1. Introduction
2. Establishing the Basics
   1. Power Source
   2. Determine the Scope of Abilities
   3. Decide who has access to these powers
3. Creating Limitations
   1. Physical Constraints
   2. Mental or Emotional Restrictions
   3. Environmental Factors
4. Balancing Power and Weakness
   1. Avoiding “deus ex machina” Scenarios
   2. Create Tension and Growth through Limitations
5. Writing Exercise:
6. Conclusion

Introduction

There are two types of magic in this world: the type we can explain and the type we can’t explain. The first magic is that of science, which can be measured, calculated, and reproduced for study. Advanced science often seen in science fiction and fantasy novels often leans on the harder side of the genres. (Learn more about Hard Vs. Soft Sci-Fi and Fantasy) Though these can easily fall into their softer counterparts. Magic is the amazing thing that occurs that isn’t as easy to measure, calculate, and reproduce for study. Most of the time, magic systems work because they work in your world. But you can go beyond that with a few simple parameters.

Creating your magic or advanced technology system can be the funnest part of your writing process. It’s also one of the most important.

A well-defined system in speculative fiction can make the magic more impactful. The challenge is to develop our own magic systems without relying too heavily on someone else’s. Well, that’s where you come in. Nobody can conceive of your magic like you can. Even if you’re inspired by another creator’s magic system, how you combine and present the elements of your magic system makes it your own.

Today, you’ll design your own magic system for a more compelling story. It involves setting rules, calculating costs and consequences, and achieving a balance between power and vulnerability.

In this post, I’ll mainly refer to these systems as magic systems, but advanced technology can replace any of these magic concepts.

Establishing the Basics

Every magic system has a foundation to build on. The level of detail you’ll need to provide for the reader versus the detail you need for yourself may be separated by chasms that the reader may never explore. But the knowledge of what’s contained in those chasms brings your readers across the gap to understand your magic system. In order to move you and your readers, you’ll need the first basic, a source of power.

Power Source

A power source is the element that drives the magic system. There are many forms, but knowing the base is a must for anyone wanting to create a new magic system. This is ignoring whether your story is hard or soft Sci-fi/fantasy. Choosing the right power source for your magic is based on the needs of your story.

Innate Ability

One option frequently chosen is innate ability. This means the characters are born with it, or must unleash the power that has always been within them. You’ll find these in stories like the Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, the Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson, and X-Men (Marvel Comics). Even with these abilities being innate, you’ll still need to determine if they are random, genetic, or if they were mere luck. How they got these innate abilities will influence how the characters and those around them perceive them.

Technology

In this conversation, technology is anything that provides access to your magic system. This could be a technology that’s used once, power forever. Or a magic system that requires the users to maintain the technology to maintain access to the magic. Often referred to as “technomagic” or “magitech,” this type of power source can provide a unique twist to your story. In technology powered magic systems, you can pull from advanced scientific principles, ancient artifacts, or a fusion of both. Once again, the origin will shape how characters interact with and perceive your technology driven magic system.

Find examples of technology-driven magic in stories like “The Dresden Files” by Jim Butcher, “The Broken Empire” series by Mark Lawrence, and “Arcanum” by Simon Morden.

Divine Gifts

Divine gifts are magical abilities received from gods, angels, or other cosmic forces. These magic sources are often symbolic, representing faith, destiny, or the struggle between mortal and divine. You can use these magic systems to explore themes like free will, responsibility, and redemption. Don’t feel you have to restrict yourself to your area’s dominant theology. There are many options in outside theologies and mythologies. The source you choose will have other elements that come along with the selected base theology.

Determine the Scope of Abilities

The scopes of abilities or magic systems can vary widely, offering a range of options to explore. Some magic systems can be broad and all-encompassing, allowing for a wide variety of spells and abilities. Others may be more specific, focusing on a particular elemental magic, such as fire or water, or a specific type of spell-casting, like illusion or divination. The source of the magic can also limit magic systems, such as drawing power from nature, the elements, celestial bodies, or even from within oneself.

Decide who has access to these powers

This may seem like a repeat of the source of power, but this is another part. A story where everyone has access to the magic system and a story where only the chosen one has access are two very different stories.

