Magic System Development: Origins and Behavior

Where does it come from? Where does it go? The reader may never know but you sure should!

Know the source and behavior of the magic in your world – not just to help with consistency but for inspiration. The generation or creation of magic may be indued with spiritual, scientific, or historical significance. Changes in the behavior of magic may foretell (or be the result of) profound changes in your world.

While brainstorming, you probably want to place limits on magic and consequences for its use. After all, if magic exists, then it coexists with other parts of your environment and therefore affects those parts. Whether you remove something that existed naturally or add sommething that did not exist before. Either action has consequences for the environment – even if this environment is in another plane.

In summary, if there is magic in your world, make it part of the world

Share how you integrate magic into your world.

Create a Magic System: Social Implications

Castle (Photo credit: Dave Stokes)

Know the effects that magic use has on society. Unless the ability to use magic is something that everyone has to the same degree, it is yet another personal difference that will set magic users apart. You need to decide both how others respond to this difference and how magic users themselves respond to this difference.

Consider how society views the ability to use magic. Is it a stigma or an honor? And think about why this view is held. Religion might preach against some or all magic abilities. Maybe the religious institutions use the very magic that they preach against but call it something else. Another reason there might be a stigma is past misuse of magic ability. In my world, magic users ruled during one era and nearly destroyed the world. Many, many years later they are no longer persecuted but still cannot hold land or any positions of power other than advisory roles. Reverse these scenarios and you have some reasons for society to honor the ability to use magic.

Decisions made by magic users at one point in history might have major social implications. This is easier for magic users in positions of power. During their era of rule, my magic users mutated natural creatures to use in their wars. This had lasting effects on the already existing societies. Most of the new races died out, but a few flourished – creating new cultures who fight with and hide from, trade with, and are enslaved by the original civilizations. But even magic users who are marginalized can have affect the course of history. I have one such magic user who sought revenge against the gods who used and dismissed him. He stole an artifact and managed to banish the gods from the physical plane. That definitely had an effect on society – besides paving the way for the rule of magic users!

Gender roles might change when magic ability is involved. Maybe magic ability is different along gender lines. This would affect social roles and expectations. Are women who are serious magic practitioners less likely to take time off from study to have children? This would probably go against standard gender expectations. Will men loose the ability to use magic if they have children? Then they probably wouldn't. These scenarios also mean that magic ability is probably not hereditary. Are magic users desirable or undesirable spouses? Do magic users typically marry one another or stay celibate? If you want to make a point about gender, this is a treasure trove of options.

The way magic users are educated can affect society. Large schools require towns to support them. Monasteries would probably provide community service to their communities and countries. The larger the place of learning, the more likely there is to be government influence. Apprenticeship and mentorship systems provide socially recognized roles for the students and teachers. Do parents pay for their children to receive instruction, are the children conscripted, or are they given up freely? This says something about how children and magic use are perceived. Maybe the education process instills a sense of duty to country, community, the balance of things, or other magic users. Any of these would definitely have an impact on the rest of society.

The point is, your magic user – even your group of magic users – does not exist in a vacuum. The greater their numbers and the greater their power, the more effect they will have. But don't ignore the historic potential of the lone rebel! Magic ability is an integral part of your civilization(s) – whether honored or scorned – so consider how the ability has affected that civilization throughout history. At the very least, consider how it affects the present lives of people!

Create a Magic System: Magic User Character Traits

White-haired and -bearded wizard with robes and hat. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yesterday we looked at building backstory for a group's ability to use magic. Today we look at how the ability to use magic shapes the typical individual. We look at creating life-styles, personality traits, and common feelings that are rooted in the ability to use magic.

Magic use might foster particular life-styles. The reclusive nature hermit. The solitary academic sorcerer. The head of a magic school. The village hedge-witch. The politically powerful court wizard. The lowly apprentice. The battle-mage. The magic user who tries to hide the ability. All have their stereotypes and all live very different lives. Create an archetype for your typical magic user and you have something to adapt to your particular character.

