Magic and Fantasy: Rules Required [Archive]

Andy

09-03-2008, 08:45 PM

Magic and Fantasy: Rules Required

It isn't necessary to explain that fantasy is a very open-ended genre. When it comes to magic and the unexplainable, it's a genre where the author can do just about anything - or is it?

The belief that fantasy is some sort of outlaw genre where anything and everything can happen is one that, while true to an extent, does have limits. The purpose of this guide is to establish some "rules" for fantasy that, while not always necessary, usually result in a story that is more believable, intriguing, and enjoyable.

Your World Needs Rules

Let's start with an example.

You're reading a story. The heroes are defending the last stronghold of the free world against an evil overlord's armies. They are outnumbered 100 to 1. The hero has gained some magic abilities in his months of travel - shoot fire, heal wounds, and become invisible. It's clear up to this point in the story that the hero's abilities will not be able to save the stronghold. Something else must save them.

However, in the middle of the battle, the hero loses hope. And then with a sudden earsplitting shout, he turns millions of the evil one's minions to dust.

Is this within the bounds of fantasy? Sure. There's powerful magic in fantasy. It should be okay then, right?

In the minds of most readers, probably not. Most of them will be thinking, "How was he able to completely destroy an army when the most dangerous thing he's been capable of so far is shooting a fireball?" Some might even think, "What was the point of all his struggles and petty fights with enemies if he could do this all along?" And even worse, "I don't believe this!" And the book gets thrown.

So if this is within the bounds of fantasy, then what's the problem?

The problem is that the rules for the story were broken.

Readers and Rules :reading:

Whether an author likes it or not, when he or she reveals things about magic in their story, rules are being established in the minds of the readers.

In the example, the "rule" so far is that the hero's magic can only do small things. But when the hero suddenly destroyed an entire army with magic, the rule was broken. That was a big spell in the hero's realm of small spells. According to the rules the author established, it should not have been possible. It was not believable.

Why do readers subconsciously keep track of your story's rules? So they can learn what to expect, and what is believable in your story. It helps them gauge how worried they should be at any point in the plot. If you break your rules repeatedly, your readers will begin to think, "Well, normally I'd be concerned about the hero. But since the author keeps changing what's possible with magic, I don't have any reason to worry."

It's a bad sign when your readers no longer care for your characters. Rules are important.

Deus ex Machina! :O

When writing a story with magic, you will probably not choose to reveal all of the magician's powers at once. More likely, you will reveal them gradually, one at a time, whenever the time is appropriate.

An important thing to keep in mind when writing fantasy is this: The difference between breaking your rules and adding to them is determined by how and when you do it.

Breaking rules is a no-no. Adding to rules (such as introducing new aspects of magic) is perfectly okay.

But what about the hero who destroyed the army with a shout? That's adding to rules, right? The hero could only do small magic. Then the author revealed he could do deadly magic, too.

Well, not exactly.

Readers tend to feel cheated when new rules are introduced right when they are needed to save the day. That's Deus ex Machina - a term for a cheap way to solve a problem which the reader could not have possibly seen coming. Example:
Near the end of the story, you discover that the hero can fly as he is falling to his death.as opposed to:
Near the end of the story, you discover that the hero can fly when he is eating dinner.Which one is less likely to result in a thrown book? Probably the second.

Most readers don't want the characters' problems to be solved out of nowhere. First, it feels cheap, like the author did it for plot convenience. Second, it could seem like the author planned the story so badly that the only way to keep it going was to pull a new magic spell out of a hat. Not good.

If you want to save a character's life with a new rule, it's usually best to inform the reader in advance. In my experience, the best way to do this is so it's a surprise when it happens, but when your reader thinks about it, they realize they should have seen it coming.

Maybe give the reader a riddle, and its rule is fully revealed when a character needs it. Or hint at your new rule several times, but give the reader other things to think about so the hints are forgotten until they are necessary.

Adding to Rules :flex:

Remember the hero who had lame spells, and suddenly pulled an apocalypse out of his hat? What if, a long time before that battle, a wizard told him this:

"If you train hard, and never give up, you will be capable of leveling armies in time."

What would this statement achieve? It gives the reader a new rule: that even though the hero's magic may be weak now, it has the potential to become very powerful.

