Magic systems

[SunFire]

Dear Sanderson and fans,

My name is Jacob, and I’ve been trying to write a novel off and on for over ten years. I recently found Brandon Sanderson’s lectures and with his advice and thought process on writing, things are finally clicking. The problem is, now that my eyes have been opened, my magic system has fallen apart. It’s too boring and generic and I can’t seem to make it work. How do you go about making a solid magic system without over complicating it, but also making it more interesting than, “he can do this because he can.”

[Argenti he/him]

46 minutes ago, SunFire said:

Dear Sanderson and fans,

My name is Jacob, and I’ve been trying to write a novel off and on for over ten years. I recently found Brandon Sanderson’s lectures and with his advice and thought process on writing, things are finally clicking. The problem is, now that my eyes have been opened, my magic system has fallen apart. It’s too boring and generic and I can’t seem to make it work. How do you go about making a solid magic system without over complicating it, but also making it more interesting than, “he can do this because he can.”

What I like to keep in mind is:

Limits are more interesting than powers: a good story revolves around what magic can't do, rather than what it can. Start with what your story needs the magic to do, and what it needs it to not do. Try not to expand it beyond what the story needs: big, complex magic systems are prone to collapse under their own weight. I've done it before, and it's way harder to cut back from a system you've come to love than to never expand it.

Explain the rules a bit. You don't need to explain everything, but a readers will wonder the whys and hows of magic. "If John can control water, why can't he just rip the water from a person?" You should also explain what makes a magic user different from everyone else. "Why can John control water, but Luke can't"

As for genericness? All art is derivative, just try to make it more interesting to the audience you're trying to reach. Even if you don't change the core details, you can change the dressing to make it appear more inspired. You feel like your elemental magic system is to basic? Change the elements, (Wood and metal mayhaps?) add a weird way to access it (Consuming specific herbs lets you access it), and viola! You have a unique magic system.

If you want a unique core, and don't really have a plan to the story, scroll around on science wikipedia for phenomena that catch your eye. I've made a system which lets you absorb and redirect kinetic energy, based off my 8th grade science class. Follow your heart.

 

[Quantus he/him]

Did the video's you read mention Sanderson's Laws of Magic?  That's a lot of it.

EDIT:  FWIW on the issue of Genericness, he's mentioned a few example choices he's made for that reason, if it helps.  He thought elemental magic was over-done so he made the Surges more about fundamental Scientific (or Realmic) forces instead of classic primal Elements.  He held off on Dragons forever because fantasy was saturated with them.  Breaths were a twist on the classic concept of Soul Trading economics along with an editor who said his stories had been dreary and needed more color.  He wrote the math-heavy Rithmastits just to write something that wasnt Dragonsteel.  Allomancy came from a seed of just liking the idea of playing with opposing forces of different kinds along with a foggy drive once, and feruchemy came from wanting to Store Wakefulness when he was young and in school.  

EDIT2: So I was laughing over my young niece saying she was going to "Hit Pause on her book for dinner", and here I ask about the "video you read".

 

Quote

 

What Are Sanderson’s Laws Of Magic?

Introduction To Sanderson’s Laws

I like magic systems. That’s probably evident to those of you who have read my work. A solid, interesting and innovative system of magic in a book is something that really appeals to me. True, characters are what make a story narratively powerful—but magic is a large part of what makes the fantasy genre distinctive.

For a while now, I’ve been working on various theories regarding magic systems. There’s a lot to consider here. As a writer, I want a system that is fun to write. As a reader, I want something that is something fun to read. As a storyteller, I want a setting element that is narratively sound and which offers room for mystery and discovery. A good magic system should both visually appealing and should work to enhance the mood of a story. It should facilitate the narrative, and provide a source of conflict.

I’d like to approach the concept of magic in several different essays, each detailing one of the ‘laws’ I’ve developed to explain what I think makes good magic systems. As always, these are just my thoughts. Though I call them laws, they’re nothing more than simple guidelines that have worked for me. Just like it’s sometimes good to violate rules of grammar, authors can violate my theories and still have good books. However, I do think that by following these, you can work to develop more potent and memorable magic in your books.

Please click on the links below to get the full story on each law.

The First Law

Sanderson’s First Law of Magics: An author’s ability to solve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to how well the reader understands said magic.

The Second Law

Sanderson’s Second Law can be written very simply. It goes like this: Limitations > Powers
(Or, if you want to write it in clever electrical notation, you could say it this way: Ω > |
though that would probably drive a scientist crazy.)

The Third Law

The third law is as follows: Expand what you already have before you add something new.

 

 

Edited January 9, 2025 by Quantus

[Treamayne]

1 hour ago, SunFire said:

Dear Sanderson and fans,

My name is Jacob, and I’ve been trying to write a novel off and on for over ten years. I recently found Brandon Sanderson’s lectures and with his advice and thought process on writing, things are finally clicking.

Have you also found and read some of his essays?

Examples:

• Sanderson's Laws (link is the thrid "law" but that essay contains the links to Sanderson's First and Second Laws) as @Quantus mentioned
• Form and the Fantastic - Sanderson's essay analyzing his own first book (Elantris) from a college literary perspective

Quote

The problem is, now that my eyes have been opened, my magic system has fallen apart. It’s too boring and generic and I can’t seem to make it work. How do you go about making a solid magic system without over complicating it, but also making it more interesting than, “he can do this because he can.”

I think you have to decide if your story needs that (not all do), and even some of Sanderson's stories are "squishy" - like Cytoverse (we learn a lot of what the magic does, but why can Spensa use it? Because she can (genetics - ish, descended from Jason, maybe - why can Jason? who knows). If you do need a why or how, then finding the framework within which you develope (even if that whole framework is not shown/explained in book 1) then make it internally consistant and decide when to reveal what information. For example:

Spoiler

One of my early stories (Urban Fantasy/Sci-Fan) was about people finding they were developing psychic abilities. They spent a long time trying to figure why. Could everybody, is it recent or has this happened before, etc. Eventually (a few stories later) they come to realize that alien kidnapping (long thought to be conspiracy theory) was actually part of the cause - an external intelligent race had been mucking about in human DNA - not causing immediate changes, but causing things that would alter the evolution of descendants of those "tweaked." 

In this case, part of the story was trying to discover the why - while the early stories were just about dealing with their new reality and if/how that changed them and society. 

Hope that helps.

[SunFire]

Thank you for the responses, the reminder of Sanderson’s laws was very helpful. Hard to remember everything he talks about. Haha With my story it’s hard to figure out what limitations would work since the characters are given the chance to touch an object that could either kill them or give them abilities. There are multiple of these objects, each one is different and is meant to bestow different types of powers. This is also on an alien planet, and there’s zero humans, well one half human. I will figure it out though.