Magic use might also foster certain personality traits and feelings. Narcissism if magic users have a lot of social power. Shame or rebellion if the ability is considered anathema. Solitary, maybe. Studious or curious depending on the sort of learning that is needed. Maybe hierarchical or respectful of authority, depending on their training and whether their power depends on the existing power structure. They might feel like outsiders in their birth community if the ability is rare.

Finally, consider adding a personal cost for the “gift” of magic ability. Magic use can seem an awesome ability so balance it out a bit. I leave this part to you!

Create a Magic System: Magic User Backstory

Magician. Pierpont Morgan, Visconti Sforza (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Know your typical magic user before you start getting creative. Know who can do it and why, as well as how it affects the character on a personal level. This will give you part of the typical personality, background, and life of a magic user. While these traits might vary between types of magic users, some might be the same. But within a type, what they are should affect who they are. Today is about the who.

Know how common magic users are. This may vary by area – either because some areas produce more magic users or because magic users gravitate to certain areas. These areas might be places of high magic resources, places that welcome magic users, or places that teach magic users. Also consider whether there are non-human magic users with their own set of rules. Some options are gods, intelligent races, magical creatures, and summoned beings.

Know the role of heredity in passing on the ability to use magic. Maybe ability is passed on only through genes. Or maybe some magic users can be born from families without a history of magic. I'llo go ahead and say that if magic ability relies only on a single gene, you will end up with a lot of magic users unless there is some sort of check on the expression of the trait.

Possibly – but not necessarily – tied to heredity is the option to give magic users a shared set of physical traits. For instance, the ubiquitous red-headed witch. But it may be a combination of features. Shape-shifters sometimes are given physical traits that reflect their altered state. For shape-shifters, speech patterns are also sometimes used. But the appearance trick does not have to be restricted to shape-shifters, especially if there is a genetic component to the ability.

Knowing where magic users are likely to be found gives you a choice of likely settings for your WIPs and suggests that the typical magic user makes a journey or aspires to making a journey to a place of learning or acceptance. Maybe there is a place that all aspire to reach but where only a chosen few are welcome. This gives the typical magic user a sense of awe or embitterment towards the elite.

Together, these elements can help shape the backstory of your magic using characters. Tomorrow we will continue to look at the magic user but on a more personal level.

Create a Magic System: Types of Magic and Magic Users

Witch face (Photo credit: miss pink 26)

Types of magic structures and types of magic users are closely intertwined since the first defines how magic is harnessed into spells and the other is partly defined by how they cast spells. Consider creating multiple types of magic users and magic systems. Doing this gives you more freedom to play with ideas and issues. Since the creation of magic structures was covered in the last blog, this blog will outline several types of magic users.

Magic users often have ranks that reflect power and experience/ education. The apprenticeship system is commonly used when referring to magic users that need to learn magic. An apprentice is a student magic user. Some writers have a journeyman rank, these often are advanced students who need to travel or complete a special project to reach full status. A mage/ wizard/ sorcerer is someone who has mastered the basics and is full-fledged in power. An adept has more power and learning. There can be other ranks but these are the basic ones. I think the distinction between mage, wizard, and sorcerer is a personal one.

Magic users can also be classified according to the source of their power. Priests and paladins are given abilities by gods. Hedge-wiches and hedge-wizards typically take their power from nature (earth or air, usually) or do spells with ingredients. The term can also be applied to a magic user of little power. Summoners are only as powerful as the creatures they control. Alchemists typically create artifacts or transform substances. Shape-shifters change form. The ubiquitous mage/ wizard/ sorcerer is the typical spell caster and has no set form although fireballs are a common spell. Channels are people who do not use magic directly but concentrate and focus magic that goes through them. Seers and scriers see the future or across distances. There are fortunetellers and prophets. Bards, dancers, and painters might cast spells only through their chosen medium. These magic users are the ones I have found most often in literature but you can create and name whatever serves your purposes.

