Editing Sanderson's Laws of Magic
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− | [[Brandon]] has so far written three articles pertaining to the usage of magic in writing. |
+ | [[Brandon]] has so far written three articles pertaining to the usage of magic in writing. These are rules Brandon himself utilizes in writing and are not actual "laws". These are guidelines Brandon uses when writing. They can also be used for writing in general not just for magic systems.{{qa ref|813|3|Are there other laws?|interview=Chattanooga Times|date=2012-06-20}} |
== [[bws: sandersons-first-law|Sanderson's First Law]] == |
== [[bws: sandersons-first-law|Sanderson's First Law]] == |
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If characters (especially viewpoint characters) solve a problem by use of magic, the reader should be made to understand how that magic works. Otherwise, the magic can constitute a ''deus ex machina''. |
If characters (especially viewpoint characters) solve a problem by use of magic, the reader should be made to understand how that magic works. Otherwise, the magic can constitute a ''deus ex machina''. |
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== [[bws: sandersons-second-law|Sanderson's Second Law]] == |
== [[bws: sandersons-second-law|Sanderson's Second Law]] == |
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The limitations of a magic system are more interesting than its capabilities. What the magic ''can't'' do is more interesting than what it ''can''. |
The limitations of a magic system are more interesting than its capabilities. What the magic ''can't'' do is more interesting than what it ''can''. |
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=== Limitations === |
=== Limitations === |
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=== Weaknesses and costs === |
=== Weaknesses and costs === |
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− | Weaknesses and costs alike make a magic system more interesting. Weaknesses are generally harder to keep sensible and the kryptonite example has become a staple of easy storytelling. Brandon encourages writers to make up more interesting weaknesses than "Lose powers if x". Costs on the other hand are a great way of limiting a character and the use of the magic. In [[the Wheel of Time]] series the cost is that the users of the magic will slowly go insane. Although the metals in [[ |
+ | Weaknesses and costs alike make a magic system more interesting. Weaknesses are generally harder to keep sensible and the kryptonite example has become a staple of easy storytelling. Brandon encourages writers to make up more interesting weaknesses than "Lose powers if x". Costs on the other hand are a great way of limiting a character and the use of the magic. In [[the Wheel of Time]] series the cost is that the users of the magic will slowly go insane. Although the metals in [[Mistborn]] and the stormlight in [[The Stormlight Archive]] may sound like costs, they are actually limitations. Metals and Stormlight aren’t crucial to the characters or the plot outside of magic, and thus only limit the abilities of the user. |
== [[bws: sandersons-third-law-of-magic|Sanderson's Third Law]] == |
== [[bws: sandersons-third-law-of-magic|Sanderson's Third Law]] == |
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"A brilliant magic system for a book is less often one with a thousand different powers and abilities -- and is more often a magic system with relatively few powers that the author has considered in depth." |
"A brilliant magic system for a book is less often one with a thousand different powers and abilities -- and is more often a magic system with relatively few powers that the author has considered in depth." |
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'''Err on the side of AWESOME.''' |
'''Err on the side of AWESOME.''' |
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− | Brandon has, in his online lectures, described his ultimate rule as that of making magic "awesome" (in the colloquial sense), and further implied that said "awesomeness" takes precedence over exact obedience to the other three laws. |
+ | Brandon has, in his online lectures, described his ultimate rule as that of making magic "awesome" (in the colloquial sense), and further implied that said "awesomeness" takes precedence over exact obedience to the other three laws. |
− | + | (This refers to Isaac Asimov's Zeroth Law of his Three Laws of Robotics.) |
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== Notes == |
== Notes == |