• Inheritance or Bloodlines: Your characters may inherit magic from their lineage. Noble families, ancient bloodlines, or specific races may possess magical abilities. These can create interesting circumstances for the family and how they and the magic are treated.
• Training and Education: Your magic system could be accessible to anyone willing to put in the time and effort to learn it. Magic systems like these are often found in stories about wizards, witches, sorcerers, sorceresses, or apprentices who learn spells and rituals. Settings will often include schools, academies, or secretive orders that are a central training point for magic users.
• Natural Abilities: Sometimes, your characters will be naturally attuned to magic. They’ll have an inherent connection to your magic system. This could allow you to explore why people are born with this affinity, whether that’s through destiny, cosmic alignment, or whatever sparks your magic.
• Chosen One: This one is common. Be careful when using it. But it essentially means that a prophecy might designate specific individuals as the bearer of the magic source. This is a trope commonly used in fantasy stories, but make sure you don’t lean too heavily on the crutch of the trope and make it your own.
• Random or Unpredictable: Let the roulette wheel of magic spin, because it’s a game of chance. This manifestation of magic can affect anyone at any time. You can look at it as chaos theory. If a butterfly flaps its wings, then it triggers a magical ability somewhere else. This can add an element of surprise for your character and readers.
• Sacrifice or Bargain: Your characters may gain access to the magic by sacrificing something. These sacrifices could lose a loved one, giving up a part of themselves, or a loss of part of their life. You’ll see these most often in deals with supernatural beings (fae and demons) that grand powers that come with consequences.

I know that was a longer list than I usually do, but I felt it was important you have as many options as you can. Establishing the basics of a magic system will set you on the path of success for both the magic system and your story. Knowing the how, who, what, where, and when of your magic will tell your readers that it’s worth investing in learning about your magic system.

Next, you’ll need to make sure this magic system you’re creating isn’t limitless like the early iterations of Superman.

Creating Limitations

Limitations are important in magic systems. Your magic system shouldn’t be so convenient that the magic bearer summons up a spell, curse, channels a thing-a-ma-bob right when they’re about to die. This falls into the deus ex machina area. Basically, it’s a little too convenient. Magic can do a lot of things, but it can’t do everything.

With that in mind, below are a few of the limitations you can use to make your magic system more believable.

Physical Constraints

• Energy Depletion: This type of constraint pulls energy from some source in order to be used. This is often shown with spells drawing energy from the user. Where energy is hard to be shown, you’ll often see the caster collapse after a large spell, or slowly wear down as the battle ensues. The energy can be replaced by food or other means.
• Material Components: Requiring certain ingredients or items to operate the magic is another great physical limitation on your magic system. The ingredients could be restricted to a region, a merchant, or kept locked up in the Royal Vault. Or they could be as easy to find as walking down a path. Gathering components will become an essential aspect of magic use in this magic system.
• Physical Gestures: Magic that requires hand movements, dance, or specific postures may not seem like much of a limitation, until your users are tied up with their hands encased in an iron slab.

These are only a few examples. The ways you can physically limit your character’s magic should be tested and played with as you prepare and write the first draft of your story.

Mental or Emotional Restrictions

I’m going to start out with an example on this one. Nynaeve Al’meara in “The Wheel of Time” series was blocked from accessing the One Power because of her anger. I thought this was a great aspect of this series. It shows that you don’t have to make the limitation affect everyone, but only the characters who need to grow the most.

Mental and emotional restrictions affect the users in different ways.

Emotional instability can lead to unpredictable outcomes or personal challenges when using magic. Using the magic might heighten their anger, fear, or euphoria, while also limiting their capabilities. This could also pair well with empathy draining, where the magic user feels less compassion as they use their power. Emotions affect people more than most would like to admit, and it’s something that might be worth discussing through your magic system and story.

Mental aspects can play another large role in your magic system. Memory is a fragile thing. Sometimes we can’t trust it, and other times we rely on it for our mental stability. Imagine now if every time your character used their magic, it would erase a memory. The cost of magic becomes fragments of personal history. Or you can require your magic user to enter a trance before they can cast a spell. If you’ve ever tried to meditate, you’ll know how hard it truly is to clear your mind.

Environmental Factors

Environmental Factors create a more unpredictable magic system to where your character’s magic becomes a best-case scenario plan. Otherwise, it’s up to the characters and who their with to solve the problem. These magic systems can create realism and immersion, symbolize cycles, or layering in further world-building.

• Natural Phenomena: Your magic is tied to the tides, seasons, solstices, or any other naturally occurring phenomena respective to your world.
• Geographical Constraints: Magic behaves differently in different locations. This can be like a forest druid’s abilities, being strong within dense woods, but weak in the desert. Or you could have the magic change with the location, much like Pokemon’s Nature Power attack.
• Weather Dependency: If you’re using weather, then your world is most likely constantly affected by extremes. The spells here will be influenced by rain, storms, and sunlight. This will make your magic system harder to use on desired days and could change, well, with the weather.