There are other ways to type-cast your magic systems and magic users, of course. Maybe good, evil, and neutral magic works differently. Or different races might have different abilities. Or you could divide along gender lines. Or it could be defined by what god they worship. Or the school they were trained in. Surely you can think of other dividing lines. Specialization of magic users and spell systems means specialization of ideas. On the other hand, having universal rules to magic suggests that there are also universal truths to the world. You might decide you want a mix of both.

Create a Magic System: Spell Casting

Fire spirit (Photo credit: christopherselac)

Today's blog focuses on creating a system for spell casting. Writers usually start with this element of their magic system. They usually – but not always – have a good grasp of how their magic users cast spells. But in creating my own world, I this was one of the last things I decided because I saw the other elements as more important to my social structure, my world history, and my theme. But spell casting is not mere frills, it is the act of changing potential into actuality. It is what most readers focus on as the magic. And it is often what most sticks in their minds. Make it good.

I will refer to the means of converting magic to a product as a spell. Consider what requirements must be met for a spell to be cast. Maybe all it takes is a strong need and the ability to use magic. In most books, magic-using humans are uncommon or even rare, even if there are other races where this is not the case. Magic users are either born with the ability or gain it through other means. If you go with the birth route, decide whether magic ability is active at birth, if an infant's potential can be tested. If you decide that magic ability can be imparted, some options are: a deity, another human magic user, a magical creature, an artifact.

Magic ability can be instinctive, learned, but usually is a combination of the two. Giving your magic user the ability to use magic instinctively makes it easier to accidentally cast spells (maybe discovering his or her ability in the process). You might want this trait for a volitile character because strong feelings can take physical form. In the other extreme is magic that is aquired purely through learning. This can be through spell books or schools. Schools provide popular settings for coming-of-age tales as well as sources of information, help, or starting points for a quest.

Spells usually require resources in the form of energy, tools, and/ or sacrifices. This helps limit the ability of the magic user and makes things more realistic and opens the door to conflict, crises, and weaknesses. Usually both magic energy and personal energy are consumed. Tools may be consumed or reused. Sacrifices are usually reserved for more potent spells with living sacrifices being more valuable and human sacrifices being the most powerful – and usually condemned. But these are only guidelines – not rules. And you are also free to create both multiple systems of magic and multiple types of magic users in your world. This is the topic of the next blog.

Create a Magic System: Source

Blue Purple Red: Amethyst Crystals (Photo credit: cobalt123)

Know where your magic comes from. Does magic have its source in life energy, the elements, deities, or other dimensions? Maybe something else. The source of magic can say a lot about what is important about your world because the foundation of magic is one of the foundations of your world – and maybe the only one that will ever be articulated. Also, whatever the source of your magic, it is something that has a direct impact on your civilizations. In many cases, the ability to use magic dates from the beginnings of the human (or nonhuman) race and the source of magic dates from the beginning of the world or universe. If you do not yet have a creation myth, thinking about these issues may help you create one.

Know the limits of your magic source. Is there a finite amount or does it replenish itself? If it is replenishing, at what rate does it renew itself? Does it need any help to renew? While a limitless pool of power can be a heady possibility, consider placing limits to foster possibilities for conflicts, dilemmas, and world-wide crises. Nothing spawns conflict like competition for limited resources. And very few crises top the possible disappearance of magic from a world that depends on its existence or use.

Know the manifestations of magic. Is it mobile or static? Magic that stays in one place could pose a challenge for magic users. Does it form ley lines? Ley lines are lines of power that criss-cross the landscape, sometimes intersecting to form pools of power called nodes. Does it manifest physically? Can it be gathered or contained? Crystallized magic, nodes, or some other form of concentrated magic would be a resource for magic users and anything that needed magic to survive. Is it spread evenly across the land or are there areas of higher concentration? Maybe it gathers around people or places or certain types of events (wars, strong heart wishes, pivotal moments in history, magic users).

