Writing how a Character casts a spell/uses magic

[KiloCharlie]

I'm in the middle of writing, and i've hit a roadblock. I like to describe a lot in my stories, particularly when it comes to worldbuilding and the world mechanics. maybe i do it too much, but this topic WILL crop up in my writing sooner or later, so I better figure it out.basically the Main Character this chapter (character focus shifts occasinally) is in a situation where he's going to use his magic. (specifically ice magic to manipulate the snow around him) and in the middle of attempting to describe how he does it, I realize my mind is blank. I have NO idea how to cast a spell.google is no help, it just brings up wicca spellcasting rituals (completely opposite how magic is used in-universe) and how to have your D&D character use magic. I've come to the realization that this seems to be a topic that is touched on RARELY at best. the only example i've actually read was in Eragon, but magic dosn't work that way in this story.now, I know a good way of going about this is to first know how magic is used in-universe. nearly everyone has at least SOME magical capacity, and in combat it's used much the same way as in the DMFA or Dominic Deegan webcomics, or follows the "full contact magic" trope. so generally, non-"squishy" wizards. in both cases, magic seems (more-or-less) controllable with a gesture or thought, and used to attack directly, or even augment an existing attack (typically a punch in Dominic Deegan) I'd like to hear some ideas/examples before trying to tailor one of my own so i have more of an idea of what is expected from casting. "magic words" and incantations just ring corny to me, but it dosn't do enough in the relm of description. anyone can say a "magic" word, but what makes that magic happen? in that regard, the "magic word" is really just a method of bringing the magic from the mind to the physical world and hence unnessesary once a certain level of skill is achieved. and I should prolly mention Wands and Staffs, they're not used often. they're just an augment and it's usually seen as better to just use a regular weapon instead since their magical "bonus" dosn't typically outweigh the benefits of having actual weaponry on hand. none of the focus characters use them.

 

[Aleu]

Why not read Harry Potter?

 

[Conker]

There is a level of reading what you want to write to see what works and what doesn't. In the case of magic, literally any idea you have could work because it's magic and readers usually take magic at face value: it's magic. You don't need crazy explanations for it, and if any gestures or words can be whatever you want them to be.

If that doens't help, watch some video game footage with magic in it. You'll get some visuals that might help.

 

[KiloCharlie]

Why not read Harry Potter?

well, I have. spellcasting in that 'verse is just a matter of having a special stick and a magic word. (gross oversimplification I know)i'm looking for what makes the magic happen. how the character is supposed to let it flow through them and make otherwise ordinary actions channel magic instead.I used the webcomic Dominic Deegan as an example above, I'll do it again here. in one scene, 2 characters are in a desert, one can use magic, one can't. the magic-user gets hurt and knocked unconcious, the non-magic-user knows she stored a healing spell in their pendants (hers got used earlier) and so he tries to figure out how to activate the stored spell before realizing that even though he was going through all the same motions the rest of the spellcasting cast did, he still had NO idea how to cast a spell.more or less, i'm looking for what that extra missing bit is on exactly how a spell is cast, not a motion or "magic" word, but what MAKES that motion or word magic in the first place.it's a difficult question because it seems quite EVERY fantasy setting ignores this aspect and just goes "because of reasons" but i actually go into my characters heads (figuratively) and want to expound on that so-rarely touched topicalso, magic works differently in HP than this universe.

 

[Aleu]

Well I know in The Alchemyst, it talks about the characters using their "aura" or whatever to do spells which in turn, exhausts them. So maybe some internal energy or something.

 

[KiloCharlie]

There is a level of reading what you want to write to see what works and what doesn't. In the case of magic, literally any idea you have could work because it's magic and readers usually take magic at face value: it's magic. You don't need crazy explanations for it, and if any gestures or words can be whatever you want them to be. If that doens't help, watch some video game footage with magic in it. You'll get some visuals that might help.

