Magic As a Set of Natural Laws

I had this interesting conversation with someone recently about fantasy. It's someone I need (and want) to get along with, but he said the one thing you can't tell a fantasy writer:

"Fantasy is easy. You can just use magic to solve everything."

I hesitated between growling, laughing or crying, went with a simple shake of the head and I did not even comment the subject. That's how badly I needed his approval! Only, he brought the topic up again, and since by then I had his approval (m'hahaha), I debated his point.

Magic isn't a Deus Ex. If your magic is a Deus Ex, you're doing something terribly wrong.

The fun thing with magic is that you can do anything with it! If you have a superb, eccentric idea that involves magic, you can grab it and run with it. It's the ultimate freedom of fantasy.

But as a French theatre director once said: "Freedom is the liberty to choose your limits."

No matter what your magic is, you must establish the laws that rules it early on (don't infodump it, though. For the love of all that is holy, don't infodump it). It cannot be unlimited. There must be a cost to the magic, or a limit that is impossible to break. With magic, you are bringing a new set of natural laws, just like physics, and you must abide by them. 

Don't break your rules. Those who do are the reason we have this reputation of Magical Deus Ex. Be smart, and enjoy your high magic. When you do it right, it's a boatload of fun!

My First Dip in Pratchett's Universe

I finished The Colour of Magic a week ago, and decided to let it stew for a while before posting about it. I knew I wouldn't review the book: it's older than me, and I'm rather certain there are already more reviews than I can count out there.

Reading Pratchett was a release, though.

As a fantasy writer you hear a lot about suspension of disbelief. Despite the magic and the supernatural, you have to make your reader believe that your story is real, that the characters exist. Closing the book must be like waking up: you're slightly dazed, and when you look at the clock you can't believe you slept that long.

Often as I work fantasy elements in my story, I wonder if it'll work. Am I pushing too far? Will the reader scoff and stop believing? Will he think I'm abusing his trust?

The Discworld is a reminder that you can get away with a lot more than you think. It takes talent. It takes justifications. But it's possible. If Pratchett can get away with a world riding on top of four giant elephants standing upon a giant turtle well... somehow I feel my modest bit of magic can be worked in, too.

Don't be afraid to let your imaginations run. That's what fantasy is for.

The Unexpected Ramifications of your Setting - Part 2

As I said in my last post, there was more than one way in which my setting surprised me with special ramifications and forced me to give more thought to the world I have created. Today is the second part of this small series: fortifications.

First, though, a disclaimer. I am not well-versed in the art of medieval warfare. I have basic knowledge, gathered from years of fantasy reading and from talking with those who do know what they are talking about. It has always been enough to get by in the past, because I have not been writing war-centric novels. So, if I say something stupid, please forgive me (and correct me. I live to learn!)

Now, I don't need to be a pro to figure out why thick and high stone walls are useful against an army. The problem with fortifications is when you decide to factor in magic. In my case, stone-shaping magic.

Suddenly, the castle's impressive walls don't mean so much. Any mage can make a hole in it and let his troops in. Or he could dig a tunnel and send a small team to strike at the enemy army's head. 

In such a world, tacticians would've elaborated defenses to counter the magic and make forts effective. There's no way around it: it doesn't make sense to keep your fortifications exactly the same as during the Middle Ages.

I am still going through my options to counter this. Since I have two fighting faction, one which can shape wood while the other has power over stone, I may build fortifications with a thick layer of wood behind the stone walls. Small frontier villages might be up in the trees, with the cultivated fields below. The details aren't clear yet.

What I do know, however, is that magic changes the art of war, and that if I want my world to be credible, I cannot ignore the new possibilities.

Common fantasy assumptions

In my few years of writing, I have always written novels that took place in worlds different than Earth. Sometimes these world were filled with magic. Sometimes there was nearly none. Sometimes there were elves and dwarves and gnomes; at others all you could find were humans of different nations. None of my settings are the same, and none of them give quite the same vibe either. Fantasy worlds have the power to be anything. When you throw the first bases, your imagination is the limit.

And yet, there are certain things common to all fantasy settings (or nearly) and that do not have to be.

Sometimes last week, Ted Cross posted on his blog about how most fantasy settings were north-hemisphere centric. He also noted in the comments that we tend to put the ocean on the west side of our continents. Fantasy writers do these without even thinking about it. I sure did, and more than once!

These can be explained by the fact fantasy settings are often similar to medieval Europe, but there are other aspects of fantasy we include almost without noticing. About a year ago, I decided to go after one that irritated me.

Magical powers are discovered at puberty.

Harry Potter has this. Eragon has this. Nearly every YA fantasy in existence has this! But I don't think it's YA exclusive. So many things happen to a teenager at that age, it's only natural to throw magic in the lot.

Well, no more. For a year now, I have been working on a setting where magic is associated with old age, because it arrives at about the same time menopause/andropause would. It's associated with loss of fertility, among other things, and I have tried to rethink a lot of my fantasy assumptions around this new fact.

It's important to understand my story isn't about magic being restricted to old people. It's something else entirely. But this is an important shift in how magic functions, and in certain parts of my world, it has a great influence. It is as much part of my world  than the religions, the kingdoms and the geography.

So let me ask you... are there any common fantasy assumptions you break?