Does this break the existing rule of small magic only? No. It adds to it. It clarifies the reason for the previous rule. The reason the hero could only do small magic wasn't because there was no big magic. It was because he wasn't experienced enough to do big magic.

Now the reader knows the hero has the potential to level an army. But the author must follow this new rule as well. If the hero doesn't train hard and still kills everyone, the new rule will be broken because no training ever occurred.

Know Your Own Rules :smart:

You should be keeping track of the rules you use for your magic (or whatever other forces govern your story). Even if you're the only one who needs to know them. The better you know your rules, the less likely you'll be forced to choose between breaking them or starting another draft.

You don't have to fully plan out all your rules, however. Just know the basics of what your magic can and cannot do, and you won't have anger your readers or find yourself trapped in a plot hole.

Magic Needs to Be Consistent :unsure:

Now that we've established that rules are important for creating a believable fantasy story, there are two other, smaller ones.

Magic needs to be consistent. This was demonstrated by the hero who could suddenly and spontaneously destroy an army. He went from feeble spells to an apocalyptic one in a matter of seconds.

But there's more to it than that. Let's say that during the course of the story, our heroine has super speed which lets her run across water. Later she is able to become immune to lightning. And later, she is fighting for her life against a foe twice as large, and she is losing badly. Luckily, she is rescued by a total stranger, to whom she now owes a life debt.

What happened to the super speed?

This is inconsistent magic. If she had super speed, she should have been able to run away, or even better, run behind the foe and give it a beating it would never forget.

If the author gives a reason (a good reason!) why super speed was not used (such as she was too weak, or that her power was nullified at some point), then that's fine.

However, if no reason is given, then the author has manipulated the use of magic in order to drive the story in a particular direction. The heroine's magic was inconsistent. This has the effect of either making the author look forgetful, or making it seem like the author is being manipulative.

And that's bad. If something makes the reader think of the author, then their focus on the book has been lost, and so has some of the story's believability.

Magic Needs Limits :crazy:

Let's say you have an evil fairy who is able to destroy all her enemies, anywhere, with just the snap of a finger, and she wants to conquer the world?

Well...story's over. If none of the good guys have that ability, then they're doomed to lose within the first few pages. And if they do have it, then the story's outcome is determined by which side can snap their fingers faster. Not the best idea for a story.

The problem here is not consistency or a rule being broken. The magic in this story has no limits. An all-powerful enemy is not an enemy so much as an instant win game. An all-powerful good guy won't make for an intriguing story, either. Again, it would be instant-win.

Omnipotence makes all rising action unnecessary. If you don't set reasonable limits on powers, then your story can hardly be called a story. Usually limits are just the types of magic that can be performed. Many authors don't let characters come back from the dead, or level armies. The ability to resurrect dead characters can make deaths less worrisome. The ability to level armies can make the heroes seem unstoppable. Both can seriously lower your story's tension level.

Another way to limit your magic is to give it side effects. Most authors do this by having magic use up some of the author's strength (weakening), requiring some sort of sacrifice to replenish magic (magic can run out) or making magic hard to control (potential risks).

Magic also needs limits relating to the context of your story. If the good guys all have magic and the bad guys have none, you had better make it clear that the bad guys are still a threat in some way. Otherwise your readers won't really be surprised when the good guys win. And if the bad guys are the wizards, then there needs to be some way for the non-wizards to gain an upper hand, even if you don't reveal it right away.

Conclusion :approve:

I hope this guide has helped you learn the important of establishing rules in fantasy. Maybe part of you is thinking that fantasy can be more difficult to make believable and control than other genres, due to the open-by-default ends that the author must restrict.

Naturally, the bad examples given are not meant to be brick walls for you to work around. It's perfectly okay to bring characters back from the dead, or have someone who can kill others with just a snap - as long as you establish other rules to bring these extreme ends of fantasy under control. And what about omnipotent powers? Sure, you can have them, but maybe make your story about a race to become omnipotent, so it doesn't make one side totally powerful...yet.

So good luck with your writing, and please, please don't introduce spells out of nowhere just to save a life. Your readers will thank you, and so will I.

Any questions, issues, or suggestions for improving this guide, you can post below.