I'm working on a trilogy right now and I really needed a video like this! I too believed the myth that querying with a series is a bad, bad idea so it's good to hear that isn't the case. Maybe I'll put that novella on the backburner. Thanks Stephen!
I have a complex hard magic system. Despite this, the system is not that hard to understand. The readers will be learning it along with the characters, so they won't be flooded with all the information at once. I chose a hard magic system because it works best with the setting/plot since my characters are young mages still learning magic. I do have limitations for magic but one of the major limits is knowledge. Maybe there is magic that could have solved a problem, but the characters just didn't have that knowledge. Personally, I do want my characters to use magic in creative ways in order to solve problems. While my magic system is taught and presented in story a lot like science- in fact some of it is even directly inspired by science- yet it's still a magic system because it is something unnatural. I don't find it boring, in fact I like hard systems with defined rules. I'd agree that a hard magic system loses some of the whimsy of a soft system, but a hard system can still be exciting especially when showing off what the magic can be used for. It probably takes a lot more work than any soft magic system. The argument I understand the least is that A + B = C being bad when that is part of any magic system with spells. If you can wave a wand around, say a spell, and badabing badaboom you've just done magic then that's rather formulaic. From Harry Potter to Mistborn, I can't think of any magic system that isn't like this. Unless the magic is completely random, I don't see how this could be avoided. Like Harry Potter, my story takes place at a magic school where young mages learn magic. While I love the whimsy of Harry Potter, I always found it odd how soft the magic system was and thought a hard system would make more sense since having a science feeling magic system pairs well with an academy setting. So, that's what I decided to do: Magic school set in a DnD/anime inspired fantasy world. My magic system is very visual with runes and sigils so that the readers can see a spell since my story will be a comic. What I've been stuck on is how to introduce the magic. Something I've realized is that I'm a writer that likes to build up to important parts of my story and sometimes I do this when it's not necessary. I believe important parts of my story should end up being the most memorable, so I end up overthinking it. Recently, I moved on from worldbuilding to story building, but I just haven't been able to decide how to introduce the magic system in a memorable way. The major problem is that it's hard to know what will be memorable.
I'm working on a trilogy right now and I really needed a video like this! I too believed the myth that querying with a series is a bad, bad idea so it's good to hear that isn't the case. Maybe I'll put that novella on the backburner. Thanks Stephen!
You're welcome!
I have a complex hard magic system. Despite this, the system is not that hard to understand. The readers will be learning it along with the characters, so they won't be flooded with all the information at once. I chose a hard magic system because it works best with the setting/plot since my characters are young mages still learning magic. I do have limitations for magic but one of the major limits is knowledge. Maybe there is magic that could have solved a problem, but the characters just didn't have that knowledge. Personally, I do want my characters to use magic in creative ways in order to solve problems. While my magic system is taught and presented in story a lot like science- in fact some of it is even directly inspired by science- yet it's still a magic system because it is something unnatural. I don't find it boring, in fact I like hard systems with defined rules. I'd agree that a hard magic system loses some of the whimsy of a soft system, but a hard system can still be exciting especially when showing off what the magic can be used for. It probably takes a lot more work than any soft magic system. The argument I understand the least is that A + B = C being bad when that is part of any magic system with spells. If you can wave a wand around, say a spell, and badabing badaboom you've just done magic then that's rather formulaic. From Harry Potter to Mistborn, I can't think of any magic system that isn't like this. Unless the magic is completely random, I don't see how this could be avoided.
Like Harry Potter, my story takes place at a magic school where young mages learn magic. While I love the whimsy of Harry Potter, I always found it odd how soft the magic system was and thought a hard system would make more sense since having a science feeling magic system pairs well with an academy setting. So, that's what I decided to do: Magic school set in a DnD/anime inspired fantasy world. My magic system is very visual with runes and sigils so that the readers can see a spell since my story will be a comic.
What I've been stuck on is how to introduce the magic. Something I've realized is that I'm a writer that likes to build up to important parts of my story and sometimes I do this when it's not necessary. I believe important parts of my story should end up being the most memorable, so I end up overthinking it. Recently, I moved on from worldbuilding to story building, but I just haven't been able to decide how to introduce the magic system in a memorable way. The major problem is that it's hard to know what will be memorable.
An Orc walks into a bar