Create a Magic System: Introduction

Mage hat (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I love fantasy books and poems. One of my favorite elements of the genre is the presence of magic. Typically magic is a manifestation of will or desire that makes possible the impossible. Authors can use magic in so many ways. Magic can simply be a backdrop – a piece of the fantasy world – but it can also be so much more. Many editors and agents (I'm told) look for magic to be integral to the story. How you interpret this demand is up to you.

The ability to use magic may be integral to your main character – the main character in my current WIP is judged by society by her lack of magic. Or your main character may be innately magical – such as a shape-shifter. Magic may be integral to your character or world's back story – mage wars shaped the current land and society of my world and behind the scenes the main antagonist is trying to free an evil god from his ocean prison (an effort that triggered the actions of my current WIP's villain). And magic could be integral to your plot – my magic-less girl must rescue her father's dragon from a powerful enemy mage.

Writers can use magic to deal with a theme or issue close to their hearts. Magic can be used to explore power, social issues, environmental issues, good and evil, corruption, justice and injustice, personal differences, elitism, identity, or even the price of gifts. To incorporate magic in your theme, consider the source of your magic, the structure of your magic, the types of magic and types of magic users, the people and creatures who can and cannot use magic, and the social implications of the ability to use magic.

For the next several days we will look at the last four elements because they are crucial components to the creation of a complete magic system. Source, structure, types of magic and magic users, the magic user, and social implications – every creator of a magic system needs to thoroughly know these four components even if most of the information never appears in the book. The writer needs to know this information to ensure their world is consistent, logical, and comprehensive. Consistency becomes more important when multiple books are planned for the world. Logic is an important ingredient in reader belief. And comprehensiveness is an aid for both, as well as a way to a more complete world.

Write What You Know in Fantasy And Paranormal

Бородатая змея (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Counter-intuitive? Not at all. I write magic and dragons and don't think I have a harder time than a contemporary writer with this issue. If you are writing fiction, you are expected to use a little imagination to bring it to life anyway. I don't think the old adage is meant to be taken literally. Or rather, you know more than you might think.

• Emotions: Whether it is telepathic lizards or werewolves, all characters have emotions. Their motivations might deviate from humans, but the emotions are still the ones humans have. Humans like you (at least I assume). You experience emotions every day so put what you know to the page.
• Motives: I said non-human characters may have slightly different motives but they should still be comprehensible to readers. You know about motives from your own experience, talking to and watching others, and from reading.
• People: You also know how to make multi-demensional characters. The same guidelines can be followed when making nonhuman persons and people. There might be a few superficial differences (a diet of blood, the ability to do magic, or fur and fangs, for instance) but people are still people underneath.
• Important Issues: You know what issues are important to you. Issues have inherent conflict and are well worth tackling in your work. Since it is important to you, you should be aware of multiple sides to the issue and be able to realistically represent them. From bullying to global warming, any core issue can be adapted to your fantasy worlds.
• World-building: Non-fantasy writers often overlook how much research goes into world-building. The land, water, and weather have to align. The types of plants and animals need to be reasonable for the climate. A cat-creature probably will eat meat, not plants. A snake-creature can probably see infra-red.

The adage “write what you know” should also be expanded to “write what you can learn”. I justify this modification by the fact that once you learn something, you know it. Research is probably essential to any story and fantasy/ paranormal is no exception. Write what you know, what you knew, and what you will know. Write your heart out.

Dryad

Dryad Number 2 (Photo credit: Stephen the Photofan)

Dryad of the yellow birch

Turn away, winding dawn, before  our iced creek

Or the farthest finger of my feather-coated birch

Whose barked branches reach even in sleep to kiss

My rebel spirit cradled to her soul even as my weepings

Lace my feathered patches to her snow-sleeved arms.

