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Write Magic Systems Your Readers Won't Forget
Magic is the grammar you build into your fantasy world; spells are the vocabulary. Discover varied possibilities for the design of a magic system for your fictional world—and discover how different magic systems can reveal unexpected opportunities for your story.
“Magic always comes at a cost, dearie,” Rumpelstiltskin glories in telling the heroines of Once Upon a Time . Like other lectures and handbooks that have addressed the topic of magic systems, Write Magic Systems Your Readers Won't Forget will help you design the costs and constraints that render magic plausible in your imagined world—but we won’t stop there. This book will also help you explore possible cultural functions of magic, define the mechanics of how your magic system works, consider the ethical implications of your magic system, and reveal how your choices in creating a magic system can open up exciting opportunities for character development, conflict, plot, and thematic intensity in your novel, script, or game. Diverse examples of how magic has worked in fictions from different cultural traditions plus 30 unique storycrafting exercises will ignite your creativity and empower you to tackle this particular worldbuilding assignment with both playfulness and intentionality. Unlock the magic in your story!
Reviews for Stant Litore's Previous Toolkits for Fiction Writers
“Not only is the advice great, but there's a warmth to the chapters that makes writing inviting rather than intimidating.” – Todd Mitchell, author of The Traitor King and The Last Panther
"There are other worldbuilding books out there; this is the one you want." - Travis Heerman, author of the Ronin trilogy
“A master Litore has created an accessible, comprehensive approach.” – S.G. Redling, author of Flowertown and Damocles
“This is a clear, comprehensive, and beautifully written guide that will not only help emerging writers to find their voices and build imaginative worlds and characters, but one that will also prove invaluable to experienced writers seeking to spark their creative impulses or deepen the worlds they create.” – Angela Mitchell, author of Falada and Dancing Days
"Learning to write fiction that moves readers is a lifelong pursuit, but successful writers often struggle with showing others how they do it. For that, you need a good teacher. Stant Litore is an extraordinary teacher, and in Write Stories Your Readers Won't Forget he shares what he knows in clear, practical and profound chapters. Packed with insight, examples, and exercises, Stant's book will cut years off your learning curve." - James Van Pelt, author of Pandora's Gun
“Magic always comes at a cost, dearie,” Rumpelstiltskin glories in telling the heroines of Once Upon a Time . Like other lectures and handbooks that have addressed the topic of magic systems, Write Magic Systems Your Readers Won't Forget will help you design the costs and constraints that render magic plausible in your imagined world—but we won’t stop there. This book will also help you explore possible cultural functions of magic, define the mechanics of how your magic system works, consider the ethical implications of your magic system, and reveal how your choices in creating a magic system can open up exciting opportunities for character development, conflict, plot, and thematic intensity in your novel, script, or game. Diverse examples of how magic has worked in fictions from different cultural traditions plus 30 unique storycrafting exercises will ignite your creativity and empower you to tackle this particular worldbuilding assignment with both playfulness and intentionality. Unlock the magic in your story!
Reviews for Stant Litore's Previous Toolkits for Fiction Writers
“Not only is the advice great, but there's a warmth to the chapters that makes writing inviting rather than intimidating.” – Todd Mitchell, author of The Traitor King and The Last Panther
"There are other worldbuilding books out there; this is the one you want." - Travis Heerman, author of the Ronin trilogy
“A master Litore has created an accessible, comprehensive approach.” – S.G. Redling, author of Flowertown and Damocles
“This is a clear, comprehensive, and beautifully written guide that will not only help emerging writers to find their voices and build imaginative worlds and characters, but one that will also prove invaluable to experienced writers seeking to spark their creative impulses or deepen the worlds they create.” – Angela Mitchell, author of Falada and Dancing Days
"Learning to write fiction that moves readers is a lifelong pursuit, but successful writers often struggle with showing others how they do it. For that, you need a good teacher. Stant Litore is an extraordinary teacher, and in Write Stories Your Readers Won't Forget he shares what he knows in clear, practical and profound chapters. Packed with insight, examples, and exercises, Stant's book will cut years off your learning curve." - James Van Pelt, author of Pandora's Gun
139 pages, Paperback
Published December 16, 2022
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About the author
Stant Litore
49 books216 followersStant Litore is the author of Ansible, The Running of the Tyrannosaurs, The Zombie Bible, and Dante’s Heart. Besides science fiction and fantasy, he has written the writers’ toolkits Write Worlds Your Readers Won’t Forget and Write Characters Your Readers Won’t Forget, as well as Lives of Unstoppable Hope and Lives of Unforgetting, and has been featured in Jeff Vandermeer’s Wonderbook: An Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction. He has served as a developmental editor for Westmarch Publishing and holds a Ph.D. in English. He lives in Aurora, Colorado with his wife and three children and is currently at work on his next novel.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 31, 2022
This is a rather different review than my usual. The book in question isn’t a work of fiction, it’s a coaching toolkit for would-be authors who want to write fiction.
