harmful purposes? What dangers does it pose?

#5 - Explore its origins

How was it created? Where does it come from? Are there different types of magic? What historical events affected this?

#6 - Consider its culture

Is magic secret? If so, why? Are there societies? Is the magic user distinguished in some way? Do magic users have their own language, festivals etc?

As I said earlier, there's more to the article, so you can read it if you want.

Now, what can we learn from this? Magic is cool (obviously) and it's quite simple to create. I say that and I haven't even decided if there's going to be magic in The 'Good' Healer. (Which I have also abandoned and I need to update.) Seriously, Tumblr is brilliant for this, with all sorts of magic suggestions. If you can't find stuff on Tumblr, Pinterest has a seemingly infinite amount of screenshots from Tumblr, so it's the next best thing.

I was going to tell a random joke about sodium, but then I thought Na.

*Runs away before people get angry with my puns*

There's no need for the underlined questions, as there's quite enough here, but if you have a question, just ask and I'll try to answer.

Next time, on Your Wonderful Guide to World Building - Technology! The invention of the shovel was groundbreaking, and the wheel really got things rolling, but we have moved on since then to fancier things. Learn how to create them in the next chapter!