Thanks, Mel, for inviting me onto your
blog. It's a pleasure.
Now, one of the old warhorses of advice
given to new writers is Write What You Know. Even if you're
not a writer, you've probably heard this one. For me, a lover of
science fiction from an early age, I had one question: How? How do I
write about aliens and time travel and dragons and magic when I don't
know -- when I can't truly know -- about those things?
Nobody had a good answer for me.
Thankfully, I figured it out for
myself, and today, I offer my solution to you. It's this: you
already do know about these things.
Take my series The Malja Chronicles
which begins with The Way of the Black Beast. In this
post-apocalyptic, parallel world magic is derived from manipulating
energy around the user much like an electric eel manipulates the tiny
bits of voltage surrounding it in the water. Magicians are born with
this ability, and as they learn to utilize it for a specific spell, a
tattoo grows on their body. They use these tattoos to focus their
minds in order to conjure. However, another group of people, The
Bluesmen, have learned to use the sympathetic vibrations caused by
their blues music to manipulate the energy in the air nearby and
achieve a similar goal -- although they require more manpower and
have less powerful results. The final aspect of this magic system is
that using it takes a toll on the magicians mind. The more magic
(especially the more powerful magic) one uses, the higher the risk of
going insane.
.
So, what did I actually know in order
to create this magic system? Well, I had learned (really re-learned)
about electric eels at the Baltimore Aquarium several years back and
thought that would be a cool bit of knowledge to hold onto for some
day. Regarding tattoos -- I have a few, so I know about them
firsthand. When it came to the Bluesmen, I had learned about
sympathetic vibrations long ago in a high school music theory class,
and as you might imagine, I love blues music. In fact, I've been
playing blues guitar for about twenty-five years. I really love the
stuff.
In other words, I took all these little
bits of things I had knowledge of or a love for and smashed them
together. It's part of the fun when creating things like magic.
After all, no matter what the writing teachers say, the truth is that
there are no real rules to any of this. In fact, it took me a long
time to learn this, but as far as I can tell, the only true rule in
writing is quite simple: If it works, it works.
Too often, writers get scared by the
complexity of a magic system. Relax. It doesn't have to be that
complicated. It can, if you like, be rather simplistic. Look at the
magic in Greek mythology or Arthurian legends. There's barely any
consistency to be had. Magic does what the author needs it for and
that's all. Things like logic and reason show no part in the
execution of magic in these tales. The key: they made it work.
We've all read stories where the magic
doesn't work, where the use of it seems like cheating or makes us
start to question things. But good writing can make magic work in
the most unlikely situations. J. K. Rowling made a pretty good
career out of making it all up as she went along. It's evident in
the Harry Potter books that her magic system was fleshed out with
greater abilities and depth as the series progressed. But we eat it
up anyway.
Conversely, Brandon Sanderson appears
to have had the complex and intriguing magic system found in the
Mistborn novels completely worked out from book one. It's a
fascinating system and he delves into all sorts of unique ways to use
magic within the constraints he gave. And it works, too.
Those are the big secrets. Utilize
what you know and what you're passionate about to make your magic
come alive. Then, use your skills as a writer to make the reader
believe it. If you want to create a magic system that requires the
caster to dance ballet and sing show tunes which then bestows
unlimited power, I say to go for it. If you can make it work, the
readers will love it. The proof is right there in my own book. The
only complaint I've ever received regarding the magic in Malja's
story is that readers want even more of it.
That's when you know it's really
working.
----
Stuart Jaffe is the author of Southern
Bound, The Malja Chronicles, After The Crash,
as well as the short story collection, 10 Bits of My Brain.
Numerous other short stories have appeared in magazines and
anthologies. He is the co-host of The Eclectic Review --
a podcast about science, art, and well, everything. For those who
keep count, the latest animal listing is as follows: five cats, one
albino corn snake, one Brazilian black tarantula, three aquatic
turtles, assorted fish, two lop-eared rabbits, five chickens, and a
horse. Thankfully, the chickens and the horse do not live inside the
house.
The Way of the Black Beast can
be found here: http://amzn.to/blackbeast
Stuart's website:
http://www.stuartjaffe.com