I first came across Stant Litore when I read his book on Scriptural exegesis, "Lives of Unforgetting." It was a pleasant surprise to discover that he was also a genre author, and that he has written a lengthy series of “toolkits” for writers. Many of these have titles of the form “Write [X] Your Readers Won’t Forget,” and for the most recent book in the series, the “X” is magic systems.
I’ll confess that when I write fantasy fiction, the notion of developing a “magic system” mildly repels me. I think of magic as wonder-working and miracle, not the kind of formal, rule-based endeavor that ought to be governed by a “system.” To my delight, this book addressed exactly that tension on the very first page, which was enough to pull me into the rest of the text.
The book is organized in a very workmanlike manner. Each section addresses a single question that the writer needs to think about when developing a magic-infused world. What is magic like, how do people in the world experience it? How do magicians experience it, and how is that different from everyone else’s understanding? How do magicians fit into the community, if they do at all? What are the personal and other costs of magic? And so on.
In each section, Stant Litore discusses the issue at hand, explaining why it’s crucial to the author’s vision for their fantasy world. He provides plenty of options and examples, quoting from well-known works of fantasy fiction. Then the section is closed out by one or more writing exercises, encouraging the reader to work through the details for their own fantasy setting. The book closes with a sample worksheet, collecting in one place all the considerations discussed throughout.
I don’t normally find books of this kind to be all that useful, but I suspect "Write Magic Systems Your Readers Won’t Forget" is going to be an exception. I’m considering formally working through it to help flesh out the two fantasy settings in which I work. If I have any quarrel with the book in its current state, it might be that it’s too short. Just on first reading, I can see several ways to expand on what Stant Litore has done here.
Still, I suspect anyone interested in developing a fantasy setting, whether for gaming or literary purposes, will find this a useful resource. And if the quality of this book is any indication, I would seriously consider checking out the rest of the Litore Toolkits for Fiction Writers. Very highly recommended.
I first came across Stant Litore when I read his book on Scriptural exegesis, "Lives of Unforgetting." It was a pleasant surprise to discover that he was also a genre author, and that he has written a lengthy series of “toolkits” for writers. Many of these have titles of the form “Write [X] Your Readers Won’t Forget,” and for the most recent book in the series, the “X” is magic systems.
I’ll confess that when I write fantasy fiction, the notion of developing a “magic system” mildly repels me. I think of magic as wonder-working and miracle, not the kind of formal, rule-based endeavor that ought to be governed by a “system.” To my delight, this book addressed exactly that tension on the very first page, which was enough to pull me into the rest of the text.
The book is organized in a very workmanlike manner. Each section addresses a single question that the writer needs to think about when developing a magic-infused world. What is magic like, how do people in the world experience it? How do magicians experience it, and how is that different from everyone else’s understanding? How do magicians fit into the community, if they do at all? What are the personal and other costs of magic? And so on.
In each section, Stant Litore discusses the issue at hand, explaining why it’s crucial to the author’s vision for their fantasy world. He provides plenty of options and examples, quoting from well-known works of fantasy fiction. Then the section is closed out by one or more writing exercises, encouraging the reader to work through the details for their own fantasy setting. The book closes with a sample worksheet, collecting in one place all the considerations discussed throughout.
I don’t normally find books of this kind to be all that useful, but I suspect "Write Magic Systems Your Readers Won’t Forget" is going to be an exception. I’m considering formally working through it to help flesh out the two fantasy settings in which I work. If I have any quarrel with the book in its current state, it might be that it’s too short. Just on first reading, I can see several ways to expand on what Stant Litore has done here.
Still, I suspect anyone interested in developing a fantasy setting, whether for gaming or literary purposes, will find this a useful resource. And if the quality of this book is any indication, I would seriously consider checking out the rest of the Litore Toolkits for Fiction Writers. Very highly recommended.
Displaying 1 of 1 review