I don't think I maybe explained what I was going after properly... i already know the actions the characters take and the effect of the magic, what's got me stuck is exactly what is it that makes those actions magic? anyone can say a word or make a movement, or even swing a staff. but even in worlds SATURATED with magic those actions don't cause magic to happen. there's something else they do, (i assume mentally) to make those actions magic. that's what's eluding me. I'm delving into what's going through the character's head at the time.it's not the component that we can see of spellcasting i'm stuck on. it's the part we don't see. how one can actually cast a spell.

 

[Lobar]

I understand where you're coming from, OP. I appreciate a well-defined magic system in storytelling that involves magic. When how the magic works isn't fully explained, all that is present is a sense of what it can do, which can lead to situations that come across to the reader as ass-pulls when magic does something beyond the expectations previously set in the story. When magic is defined clearly, it shows up front what it can do and also what it can't do. The things it can't do end up being the better tools for creating tension and requiring solutions to problems that are more clever and less straightforward, which makes for a more interesting story.

Since you're stuck on the specifics, I would recommend you move forward with your story for now, then work backwards on the details to make how it works benefit the story after you have a clearer idea of where and how things can be spiced up a little. Theorycrafting is all well and good, but unless you know how it can be applied to improve your story, it's a distraction.

 

[KiloCharlie]

I understand where you're coming from, OP. I appreciate a well-defined magic system in storytelling that involves magic. When how the magic works isn't fully explained, all that is present is a sense of what it can do, which can lead to situations that come across to the reader as ass-pulls when magic does something beyond the expectations previously set in the story. When magic is defined clearly, it shows up front what it can do and also what it can't do. The things it can't do end up being the better tools for creating tension and requiring solutions to problems that are more clever and less straightforward, which makes for a more interesting story.Since you're stuck on the specifics, I would recommend you move forward with your story for now, then work backwards on the details to make how it works benefit the story after you have a clearer idea of where and how things can be spiced up a little. Theorycrafting is all well and good, but unless you know how it can be applied to improve your story, it's a distraction.

I don't really mean it that way... i think I may have a better method of describing my question. (i'll edit the original post after so more people don't get the wrong idea)basically, imagine a mage has to teach a student how to use magic. this student has the aptitude, but not the knowlege. the ability, but has NO idea how a spell is actually cast. the student can replicate what they see, but they cannot see what goes on beneath. under the components/magic words/gestures or whatever. how does the mage describe to their student how to cast a spell for the first time?THAT is what i'm trying to describe in that scene.

 

[Wither]

Best ways I've found is either sigils/gesture or simply drawing power within them, moving it through them, and expelling it.

Sigils are best used if you want the magic to come from an outside force and the caster is simply drawing in and focusing the energy.

Drawing power from within is best used for... well... when your character is doing just that. I've always kind of imagined that it was an energy that moved within the core that could be coaxed into leaving the body in a form of a spell, like a gust of wind or fire.


There is a third I've read but never used. It's quite interesting. Basically from what I understand there is magic floating freely within the world around them and with some concentration they will be able to focus it into a more tangible magic.

If you want anything more in depth on any of these just ask away! Hope I helped somewhat.

 

[Teal]

I think you should work on paragraphing. :/

You could take a look at different magic tropes over on TVtropes, you might find something interesting.

 

[Lobar]

I don't really mean it that way... i think I may have a better method of describing my question. (i'll edit the original post after so more people don't get the wrong idea)basically, imagine a mage has to teach a student how to use magic. this student has the aptitude, but not the knowlege. the ability, but has NO idea how a spell is actually cast. the student can replicate what they see, but they cannot see what goes on beneath. under the components/magic words/gestures or whatever. how does the mage describe to their student how to cast a spell for the first time?THAT is what i'm trying to describe in that scene.

Perhaps it would be helpful if you elaborated on why these details are important to the actual story. If you just want to dump a bunch of details on the mechanics of spellcasting when the guy casts a spell, you're just sort of writing the literary equivalent of Goku powering up for two minutes before launching his spirit bomb, and your focus would be better spent elsewhere.