We are young and so wished to dance with birch stars

On scarlet feathers, amber feathers, bound by amber stain

Where courtship circling of stars is that of birds in love

Above the dark stone ravine whose wind-washed faces

Never cease to blow along the flint-embroidered shore.

But now my tree soul mourns with me, wiser in the ways

Of birch and wings, wind and stars, and of wishes, too-

That feathered trees never fly and wind-born stars fade.

So a little longer, harbinger of sun, hide us from sight

That we can mourn a little more before we greet the light.

5 Ways to Create Fantastical Beasts and Peoples!: Role Playing Games

Gary Gygax (Photo credit: fd)

In Role Playing Games (RPGs), the player controls a character who lives in a fantasy world. The character acts out a role and usually follows a plot of some kind. Some of these games can be used according to the “Popular Culture” guidelines. What is really useful for writers is the degree to which some of these games let you customize your character. In extreme examples, you can create your character from scratch. I did some research of RPG board game monster guides and found that Pathfinders Role Playing Game provides templates for beasts and intelligent races. I do not have room to post those templates here and that would be plagerism anyway, so you'll just have to check them out at your local bookstore. I'll include their citations at the end of the blog. In this blog, you will see common elements that appeared in at least some of the four RPG monster guides that I checked out. You will see that RPGs incorporate elements from each of the earlier blogs, even though these creatures are designed for combat. One failing of intelligent races in RPGs is that they are almost all humanoid. I've noticed the same failing in books. For the sake of variety, you may want to break with this tradition.

• Nonhuman: what makes this race different from humans? (mentally, physically, mindset)
• Language: do they have their own language? Multiple languages (if so, why?)? A secret language unknown to outsiders or to only a small subgroup?
• Physical: What is their adult size (based on gender)? Their reach? How fast are they? How strong? How nimble?
• Mental: How intelligent are they? How clever? What is their typical mindset? How do they see the world and other people? What special skills do they have?
• Target Stats: (since RPG races and creatures are designed for combat) amount of damage the creature can take; armor class; attack power; attack moves; spell/spell-like abilities
• Concept: What is their role in the world? How do they fight (weapons and tactics)? Where do they live and why?; What physical adaptions to the environment?
• Culture: What is their history (creation myth, pivotal events)? Their relations with other races (competitors, enemies, foes)?

Role Playing Games may center around combat, but they can be thorough in their construction of fantastical beasts and people. As such, they make an excellent source for someone who wants to build a detailed race. Other topics touched on in some books included culture-building but I touched on that in more depth with “Cultural Anthropology”.

Pathfinders Role Playing Game Bestiary. Paizo Publishing: Redmond, WA. 2010.
Pathfinders Role Playing Game Advanced Races. Paizo Publishing: Redmond, WA. 2000.

5 Ways to Create Fantastical Beasts and Peoples!: Cultural Anthropology

TajMahal from Agra Uttar Pradesh, INDIA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cultural anthropology is just one of four branches of anthropology. Cultural anthropology only studies humans because in the real world, only humans appear to have “culture”. Every intelligent race you create will naturally have their own culture. I assume that the race you create 1) is intelligent and 2) interact sometimes (they have to reproduce somehow, right?). If these two elements are in place, the rest will follow...

• Religion: who is the god(s) of this race? Is the religion(s) organized? How are teachings passed down? Is there an afterlife? Are there religious laws, rules, or customs? Religious observances? Special people?
• History and Mythology: where did the race come from? Do they have their own country or countries? What are the significant racial events?
• Government: what type? How controlling is it? How do people feel about it? How long has it been in place? What type of government preceded it? What factions are there? How does it get the resources to run? Where does it get the power to govern?
• Social structures: What are the social classes and how do they look and act differently? What do the different social classes think about one another? How mobile is social class or caste? What jobs belong to which social class?
• Family: What are family dynamics (father to child, mother to mother-in-law)?, What is the structure (core, extended)? Is it traced from the father or mother's side? Do they form clans? What is required to become member (adoption, marriage, tests)? What is expected of different family roles (children, wife, husband, unmarried aunt)?
• Tradition: What does everyone believe or expect (from Outlanders, children, elderly, gods, etc)? What are customary clothing styles, salutations, activities, roles? How would someone break from tradition?
• Economy: How do people get things they can't make (barter, currency, communal, theft)? Who enforces trade standards? How do they trade with other races or countries? How does this differ from trade among themselves? What products are they known for?

