How do you explain "magic"?

[FieryLou]

I might be a fucking idiot, but I always have a hard time explaining creating something out of nothing. Like, just casting a spell and bam, a fireball appears.

I once watched an anime where the main character needed to know what the spell was composed of, and as a reincarnator from Earth, he had more knowledge. The idea was interesting, but the execution sucked.

In my current work, the characters can manipulate elemental particles, which are everywhere in the atmosphere, with mana and shape them into spells. There are mortals and gods. The mortals rely on the particles in the atmosphere, while the immortals can form a law seed and generate them in their soul.

In theory, the five basic elements are everywhere, but they're stronger in some areas, and there might be sealed-off spaces where they don't exist.

Now, I'm asking, how do you usually explain the magic in your novel?

 

[LilRora]

I prefer not give too much detail, since all of that can come bite me in the ass later - hard systems are very difficult to keep consistent and balanced if you start explaining them in detail.

If I get to a point in the story where I explain magic, I usually try to find that sweet spot between handwaving stuff and hard details. I describe the general principles and mechanisms, outline the scope, and try do it with as few numbers as possible, but do not attempt to explain the system in detail (definitely not from the very beginning) unless those details are discussed by characters and somehow relate to the story.

In general, however, I prefer showing magic to explaining it. Readers don't need all details, and it's usually enough to show how magic works from the outside rather than from the inside.

Also consider that sometimes it makes more sense lore-wise to write something is unknown, or unexplained, or poorly understood.

 

[Golden_Hyde]

magic?

Well, it's going to be mouthful to explain but depending on who you're asking to (and I mean entirely depends), it's either you're shouting it like a lunatic, or a long section of chants, or conlangs.

And this was overly simplified. Don't get me started using a constructed esoteric dialects, which falls under the sections of chants.

But if I want to make my characters cast a magic, it's either esoteric chants or gestures, as some mystics would say: "every words, every gestures influence those around you."

 

[RepresentingWrath]

@Bartun Your time to shine.

 

[expentio]

Personally, I find that the law of conservation of energy should somehow still exist. This means the fireball needs an energy source. Either by equal exchange from somewhere else, or through some inner power the caster had to stock up on first.

 

[NotaNuffian]

What is magic?

I split it into two parts.

The price of what you want to happen and the way you convey to make it happen.

Price is often mana, materials, time etc. Something that is measurable

The way you convey is to make it understandable. For instance, programmers will say the magic language is like coding, know the essential rune and then string it into your command to get it through. For chinese scholars in xianxialand, magic is your will, you think think think until it materialise into reality. You spend time meditating, use the inner focus until exhaustion to feed the idea and then let it out in one single burst.

 

[Shade01]

Magic comes from nonmaterial plane formed from minds of living beings and is divided into territories based on the groups objective view of how magic should look like the farther person is from their territory the harder is to use their magic as they lose support of objective view. I like this explanation most since it allows most freedom and progress of magic system you just need a 1 rule and that is price of getting nonmaterial plane to influence material plane from rituals and sacrifice, mental power or letting people form connection in their mind that allows for unlimited magic in small amount causing strain on the connection.

 

[K_Jira]

I have a lot of free time right now, so I apologize in advance for this unnecessary length of an answer.

Things are called 'magic' because it's unexplainable. That being the case, magic in fiction is equally limitless. It can be whatever you want it to be. You can make up your own system without worrying about irl science.

For example, some of the magic systems I made mostly based on the linguistic and geometric properties of the spell/rune rather than the element of the magic itself since I myself isn't an expert in science. Those properties? I made things up and string them together until they make sense enough for our logic to accept it. I don't explain it most of the time. Only when it matters. For example, when a character whip up a spell that readers might go 'huh? How tf he did that?' or 'wouldn't this be impossible within the magic system that has been explained so far?' or 'if this dude can do this spell, why didn't they do it in the past?' etc. etc.

In other words, you only need a couple of basic fundamentals as the pillars then you can build your house of a magic system around it. Don't stress yourself with the non-existent responsibility of explaining how its constructed because—speaking as a reader—it's enough for us to understand why this spell is possible and why that spell isn't.

As long as it doesn't crumble with a couple of knocks, you're good to go.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk

 

[georgelee5786]

I don't, it's magic

 

[Prince_Azmiran_Myrian]

Magic isn't scientific. It's supernatural.

 

[FieryLou]

Magic isn't scientific. It's supernatural.

My brain is scientific, not supernatural... Wish it would work this way for me...

 

[GlassRose]

Now, I'm asking, how do you usually explain the magic in your novel?

Here's how it works in the world I'm building.

The Void, the barrier that insulates the multiverse from Primordial Chaos, is infinitely empty, and simultaneously infinitely full of energy from said Chaos. The soul exists outside of physical reality, near this boundary, and is connected to the body by anima and vita. The soul can extract energy from the Void in the form of mana, and then processes that energy, attuning it to the soul's anima to be able to control it at will, along with attuning it to the twelve elements in the proportion that the soul has affinity for. The mana can be turned into the attuned elemental mana at will, but the speed and efficiency of the conversion is dependent on attunement, on the soul's affinity.

