The Self Inflicted Torture of Creating a Magic System – a Thorough, Deranged, Meandering Waffle

Writer’s Log: day 3,667, 4,899, 5,999 I’m not sure of attempting to produce a viable magic system.

Stats for 3/9/2023

• Time spent staring at wall: 3 hours
• Time spent procrastinating: 2 hours
• Time spent having a small epiphany: 5 seconds
• Time spent reading books with great magic systems: 2 hours
• Time spent lamenting over the loss of another great potential magic system since it is already in said books: 3 hours
• Time spent playing as a Sims version of myself in an attempt to manifest bestselling author vibes: 4 hours
• Time spent crying: 45 minutes
• Time spent slamming face into desk repeatedly: 1 hour
• Time spent eating my feelings: 30 minutes
• Time spent watching tv shows with great magic systems: 2 hours

And there it is. Out of my reach. The heart of every fantasy world. The topic of thousands of 5 hour video essays all over this vast stretch of digital space we call the Internet. The first thing those delightful fantasy nerds (myself included) start drooling over. The thing people want spotless. Pristine. After all, that’s why they don’t like dystopia. The world just doesn’t make sense. The path humanity took to get here isn’t clear. The characters’ powers, their abilities don’t make sense. They make games, books, and videos about it well past an author’s lifespan.

The magic system.

Or, in other words, the current bane of my existence. That too-tall mountain I’m expected to climb.

Do we slam our head into our keyboard for hours in attempts to produce something, anything viable? A mad scientist with a room full of vials of every single thing in the world expected to create a masterpiece… Or do we sit on the couch in our pajamas with a Pepsi zero feeling sorry for ourselves, and watching Shadow and Bone for the 15th time? I know what I chose last night…

Soft or hard?

What consequences befall those who choose to practice magic? Balance, balance…

How do the different fantasy folk handle magic?

How does the magic system fit into the world? The lore? The fabric of the universe?

How to make it complicated and unique enough that people don’t call you the Wish version of their favorite magic system, but not so complicated you need an excel spreadsheet to understand?

Why do I feel jealous of successful authors with fully fleshed out magic systems?

These questions and far, far more race through my mind while I grapple with the mental gymnastics of it all.

And I do have magic. Magic is ingrained into my world. It was born with my writing.

Magic is the Stallarins rising.

Magic is the mother Stallarin’s love.

Magic is the guardians, the elves, the worldkeepers she created.

But how to apply it? How to follow it down the chain of drastic, world altering events to everyday use and practice? How to infuse it throughout everyday life?

With rules, applications, limitations, consequences, knowledge…

And even from these everyday uses, it continues to branch off into the world. It sets off this chain of reactions and impacts throughout your world that you have to account for. You have to understand on a fundamental level how magic would impact, change, shape, and flesh out your world. And it all has to be your own. You have to come up with that shit virtually from scratch.

And then you have to do it as many times over as fantasy folk you have in your world. In my case, into the double digits.

And so I’m literally screaming.

You might be wondering why I’m writing this post. And because I plan everything, I have 3 reasons.

1.) To complain. Because complaining is cathartic.

2.) In hopes that writing about the problem could help solve the problem.

3.) In hopes that someone reading this can relate. Or understands. Or nods along as they read because HOLY SHIT do they know what that feels like. To grapple with this thing that you technically don’t have to do but you do because it’s what you’re good at. And it’s what you love. And when you have a problem you know you’ll eventually write your way out of it.

And I know I will too. I’ll write my way out of this just like I do everything else.

And so will you, if you’re reading this and you hate your life and your desk is as dented and bloody as mine.

We’ll get there.

Write it out. Go for a walk. Play your favorite game. Read those books that have great magic systems. Write out an entire system and start over as many times as it takes.

Because from what I’ve found, the true liquid gold that writers produce doesn’t come from a first or second or third try. It comes from the scattered, broken pieces left behind of planning, writing, doodling, and brainstorming.

You take a little bit from all of that and piece together something you can be happy with.

And so we’ll end on a little bit of a bleak note, dear reader.

But take heart, because the SECOND I have a significant breakthrough I’ll be here to update you. I love talking about my process. I do it for me. But if I could help someone to break through that looming mountain in front of them that would be pretty cool too…

Thank you for sticking around. Or thank you for coming if you’re new. I hope you enjoy your stay here, however long or short. I love you all, and until next time

Happy world building!