As a brief reminder, just like humans your race may have multiple cultures and even cultures-within-cultures. I've listed some of the basics from cultural anthropology but you can find more if the idea excites you. The subjects that anthropology studies are human (or in our case, nonhuman) origins, development, and biology.

5 Ways to Create Fantastical Beasts and Peoples!: Biology

Crab spider Xysticus spec. in Dresden, Saxony, Germany (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Another way to create magical races is to take inspiration from nature. And not just animals! Where did Tolken get the Tree Ents, after all? Probably from different types of trees. A hidden benefit here is that most intelligent races are humanoid. If you are willing to stretch yourself, you can avoid this convention. Or you can bend to convention and have a humanoid tarantula or canary. Or merge the two animals for something incredible! Biology mainly studies non-sapient animals so the focus is on how the species and individual shape (and are shaped by) their surroundings. Some factors to consider for realistic magical creatures are...

• Structure: what it looks like; how it adapts to its surroundings; how males, females, and children differ and are similar; how it communicates
• Function: what role it plays in the environment (hunter, producer, herbivore, scavenger); species with similar roles, its predators
• Growth: time spent as a fetus, baby, child, adult, how likely it is to reach old age; the mental, emotional, and physical traits at each stage
• Evolution and Taxonomy: is your griffon a cat or a bird? What did your pheonix evolve from? What races are closely related to your dragon?
• Distribution: consider making your race into several sub-races or sub-species that vary by region. After all, as terrain changes, so do the plants, animals, and peoples.
• Energy consumption: meat, veggies, sunlight, magic, emotions, blood, life force, an element, something else? Consider a blend so the race has more basic needs/motivations that can bring them into conflict with other races.
• Requires from the environment: other than food, there are two tiers in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs that address biological factors and may or may not apply to your race: Physiological (breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis) and Safety (security of body, resources, family, health, territory).

Fantasy creatures brought to life!

Fantasy creatures brought to life!

Entry #540948

Thought today I would touch on another part of creating a Fantasy world for my fellow fantasy writers out there. One of the more fun, entertaining, and sometimes scary elements to a fantasy, mithilogical, or sci-fi world are fantastic creatures. These can be anything from a huge fire breathing Dragon, to a new and rare breed of horse, or little fairies that fly around the camp fire.          I have always found, that when reading a fantasy or sci-fi tale, that I like the creatures in it to be well defined, well reasoned, and believable on some level of thought. When you place a fantasy animal, or mythical being into a story, weather it is one that you have barrowed from folklore or mythology, or one you created yourself, you need to describe it so that your reader can see, hear it, and even smell it if appropriate. When using an 'existing' creture some of that detail can be implied to rather than directly stated, that is if you are using the 'standard' look for that type of creature. Take a Minotaur from Greek Mythology for instance. When we hear this term, our minds automatically conjour the image of man shaped form, with the head and legs of a bull, and perhaps with thick hair over the rest of its body as well, waiting deep in the center of a labyrinth. We probably see him as being large, strong, and agressive. If we are using this as 'our' type of Minotaur, then we know that the reader already has at least a basic idea of what we are talking about. But lets say we want to make our Minotaur's a race, that needs to be referenced in some way, either by another character, or perhaps by seeing more than one of them, perhaps parents with a young one. Also we may want this Minotaur to have different reactions and character than the one in Greek Mythology, therefore we have to make surewe tell the reader that in some way, either through dialogue, or perhaps through the creatures actions, say maybe our Minotaur gets obviously squimish when he sees blood, or perhaps he has spectacles balanced on his snout because he is scholarly.          Of course, something that I think is fun, is to create a new type of creature or animal, something that sparks the imagination and can give the reader the impression that this world is wide and complex, and not tied to completely to our everyday reality. With these types of creatures though, it's important to be descriptive about their appearance, their attitudes(again maybe just through their actions), their habits, perhaps even the feelings of others about them. Remember, when you create a whole new creature, or race, the reader has nothing to pull from to picture what you are talking about, therefore you are challenging yourself as a writer to place the picture that is in your head into theirs. So, before you start writing about that Skarlog, or Wererat, have a picture in your head of what they look like. Decide upon what kind of creature they are. Are they sentient? Are they animal-like? Do they speak to humans? Are people afraid of them, and do they have reason to be? Remember, this creature is the child of your imagination, and therefore you need to shape and mold them, give them flesh and blood so to speak, explore their personality, delve into their mind and see what 'makes them tick', both as individuals, and(if applicable) as a race.          So fantasy/sci-fi writers out there, what kind of creatures/monsters/etc, do you use in your stories? Until later, Happy Writing! RD Williams http://www.authorsden.com/robertdwilliams1

