Everyone loves magic but not everyone understands the rules. It’s easy to write about wizards who pull spells out of the air higgledy-piggledy, but it’s more rewarding to put in place systems that govern what a magic-user can and can’t do, and the prices paid for a spell’s effects.
In a guest post on Janice Hardy’s Fiction University, Bethany Henry offers advice on creating magic systems that work and satisfy your readers. “A strong magic system will fit the tone of our story, have a cohesive theme, will be consistent in its rules, and will enrich the story rather than detract from it,” Henry writes. She breaks down each of these elements and offers examples for how you can consider them in context of your story.