Elemental mana can be used to manipulate existing instances of said element, can be converted into a temporary manifestation of the element that will disperse some time later and doesn't completely fulfill the physical properties of the real thing (sometimes that's a benefit), or at a higher mana cost, can be converted into the element for real.

...Then there's also conceptual magic that relates to the conceptual ideas and associations with the twelve elements, allowing for various esoteric effects, but those are more difficult and require either extreme personal connection to said concept, or prep and ritualism. Or well, brute force by a very powerful individual would work too.

That said, I wouldn't explain all of that, having unknowns in-world make things more interesting, allows for the characters to confront what should be impossible according to their understanding, of allows them to discover depths to magic they previously would never have dreamed of.

 

[Prince_Azmiran_Myrian]

My brain is scientific, not supernatural... Wish it would work this way for me...

The way you designed your system appears to be based off of natural properties, but other systems could be based on authority over universe, relationships with supernatural beings, emotions manifesting, etc.
Breaking natural laws of physics is common.

As for explaining them, well just showing what it's based on is enough. Going into detail is tedious.

 

[LesserCodex]

For me, its simple magic is the ability to recreate reactions in the universe. For example, the spell magic hand, everyone is aware how that works, a semi-transparent blue hand that can grab and help with things, magic is copying what already is, it's no different from you using your hand and grabbing an object.

Because it already is magic, can recreate it to varying degrees, a giant magic hand capable of crushing a house? A regular giant man can do the same things, A magic bullet? No different from a regular bullet. A magic barrier defending against attacks? No different from putting yourself in a plastic-like dome to protect you. Illusion magic? Holograms. Like this, you can make your magic become anything, but it can also be grounded. For that reason, I don't have time magic in my verse, but space magic exists. Because it's something we know and something we've studied. It derives from an understanding. That's how I see it anyway.

 

[ElijahRyne]

I might be a fucking idiot, but I always have a hard time explaining creating something out of nothing. Like, just casting a spell and bam, a fireball appears.

I once watched an anime where the main character needed to know what the spell was composed of, and as a reincarnator from Earth, he had more knowledge. The idea was interesting, but the execution sucked.

In my current work, the characters can manipulate elemental particles, which are everywhere in the atmosphere, with mana and shape them into spells. There are mortals and gods. The mortals rely on the particles in the atmosphere, while the immortals can form a law seed and generate them in their soul.

In theory, the five basic elements are everywhere, but they're stronger in some areas, and there might be sealed-off spaces where they don't exist.

Now, I'm asking, how do you usually explain the magic in your novel?

You are currently in a plane, each plane has its own laws of reality. Each plane is primarily made of Æther, Void, and Quintessence. Æther contracts, Void expands, and Quintessence changes. Older alchemists thought that these were the three essences of the universe that when studied could explain all things, however 2 million years ago other essences were found causing a great break in the school of alchemy. For instance I study the essence of Possibility in addition to the three primes.

Anyways back to the question, magic is hard to define is it not? If I define it as using the laws of your plane to create change. In that case magic is everywhere from the movement of stars, to the fluctuations in an atom. Then let’s change it to intentionally using the laws of your plane to create change. That does limit what can be considered magic considerably, does it not? Yet that definition is also abit lacking, that would mean that most of the actions taken by living things are magic. It would also cut out natural phenomena that some might think as magical. So let us change it again. Magic is the unexplainable use of your planes laws to create change. Now that is a completely different set of changes that can be considered magic than the last one, but is the unknown really magic? Does that mean that if you explain something it is no longer magical? Does it mean that if only one person can define something, then that something is no longer magical to everyone else? Or is magic more subjective, so long as the individual cannot define or understand what is happening then it is magic? Interesting questions to be sure, but let’s get back to the original query.

I will assume by magic, you mean causing changes using laws not found in your plane. Here in the void sea, you will quickly learn that what is common in one plane, is often nonexistent in others. In some planes there are particles that one can influence through thought, ritual, and/or action to create changes you would find miraculous. Sometimes there are extra dimensions that allow one to do create changes that you wouldn’t understand through inaction in the others. Or do you mean alchemy, and how things work in all planes and the space between them? In the end I don’t really think I can answer your question unless you narrow down the scope.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

If I have to explain it, it is advanced science, not magic.
Magic defies explanation - it is tampering with the fundamental forces of reality, bending the elements to the will, altering the flow of energy, summoning Powers from outside of Time and Space.
OR magic is what it is in our mundane reality - mere sleight of hand, legerdemain chicanery designed to baffle and entertain.

 

[Fairemont]

Magic goes one of two ways, and Id consider them the extremes. Either you give as little as you can possibly get away with, or you give as much as physically possible.

 

[Forcalor]

It's easy.

You see

Everything is Magic.

 

[DeepWater]

I explain it with 2 dolls that I mash together to represent them having a magic fight.

 

[FieryLou]

Magic goes one of two ways, and Id consider them the extremes. Either you give as little as you can possibly get away with, or you give as much as physically possible.

How do you handle your xianxia powersystem?