(to visit the source, click below)
writing.com

5 Ways to Create Fantastical Beasts and Peoples!: Popular Culture

See what others have to say and look for ways to make creatures unique. One way is to do an Image search on you favorite search engine. You will likely come up with pictures, clothes, costumes, figurines, toys, and even jewelry. You many also find references to movies, television shows, and literature.

• Books: Very popular now (and so difficult to publish new books) are werewolves and vampires, and to a lesser extent – dragons and zombies. On the other end of the spectrum, fantasy author Mercedes Lackey takes horses and cats and gives them magical abilities and histories while leaving their appearance mostly unchanged (she writes about griffons too). There are also poems (“Lamia” by Keats) and short stories, although this media has long been in decline.
• Comics and Manga: Don't be shy to browse your local bookstore. Strange creatures for the main characters to fight and befriend. And there are lots of pictures and dialogue.
• Movies and Television: Both kiddie cartoons and more adult fantasy shows (especially anime) are rife with strange creatures to be rescued or run away from or become allies.
• Games: fantasty games and RPGs are full of monsters to fight. And every game has to present the monsters a little differently. Sometimes a non-human is part of the fighting group. These characters are especially useful when they act differently from regular humans. They give ideas about the different roles your nonhuman characters could play – sometimes unexpected ones.
• Toys and Figurines: a strange but effective source for ideas are dog chew toys (see photo) and baby toys. That aside, any common fantasy creature will have toys and figurines modeled after them. Maybe you'll find one that fits your image or gives you inspiration. I found a figurine of dragons in flight that worked perfectly for a book I was writing. I keep it on my desk.

5 Ways to Create Fantastical Beasts and Peoples!: Mythology

English: Stone carvings at St Mary's church (16) Two more fantastical creatures, perhaps a dragon and a cat(?) standing on its back legs. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Myths are found in every culture from Ancient Greece to Pre-Columbian Cuba. Myths are stories of important events and people from the past. Most times these stories have fantastical elements that can be mined by the savvy writer. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) folklore tends either to be vague about non-humans. Most our knowledge of fantastical creatures comes from the pool of stories about those animals and races. This can be good since it allows more modern people to play. When you look to mythology for inspiration, look for

• The Uncommon: creatures and characters that are not typically seen in today's fantasy, paranormal, and poetic worlds; Examples: the Leshii and Meingu
• The Common: patterns that show up over and over again; Examples: magic, elemental creatures, predators of humans, tricksters
• The Very Common: universal themes and preoccupations that storytellers could not stop talking about; Examples: love, war, gods, revenge, quests

All can offer ideas for the behavior, appearance, and motives of your creations. Tomorrow we'll jump forward in time and look at finding inspiration from popular culture.

