Belief 04
Magic
Limits are more interesting than powers — a magic system is a promise about how problems get solved.
Magic is the way of externalizing the idea that you are special.
That’s the belief underneath every system, hard or soft: magic is a claim about who matters and why. Design the claim first; the mechanics follow.
Sanderson’s Laws
The working rules I hold to, borrowed whole from Brandon Sanderson:
- Your ability to solve problems with magic in a satisfying way is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic. Mystery can create problems; only understood magic may solve them.
- Flaws, limitations, and costs are more interesting than powers. Superman is his weaknesses. The question isn’t “what can it do?” — it’s “what does it cost, and when does it fail?”
- Before adding something new to your magic (or setting in general), see if you can instead expand what you have. Depth beats breadth; a second use for an old rule is worth more than a new rule.
And underneath them all, the one he numbers zero:
— per Brandon Sanderson, Sanderson's Laws of MagicQuick check · not graded, try as many times as you like
Your hero is cornered, and a power the reader has never heard of saves them. Which law did you break?
Both readings are defensible, which is the useful part: the Third Law is the prevention (expand what exists) and the First is the diagnosis (they didn't understand it, so the win feels unearned).
The spectrum
Magic runs between two poles:
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What's the actual sin on the practical/wonder spectrum?
This is Sanderson's First Law restated as a promise, which is why it belongs next to Structure: the magic system is a contract about how problems get solved.
Practical magic is a toolset — understood, costed, and available for clever problem-solving (Sanderson’s allomancy). Wonder is weather — vast, half-glimpsed, and never available to get the hero out of trouble (Gandalf, whose magic wins moods, not battles). Neither pole is better. The sin is drift: promising wonder and then paying off plot problems with it, or promising a toolset and leaving it vague. Pick your point on the line and keep the promise.
Where you are
Not startedAnswer the checks above whenever you like — they're not graded, and you can retry any of them.
Sources
- Ted Chiang
- Brandon Sanderson — Sanderson's Laws of Magic
Members' unit
Magic is behind a locked door
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What's in this unit · 3 min read
- Sanderson’s Laws
- The spectrum
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