how to create a magic system for your fantasy novel
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One of the things we love the most as readers of Fantasy and Speculative Fiction genres is the role that magic plays in the worlds, characters, and plots of the stories we love.
Think about popular YA fantasy works such as “Harry Potter”, “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, and most recently “Shadow And Bone”.
Fantasy stories use magic systems in so many different ways. In the previously-mentioned “Shadow And Bone,” wielders of magic – or the Small Science – in Ravka are drafted in a magical military to fight the nation’s wars.
In “Children Of Blood and Bone,” the eldest generation of magic-users has been killed in raids, leaving the young to be ostracized and not knowing the magic that flows in their veins.
In “Harry Potter,” magic is so mundane and ordinary to wizards that they use it for every possible thing and replaces much technology in the wizarding world.
As a fantasy writer, my favourite thing to do is create my stories’ magic systems. You’d think that with so many amazing, published stories out there that it might be difficult to create unique magic in fantasy writing. I don’t believe that. There are hundreds of tropes and elements to magic systems, and we writers spend our time putting our twists on them. I would say it’s a question of “how can I reinvent this trope in my own, fun way?”.
Imagine a world where necromancy is a skill practiced by all. Another where people are born with the rare gift of communicating with animals. A third where laws are prohibiting the conjuring of demons and other monsters. A fourth – final – world where the seasons are conscious and more than what they seem. The possibilities are endless.
The most important thing I’ve learned as a fantasy writer – from my work and from adoring the work of others – is to create a magic system that makes sense. Whether you’re writing a hard or soft magic system, you have to establish some rules and logic.
In today’s post, I’m sharing some questions you can ask yourself about creating a magic system for your fantasy world. These are ideas I always consider when writing my own stories, and I hope they’ll give you some inspiration for your own. Here are 20 questions to help you build your fantasy story’s magic system.
What are magic users called? Where does the word come from? Are there many? Is it used with pride, indifference, or hate?
Does it replace science and technology in your story’s world? Or is it another discipline completely? Is magic itself viewed as a science?
What is its origin in the story’s world or culture? Who pioneered the use of the magic system? What are its roots?
Are there different branches? What are these called and what do they do?
Is there magic that’s forbidden, fabled, or far-fetched?
What are some barriers or limitations of the magic system?
How is the magic taught to new students, and by who?
Where does magic come from? Is it the god(s)? An ever-present force in the world? Does it come from crystals? In the people who can wield it?
Similarly, have the origins of magic been explored in this world (like the sciences)? If not, what are the myths and legends told about magic?
What magic does a student know compared to a master?
What affects the strength and power of a magic spell in your story’s world?
Are words, movements, or thoughts needed for manifestation?
Does the magic-user or magic tool have to be (re)charged before casting spells?
What is the price of using magic (on the user, the world, etc.)?
What can magic do and what can it not do?
How is it used in your story’s world? Does it dominate the culture unopposed (is there science, technology, etc?)
Which is preferred: natural talent or learned talent in the magic system?
How are magic users identified (among themselves and others)?
Is there a hierarchy or a sense of class (elitism) to your magic system?
How do magic students choose their path in magical education (if there are many branches)?
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