 

[KiloCharlie]

I think you should work on paragraphing. :/

You could take a look at different magic tropes over on TVtropes, you might find something interesting.

I actually visit TVTropes semi-regularly... hence why i made the "Full-Contact Magic" reference.

as for the paragraphing, i wrote that on my 3DS as I don't have a computer. I tried to tell it to do pagebreaks, but apparently it just didn't register. i couldn't edit posts eaither.

 

[Wither]

I actually visit TVTropes semi-regularly... hence why i made the "Full-Contact Magic" reference.

as for the paragraphing, i wrote that on my 3DS as I don't have a computer. I tried to tell it to do pagebreaks, but apparently it just didn't register. i couldn't edit posts eaither.

Wait what?
You can forum on a hand held gaming device?
Also you're writing a story with magics without a computer. I am truly confused.

 

[Teal]

Perhaps it would be helpful if you elaborated on why these details are important to the actual story. If you just want to dump a bunch of details on the mechanics of spellcasting when the guy casts a spell, you're just sort of writing the literary equivalent of Goku powering up for two minutes before launching his spirit bomb, and your focus would be better spent elsewhere.

Correction, it takes him five episodes to launch it.

I actually visit TVTropes semi-regularly... hence why i made the "Full-Contact Magic" reference.

as for the paragraphing, i wrote that on my 3DS as I don't have a computer. I tried to tell it to do pagebreaks, but apparently it just didn't register. i couldn't edit posts eaither.

I didn't see the reference because of the chunk of text.
I didn't actually read any of your posts because I couldn't.

Wait what?
You can forum on a hand held gaming device?
Also you're writing a story with magics without a computer. I am truly confused.

Yup, you can go on the forums from a 3DS or PSP.
Both suck for that use though.

Maybe he's hand righting it?
Either way it's rather weird.

 

[Wither]

Correction, it takes him five episodes to launch it.

Oh how I wasted my childhood.

I didn't see the reference because of the chunk of text.
I didn't actually read any of your posts because I couldn't.

^

Yup, you can go on the forums from a 3DS or PSP.
Both suck for that use though.

Hmm. Interesting, I didn't know. I assumed it'd be shit though. I can't imagine it could be any good.

Maybe he's hand righting it?
Either way it's rather weird.

That's my guess but then I have to ask why then.

 

[Lobar]

Yup, you can go on the forums from a 3DS or PSP.
Both suck for that use though.

Maybe he's hand righting it?
Either way it's rather weird.

I phonepost way more than is practical. I can't imagine using a 3DS.

Maybe he's posting with MAGIC!

 

[Teal]

Hmm. Interesting, I didn't know. I assumed it'd be shit though. I can't imagine it could be any good.

Imagine it taking forever to load anything, lacking all the features of a computer and it being incompatible with a ton of things. (like youtube)

That's my guess but then I have to ask why then.

Indeed.

 

[KiloCharlie]

Perhaps it would be helpful if you elaborated on why these details are important to the actual story. If you just want to dump a bunch of details on the mechanics of spellcasting when the guy casts a spell, you're just sort of writing the literary equivalent of Goku powering up for two minutes before launching his spirit bomb, and your focus would be better spent elsewhere.

well i'm only going to be explaining it once, rather than every time. i want to explain it so that way magic in my world actually makes sense and dosn't feel like some contrived ass-pull, or a deus ex machina. i don't want "magic because of reasons" i want it to be explained and make sense so it's as immersive for the reader as it is for me writing it. it's the beginning of the story, so it's all still worldbuilding at the moment. understanding that there's magic, and the fundamentals of such is important as literally EVERYONE in the world has the capacity to use it.