Balancing Power and Weakness

Balancing powers and weaknesses may sound a lot like they both have to be beyond natural. Often, the weaknesses are the debate on if it’s a weakness or not. Sympathy, empathy, kindness, and many other emotional responses are presented as weaknesses for characters across the pages of fiction. What you want to focus on is making your character, even if they’re the most powerful being in existence, have to work for what they want. Readers struggle when the character doesn’t.

Avoiding “deus ex machina” Scenarios

Before we get much into this one, lets get a quick definition out here for those not familiar with the deus ex machina concept.

“Deus ex machina” is a term that originates from ancient Greek theater and translates to “god from the machine.” It refers to a plot device where a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and unexpectedly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. This often involves a new event, character, ability, or object that resolves the situation without prior indication that such a resolution was possible, typically ensuring the story ends on a positive note or resolving a complex situation abruptly.

Now that we know what we’re looking for, it should be easy to avoid. Right?

Well, sometimes that’s easier said than done. We often write our characters into a corner when we’re trying to stay true and give them a challenge. Once it that corner, it’s easy to choose the emergency escape button and “ejecto-seat-o cuz,” your character is ready to move onto the next stage of your plot. But “deus ex machina” is often frowned upon and it is a sign of weak plot construction. So what can you do?

Trickle in the details early on. If something is possible, even if it’s only been achieved by someone 1000 years ago, your readers are more likely to appreciate that you remembered that minor detail from early in the book. Foreshadowing isn’t something you have to do from the first draft, and if you have to add it in later, weave it in naturally with the flow of the story. Don’t just tack it on like you’re blindfolded, playing pin the tail on the donkey.

Don’t let your limitations get away from you. Establish clear rules. If you write yourself into a corner, then find a way out with the rules you have, or consider revising.

Try to make every solution a character-driven solution. Resolutions should come from the character’s own efforts, decisions, and growth. While there may be an all-powerful force that could help and make the entire journey a lot easier, it’s best to keep their hands tied. For a great example of this, look at the character Grimfire from the Kingfall Series by David Estes.

Create Tension and Growth through Limitations

Let’s use a little motivational concept here. We face tension when we’re forced to grow beyond our limitations. It’s no different for your characters. They may hate you for putting them in the situation they’re in, but will thank you if you write it to grow them.

Limitations are a great way to encourage growth and tension. The best way is to use a chiastic approach. Early in the book, you can have your character face an obstacle where their skills, knowledge, or magic isn’t up to snuff. Then, at a later plot point, depending on the level of growth required, your character should have grown to meet the required skills, knowledge, or magic. The limitations are still there, but they know how to overcome the challenge because of everything that occurred between the two plot points.

Writing Exercise:

Part 1: Establish the Basics

1. Choose a power source for your magic system (e.g., innate ability, technology, divine gifts).
2. Define the scope of abilities (broad or specific).
3. Decide who has access to these powers (e.g., inheritance, training, natural abilities, chosen ones).

Part 2: Create Limitations

1. Add at least one physical constraint (e.g., energy depletion, material components, physical gestures).
2. Include a mental or emotional restriction.
3. Incorporate an environmental factor that affects the magic.

Part 3: Balance Power and Weakness

1. Design a powerful ability within your magic system.
2. Create a significant weakness or limitation for this ability.
3. Write a short scene (250-500 words) where a character uses this ability but must overcome its associated weakness.

Part 4: Avoid Deus Ex Machina

1. Write a brief outline (100-200 words) of a challenging situation for your magic user.
2. Describe how they overcome this challenge using only the established rules and limitations of your magic system, without introducing any new, convenient powers.

Part 5: Tension and Growth

1. Write two short scenes (150-250 words each): a. An early scene where your character struggles with a limitation of their magic. b. A later scene where the character faces a similar challenge but overcomes it because of growth and experience.

Remember to keep your magic system consistent throughout the exercise and consider how it affects your world and characters. This exercise helps you create a balanced magic system that improves your storytelling without relying on convenient plot devices.

Conclusion

Creating a compelling magic system for your science fiction or fantasy story involves careful consideration of several key elements. Start by establishing the basics: determine the source of power, define the scope of abilities, and decide who has access to these powers. Next, implement limitations to prevent your magic from becoming too convenient or overpowered. This can include physical constraints, mental or emotional restrictions, and environmental factors.

Balance is crucial – pair powerful abilities with significant weaknesses to create tension and opportunities for character growth. Avoid relying on deus ex machina by establishing clear rules and foreshadowing potential solutions early in your story.

Use your magic system to create tension and develop characters, giving your protagonists challenges to overcome and helping them grow on their journey. By carefully designing your magic system using these principles, you’ll make your world more captivating and realistic, improving your overall story.

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