Category: Book Blog

In shamanism, the shaman communicates with spirits or other beings believed to be in another plane of existence, one that intersects with ours. It often involves an altered state of consciousness achieved through meditation, trace, or hallucinogenic drugs. In SF, Read More …

Magic that involves the dead is called necromancy, which can be its own type of magic in our world. Communication with the dead means understanding how the afterlife works. After all, if spirits are simply obliterated, bringing one back or Read More …

While we all know what’s typically meant by witchcraft, also known as witchery, the term is a broad one. Both white and black magic interpretations exist on Earth. It can mean using the supernatural to cause harm or be more Read More …

Alchemy is the practice of turning one material into another, usually an ordinary item to a valuable one, such as lead into gold. While this is not possible on Earth, it might be in a world we invent. The practice Read More …

When most of us think of magic, we mean wizardry unless indicating a subtype as described in this section. Wizardry is broadly defined as the harnessing of magical energy, using any combination of words, gestures, and components (aka ingredients), with Read More …

Creating a magic system is about organization; without it, we don’t have a “system.” The problems with an on-the-fly approach are numerous, one of the biggest being inconsistency. Readers are astute. If rules prohibit a character from doing something at Read More …

World builders can choose to enforce any, all, or none of my laws for creating magic systems for themselves. These laws are not about how to use a magic system once created, but how to create those systems. Most are Read More …

Sanderson’s use of the word “law” led me on an interesting thought exercise that adds clarity to creating magic systems. According to Merriam-Webster’s The Third New International Dictionary, “Law is a binding custom or practice of a community; a rule Read More …

Some may assume that only fantasy settings involve magic, but SF can have it, too. There’s a tendency to assume worlds have one or the other, which begs the question of what happens when planet-hopping SF characters land on one Read More …

When we start inventing the supernatural, we should determine how large an impact we’d like this to have on the setting and stories. This determines the prevalence and character reactions or ability to manipulate. Elements can be developed independently of Read More …