Wait what?
You can forum on a hand held gaming device?
Also you're writing a story with magics without a computer. I am truly confused.

yeah, it's a sonuvabitch. and i'm handwriting my stories. i do that with all of them so that way when i type them up, i have to re-read them and so i can correct all the stupid shit i wrote, or fix errors, or add in elements that I didn't think of until later. basically a way of forcing me to proofread since i'm inherently lazy.

 

[SkyeLansing]

You may want to read Master of the Five Magics (iirc what the title is). The book is about a young man learning 5 very different types of magics and the rules that go along with them. It is a fairly short book with several parts, each one focusing on a different form of magic.

 

[Conker]

I don't think I maybe explained what I was going after properly... i already know the actions the characters take and the effect of the magic, what's got me stuck is exactly what is it that makes those actions magic? anyone can say a word or make a movement, or even swing a staff. but even in worlds SATURATED with magic those actions don't cause magic to happen. there's something else they do, (i assume mentally) to make those actions magic. that's what's eluding me. I'm delving into what's going through the character's head at the time.it's not the component that we can see of spellcasting i'm stuck on. it's the part we don't see. how one can actually cast a spell.

OH! Okay. Yeah, I enjoy it when fiction explains how magic works to some degree, though that's often not what most fantasy fiction will do.

But honestly, that's all up to you. How do you want your magic to work?

The two examples that come to mind are The Kingkiller Chronicle where magic is treated as a kind of alchemy. It requires high amounts of energy, so characters have these high burning candles with them because fire = energy. Magic follows elemental rules and is really an advanced chemistry. Some cool ides there. The other example is the Death Gate Cycle, where high end magic is kind of its own language, and it directly affects the "wave of reality" or something like that. Reality is a sign wave that moves up and down, and casting magic pulls at the wave, altering reality from its fundamental level.

I look at magic like I look at technology in science fiction. I don't need to know how it works, only that it does and what the end result is. A ray gun needs to shoot lasers, but I honestly don't need to know how it shoots those lasers, only what color the beams are, how big the gun is, and what the battery life is. There are parameters you need to set for magic so you can't use it as a plot crutch, but you really don't need to explain how or why it works.

How you want to deal with this is up to you though, so best of luck

 

[KiloCharlie]

OH! Okay. Yeah, I enjoy it when fiction explains how magic works to some degree, though that's often not what most fantasy fiction will do.But honestly, that's all up to you. How do you want your magic to work?The two examples that come to mind are The Kingkiller Chronicle where magic is treated as a kind of alchemy. It requires high amounts of energy, so characters have these high burning candles with them because fire = energy. Magic follows elemental rules and is really an advanced chemistry. Some cool ides there. The other example is the Death Gate Cycle, where high end magic is kind of its own language, and it directly affects the "wave of reality" or something like that. Reality is a sign wave that moves up and down, and casting magic pulls at the wave, altering reality from its fundamental level. I look at magic like I look at technology in science fiction. I don't need to know how it works, only that it does and what the end result is. A ray gun needs to shoot lasers, but I honestly don't need to know how it shoots those lasers, only what color the beams are, how big the gun is, and what the battery life is. There are parameters you need to set for magic so you can't use it as a plot crutch, but you really don't need to explain how or why it works.How you want to deal with this is up to you though, so best of luck

well how the magic works, as in how it's used, shouldn't really change how you tap into how you access the magic. basically my question is something like "how does a mage explain how to cast a spell to someone who never has?" what makes the magic tick beneath the incantation or motions?but when magic's used it's more of a buff. on the exterior, a simple gesture can, for an ecomage, control the element they specialize in. in this char's case, ice. right now, he's gonna destroy a friend in a snowball fight. later, he'll use it in actual combat. but the mood in this scene has to be light so the mood-whiplash hits hard once he werewolf's out and "kills" his friend. a nice friendly snowball fight is perfect for that, and gives a nice slow setting to explain how magic works as well. as a were, he's a very physical combatant, so his magic is more like ice punches, ice spires, ice javelins, ice claws/armour, et cetera. when it runs REALLY strong a snowstorm spontaneously appears, even indoors

 

[RedSavage]

Alright so here's my two cents worth. I came across a similar problem when trying to describe the feeling of protagonist turning into a werewolf. In other words--how would I describe the physical act of bringing about a transformation in oneself how I would describe, say, taking a breath? Or throwing a baseball? How do I describe it without falling on the old trope of "tearing out of one's skin?" See, breathing and things like throwing a baseball exist and have a physical motion that can be felt and described. Transforming into a beast within a blink of an eye? No such sensation that I know of. So I'm running blind. I have to make up a feeling and describe it.