5 Ways to Create Fantastical Beasts and Peoples!: Introduction

Flickr Chinese Dragon Year Statue (Photo credit: epSos.de)

In the next six days, I share several ways to create “complete” non-human races. If you hope to create fantastical beasts and characters that have depth and complexity, then you need them to come from a race that has those same traits. If you write fantasy, science fiction, or paranormal, you will need believable creatures to inhabit your world(s). “Formula” seems to be a common complaint about planned writing so I am deliberately taking an opposite approach. We will look at...

• mythology: look for unusual ideas, common themes, and perpetual preoccupations
• popular culture: see what others have to say and look for ways to make creatures unique
• biology: considers how the group (and individual) shapes and is shaped by surroundings
• anthropology: the study cultures (and subcultures) rather than species
• Role Playing Games: emphasis on combat

10 Steps to Creating Realistic Fantasy Animals

By Ashley Lange

10 STEPS TO CREATING REALISTIC FANTASY ANIMALS

by Ashley Lange

Why do writers write? Because it isn't there.

- Thomas Berger

Arguably, the two most challenging aspects for fantasy/science fiction writers to conquer are originality and believability. In this article, I'll use the study of Ecology and animals (don't worry; it won't be a science lecture! You can actually use this stuff! I promise!) to help your fantasy creatures to be believable, original, and about the common mistakes of making up creatures and matching them to places.

Okay, so why use animals?

The attraction to fantasy animals is obvious. Whether it is the magnificent griffon, the fierce dragon, or the magical unicorn, the “endless” possibilities of imagination can combine to create a lovely masterpiece of a story. Few excellent fantasy stories just feature humans, and their interactions with creatures can vary from the main conflict point of stories to just an aside to make the reader wonder. If you want to harvest this unlimited field, you have two choices: choose mythical animals or make up your own. Of course, every mythical creature has its stereotypes and it can be near impossible to avoid these situations. Read on, and hopefully you'll be able to creature realistic fictional animals as well!

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from Elfwood

Working with an Absent Antagonist

Day Thirty-eight: Skulking (Photo credit: mbshane)

The book opens when the protagonist finds recent signs of the monster she has been hunting. The creature is nearby but does not actually appear until the next scene. Who is her main opponent? The creature. Where is it? Not here.

Scenes of pursuit and flight are perhaps the most common examples of absent antagonists. And thrillers are not the only books where the antagonist is not present. Maybe the protagonist is his/her own antagonist. How does the writer keep the reader involved when a direct confrontation just is not possible? Here are some techniques:

• Develop the sense of danger. She knows it is out there but not exactly where so it could appear at any time. Show destruction previously caused by the antagonist and hint at what it could do to the protagonist.
• Develop the sense of uncertainty. Not only could it appear at any time and from any direction, she's never actually seen the creature. Let her imagination run wild.
• Make the mood forbidding. Plants rustle without a wind. Sour smell from the burned out den. Lack of magic where there should be lots. No wildlife moving. Add what could be a bad omen. Skin prickles. Imagine that ghosts or some part of the setting is trying to warn her of danger.
• State fears/ worries/ uncertainties from the protagonist's POV. If she is unsure of her success, the reader will worry too.
• Set a time limit. The protagonist has to find the creature now before there are more victims and before someone else gets involved.
• Have someone warn her of the danger. Have someone warn her of the worst case outcome – the one that happens or one that is similar to what happens.

Magic Use

Magic-using races can only use the magic aligned with their god(s). The gods are either Ordered, Chaotic, or Wild. Humans are unique in that they generate both Ordered and Destructive magic but can only use Ordered magic unless they have been Tainted. Then they can use Destructive magic. I'm not sure yet if a Tainted mage can use both types but a Tainted Dragonkin can definitely manipulate both so... maybe.
Spells consume magic and personal energy. A spell is necessary to access the magic of the world in order to affect that world in some way – the same way chips in a circuit board are needed to harness electricity for complex tasks.