Magic in Narrative

[Yassen]

We're all familiar with the concept of magic. From Harry Potter to any "Standard Fantasy Setting" magic is just one of those things in life of that universe. Highly powerful and either feared or respected, it is normally considered an ability to manipulate objects or energy to do as the user intends. The powerful thing about magic as a narrative tool is that there are no "rules" when it comes to magic. It can literally be anything the author wishes it to be.

As the old saying goes, "It's magic, I'm not explaining shit."

But is the use of magic a cheap narrative tool? Because it can be anything the author wishes it to be, it can conveniently fix up a lazy plot or just have no rules at all and become overpowered, making everything and everyone in the universe completely unimportant by comparison.

So here's the topic, what do you think of magic as a narrative tool? Is it cheap, to be used by lazy writers to fill in any glaring plot holes? What sort of rules do you like magic to have if it is to be a part of the story?

 

[Catchy Slogan]

I see your point. I remember reading somewhere that it's the same thing with using 'magic' in sci fi, but sci fi has to be at least plausable within it's own universe. Not 'just because'. which makes fantasy somewhat easier to write, from the beginning at least.

 

[genericusername64]

Because magic is whatever the fuck the writer thinks up, it usually becomes a deus ex machina to save everyone at the end.

 

[kouriichi]

Magic is a plot device.
If Harry couldnt use magic, he'd be a whiny brat with a f*cked up forehead.
Without it, Merlin would have just been a con man, trying to twist a boy into a king to do his bidding.

Magic is an important part of most fantasy stories. While at times it can be lazy, and just there to fill a plot hole, many stories have great use for it.

I feel that 40k got magic right. Its not like you wave your fingers and it works. Using magic and spells is extremely dangerous, and can give you perils of the warp. Its a massive drain on the user, both mentally, and physically.

I think the worst example of it is Harry Potter itself. Teaching a 12 year old to set things ablaze with his mind is not exactly a good idea. Not to mention its freely spammable. Magic like Harry's is the lazy kind of magic. Its there to make him the hero. "BAM. I cast a shield, negates everything, the bad guy is caught off guard, one flick of the wrist and i win."

Another thing that got magic right was the Starcraft Lore. That almost everyone has the aptitude for psychic powers, but you have to basically be indoctrinated, tested and experimented on to use it, while with the Protoss, it comes naturally to many of them.

 

[mythlover20]

I see your point. I remember reading somewhere that it's the same thing with using 'magic' in sci fi, but sci fi has to be at least plausable within it's own universe. Not 'just because'. which makes fantasy somewhat easier to write, from the beginning at least.

Oh, fantasy novels are not by any means easy to write, whether magic exists in them or not. A fantasy author almost always works in trilogies, and each book is the length of a trilogy in and of itself. An author is required to have nine, I repeat, NINE novels worth of material. You also have to establish the rules of magic, the social implications of magic, magic users, the motivations for those for and against magic, users, the use of it in any given situation, the philosophy of magic, it's society, et cetera.

Granted, most of this has been established thanks to Tolkein, whom I STILL claim had absolutely no notion of the concept of EDITING. But in todays publishing industry anything similar to that which has already been published tends to be avioded (due to liabilty issues), so a fantasy author has to work these in such a way to be both instantly recognisable, yet different enough to keep the author from being sued for what little royalties they earned.

So no, magic is not a lazy plot devise. It isn't entirely necessary, true, but it's use in a particular narrative isn't lazy.

PS Apoligies for the spelling and grammar mistakes. It's my bed time and my finers and brain aren't quite up to par at the moment.

 

[WayOutThere]

On the matter, I recommend everyone to read this

Or, if you want a shorter version read this

If you're really in a rush, just skip to the main point:

"Any sufficiently rigorously defined magic is indistinguishable from technology."
- Niven's Law

 

[SckizoBoy]

"Any sufficiently rigorously defined magic is indistinguishable from technology."
- Niven's Law

I'll go with this...

'Magic' in books (even as a core part of narrative, or perhaps especially so) needs very careful handling because the reader needs to acknowledge limits of the protagonist's potential as well as the limits of the 'magical system' itself, so that it can be seamlessly integrated into base technology and day-to-day functioning. As a central concept for the propagation of separate world reasoning, Harry Potter's magic is unnecessary and is handled quite clumsily and simplistically (even if the initiating of the separate world reasoning was done quite well IMO).

The issue I take with how many authors deal with magic is the source of the power. The Games Workshop systems, The Black Magician, to a lesser extent Raymond E Feist's work (and as a shameless plug, my own original fiction, even though only about half a dozen people have read it) are good examples that specify sources of power and define (if varying) limits to the potential (as opposed to practical), something rather lacking from other series (as I will invariably start shoe-horning my own characters in).

 

[JoJo]

The strength of magic as a narrative device depends on what boundaries you set for it and how it is used, at it's best it can greatly enrich the setting, at it's worst it's used a glue or excuse to conjure up whatever situation the author wants.

 

[Fetzenfisch]

cheaply done , magic is a cheap trick. There are narrations where magic has been explored and "explained" over decades of writing now and became a force in the store. ries world that is a)limited b) "understandable" and c)woven deeply into the causality of the world.
The Dark Eye rpg and novels are a good example here. you can fill books about how magic plays its part in this world and what it can do and how it does. and indeed they did fill those books over the last 30 years. the actual state of description of magic in this world is about 800 pages or more.