How to Step into a Magical World
C. R. Rowenson, as reported by Liz Babock, both East Sierra Branch
C. R. Rowenson gave an illuminating program for the September 2017 East Sierra meeting. Liz Babcock reported on his presentation:
How do you develop an entire magical world? It’s not easy, but thanks to C.R. Rowenson, our speaker at the September meeting, I now have a clearer idea of how to go about it.
“I was in love with magic even before I could read,” he began, painting a word picture of running through the Nebraska woods throwing magic fireballs. As he grew into fantasy authorship, his magical systems got more sophisticated. To help himself — and now us — with the complexities of building marvelous magic, he suggested using a four-stage framework:
Idea Generation. “I hate to tell you this, but not all your good ideas are gems,” said C.R. “So you need lots of them.” Idea generation can involve looking at commonalities and broad patterns, daydreaming, mind-mapping, brainstorming with friends, and modifying ideas from existing systems.
Alignment. Here’s a step many people miss. “Make sure you understand the shape and structure of all the components and how they all fit together.” You need to check to make sure that your magic won’t damage any part of your story. And of course you have to have a story to align your magic with.
Definition. Here’s the other most commonly overlooked step. You need to ask who can use your magic, what weather there is in your world … many aspects of a long list of parameters, including limitations as well as super powers.
Iteration. This final phase involves going over and over your story, adjusting to make sure your magic supports your theme and your characters use the powers assigned them. It’s important, C.R. said, to cycle through the system over and over until it all fits together.
“Part of the training of a writer is to take what we do instinctively and do it deliberately,” he emphasized.
He and Chautona Havig, who is working on a “Harry Potter meets Arabian Nights” system, described what happens once the author starts thinking about such questions as “Where does the magic come from?” Chautona said she realizes that her magical system is now so complex that it may take an entire series to fully explore it.
C.R. reassured us that “World-building works really well for other books too.”
For more about magical systems, C.R. recommended looking into Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake Method. You can also learn more by visiting crrowenson.com, where, among other goodies, C.R. has included a beautifully lucid explanation of his four stages.
This article first appeared in East Sierra’s
October 2017 newsletter, Riders of the Purple Sage.