Magic Systems in Fantasy: High or Low?

Magic Systems in Fantasy: High or Low?

How Much is Enough?

           

            Isn’t magic the reason we read fantasy fiction? I would like to do a series of blog posts on magic in our beloved genre. I’ve been thinking about the importance of the use of magic systems in fantasy. As a forewarning these posts may go longer than my movie reviews. I promise to try and keep these post around one thousand words. But I’ll go as long as the subject requires.

            Don’t check out on me? All right, ya hear?

            Let’s dig into this . . .

            All of fantasy, and its sub-genres, can be split into two main categories: High Fantasy and Low Fantasy. If you’re not a regular reader of the genre, or are new to it, all these categorizations means is that magic is prevalent in High Fantasy, and magic is sparsely used in Low Fantasy. Presently, High Fantasy dominates the genre: The Wheel of Time, Mistborn, The Night Angel Trilogy, and other stories are all examples of novels with magic bursting from the pages.

            There is also High Fantasy’s sister: Low Fantasy. Despite playing second fiddle to High Fantasy the last decade or two there have been influential works of Low Fantasy to be written. For example George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire has influenced fantasy in a way that can only be compared to Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Peter V. Brett’s stellar Demon Cycle is a fine example of sparse magic use. This series of novels has one of my favorite magic systems in the genre. Then there is one of my favorite current writers: Joe Abercrombie and his First Law Trilogy. You won’t find a lot of magic here, but when it is used, it’s a game changer.

            The question I’d like to pose in this post is whether or not there can be too much of a good thing? Can there be a too little of a good thing? How much is enough? Who determines how much is enough? Should it be the writer? Should it be the reader?

Let’s talk about this . . .

When do you have too much magic?

There are times I’ve read fantasy novels and on every other page there’s a scene where a spell is being cast, two sorcerers are engaged in battle, or a magic item is being used. These things can be exciting. They can make for page turning scenes. However, the usage of magic, and really cool abilities or tools, can take away from the story. Huh? (That’s what you’re thinking.) Isn’t that why we read fantasy? We want to see magic in use. We want to see wizards doing battle. We want to see wands shooting bolts of lightning, magic swords being pulled from stones, and teenage sorcerers going for rides on their brooms. The thing is, we don’t want to see too much of it.

If magic begins to overshadow the characters, and muddy the plot, then it is being used too often. Magic is becoming a burden for the reader. It will ruin your story. You don’t want that to happen. You want magic to have a magical effect. You want people to want to read your stories because you have the right touch of magic in your story.

Reese’s Cups are the best. The combination of chocolate and peanut butter is genius. I eat them as often as I can. If I could live off of these candies I probably would. As a kid I would take a glass of chocolate milk and dump peanut butter cups at the bottom of the glass. By the time I finished drinking my chocolate milk I’d have a chocolaty-peanut-butter-surprise waiting for me.  I don’t do that anymore. It’s a good thing because I could overdue. I could have too much of a good thing.

Magic is the same.

You don’t want your readers to overdose because pages 1, 5, 10, 12, 20, 23, 34, 36, 43, and on and on and on until we’ve reached page 455, and there have been approximately too damn many scenes where you’ve had a magical happening. Finesse is better than force. You don’t want to force magic upon the readers. You don’t want to pack your pages with its use. You want the right touch. Like a kiss: you don’t want to force it, but you don’t want to withhold it. You want it to be right. Natural. Perfect.

You can’t have the perfect fantasy story if magic is a burden to the story, the characters, and even worse, the readers. Here’s where you begin to tread lightly. You don’t want there to be too little magic. That’s when you must ask yourself:

How do I know when there is too little magic?

One thing to remember as a writer is: Never deny your readers. If you make a promise to your readers then you are obligated to fulfill it. You know, smoking gun, bullet, brain splatter on the wall, and all that. If there’s a book of spells then Harry better say, “Alacazam” or “Abracadabra” at some point during the story. If that doesn’t happen you are more than likely going to end up with some pissed off readers, at best they’ll hesitantly go into another book you’ve written, or at worst they’ll refuse to pick up a novel you’ve written.

You want people to want to read what you’ve written. Give them what they want. Give them magic. But don’t give them too much. And don’t give them too little. Give them just the right amount. How much is the right amount? The story knows. If magic is important to the characters, if it will help the plot develop, and create conflict then you need to be generous with it. However, if a lack of magic will put your characters in tense situations, and make your story more thrilling, then don’t be afraid to withhold the magical occurrences. The problem here is that if you’ve written two thousand pages, and two scenes of magic occur in the novel, then your story may be better off without magic.

Just a thought.

Think about it.

You were able to write 1,998 pages and magic only occurred on pages 45 and 798. You probably didn’t need those scenes. The story may have been fine without them. Take them out. You don’t need them.

You may be thinking I’m contradicting myself. Use magic but don’t use too much and don’t use too little. How do I know? Magic should be nothing more than salt and pepper for your story. Magic should not be the main character. It is not the who the readers are reading for. Readers want to read about people, characters, and the shit they get into. Magic may be a reason they get into said situations, but magic should remain as nothing more than a tool, a backdrop to your characters.

How can you find just the right touch?

Find your happy place.

Only you, as the writer, can determine whether or not you’re in that happy place. Does the story taste right? Is there enough salt? Maybe there’s too much pepper? Like a gourmet chef you should experiment, and try new things, but don’t be afraid to apply a heaping of magic, and don’t be afraid to toss the story if you’ve burden the pages with too much of that five letter word. Learn to be like Happy Gilmore: Find your happy place and you’ll hit those difficult shots. Find your happy place and you’ll write that fantasy novel that readers flock to read.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LKeD3rHaNY


I had to post the link because the stupid YouTube option wouldn't allow me to post the videos. Enjoy.


And before you go. Here's your musical treat for Monday.