Just like your spell casting. There's no precedent set for it. How it should feel and come about is exactly up to you. Does it feel like a jet of hot fire coming out from one's center self? Or is it a non-feeling--disconnected from the body like a bullet is from a gun. Can you character feel the spell being cast? No? Does it drain or does it send a thrill through him?

You have to just create a system and run with it. Make it sound good. Make it make sense. Bt most of all, don't make it complex. Don't describe in a paragraph what you can describe in a sentence. Get too caught up in describing the process and you'll lose the focus of the story, and unless you're Tom Clancy and can make process and description be the story, then it'll hurt the writing more than it will help it.

 

[Charrio]

I like the use of the ethereal, such as.
"Eve using her concentration and grasping the energies ever present but never tapped gathers them as one collects fragments of cobwebs, slowly growing and taking shape. The mystical energies directed by her will and formed with her Discipline of years of mystic study take on it's final shape a simple ball of yellow light which vanishes and fades when swept away"

Just an example of how to write such things, well my take on it anyways.

 

[Gnarl]

Maybe worth nothing but I had this issue once in one of my books. I had to explain to an apprentice how to use the magic he had.
first you must understand that magic is a leap of faith. since all magic responds to the will or belief of the user they have to believe in it or it will not work because that is what they believe. second, in many cultures the belief is that there is a metaphysical center of power in a persons chest (about an inch below the heart). This center is the where the power or energy that is what we call magic exists. it is also the energy that gives life to all living things. To use this power is to focus the energy and by believing that something will happen to cause it to happen. It starts by concentration and learning to channel the energy of your environment, such as the magical lay lines of a planet (magnetic lines of draw). then using the energy from within to draw that energy into an ever increasing and narrowed path to perform what ever function is required.
For example one might draw the energy into a narrow beam and create a spiritual bolt or fire bolt or even a magical blade. One might use the energy for healing.
If you opponent in a battle believes in the power as well and see's or at least thinks that your power is greater then his own will causes it to be so.
As for casting a spell, well the idea is that one can use the energy from within both by concentration, sudden fear, or practice to perform the required task. Components for such things as fire balls and the like (sulfur) can be ignited instantly by a sudden burst of that energy.
I have no idea if this helps you but there is my solution. Of course that is just fiction for you. Whatever solution you decide on will be right for your world.

 

[Troj]

Well, what if magic is really a physical element, or an organism, or a type of energy, or some other form of tangible "stuff?" If magic is a "thing," then that can be used to explain why simply saying the magic words isn't good enough.

What if magic users have some special mystical tie to the fundamental laws of the universe, which allows them to "hack" the rules of nature? The magic words could just be for show.

What if magic users actually exist in a parallel dimension that overlaps with our own?

Just throwing out things at the top of my head.

The following links might be helpful:

Creative Uses of Magic in Your Fantasy Story

Writing Magic in Fiction

Writing Excuses: Costs and Ramifications of Magic

Wikipedia: Magic in Fiction

Rules of Magic, According to the Greatest Fantasy Sagas Of All Time

Magic system generator

Definitive Rules for Writing Magic

Notable Fantasy Magic Systems

Top Ten Coolest Magic Systems in Fantasy

[url=http://techland.time.com/2008/06/27/the_top_5_greatest_magic_syste/]Top Five Greatest Magical Systems[/url]

Critique of various magical systems

Magicology: The Study of Magic Systems