DEVELOPING MAGIC SYSTEMS

Award-winning author Whitney Hill shares considerations for developing a magic system for your stories and how to avoid boxing yourself in for future works.

- BY WHITNEY HILL

Fantasy and all its many subgenres are ever popular, and an element of the magical or supernatural permeates fantasy worlds, defining the genre.

Being intentional in building your world's magical system increases immersiveness and allows you to develop the themes, tropes, and messages you're exploring in your work.

Approaching Your Magic System

You may already have some ideas of what you want or need magic to do in your story. If not, here's a starting point for thinking about it.

Hard Magic Versus Soft Magic

As a first step, consider whether you want to develop a “hard” magic system or a “soft” magic system. The core difference between the two is the level of flexibility and predictability built into the system. Hard magic systems tend to have firmer rules and logic with more predictable outcomes, like Person X + Action Y + Target Z = Defined Outcome, often to achieve a specific goal or task. Soft magic systems will have more flexible rules, which the reader may not be able to define—which also means being less able to predict outcomes.

Deciding which works best for you from the start helps determine how much time and effort you need to put into the specifics of the system. If you're someone who needs to know the details of everything before you start writing, a harder magic system could give you the building blocks you need to craft your story. On the other hand, if the idea of too much structure makes you freeze and avoid writing entirely, allow yourself to start with a softer system that you can refine for consistency and cohesion later if needed.

Another way to decide is based on how important magic is to your story. If it drives key elements of the plot or characterization, it might help to have clear rules and a harder system. If it's just something in the background, a softer system helps de-emphasize magic as a thing that exists but isn't critical to understanding the story.