Writing the Ideal...Magic-User

[psychotick]

Hi,

Just to add to the choice of fave magic users, I'd add one more (type) that probably everyone won't agree with. But I've always thought Jedi Knights were magic users. You'd have to go a long way to find a better role model for a boy wizard than Luke. Yoda is brilliant as a mystic. And Obiwan(?) the perfect master wizard.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[skip.knox]

I agree on Obi-wan. One thing I note with both him and Gandalf is a small infusion of humor in the character. I think it may be important to humanize a powerful wizard, at least a little bit.

 

[Sheilawisz]

You have asked us three excellent questions, Phil =)

1- How would you write your ideal magic-user character? My magical characters are always very powerful, and this is because I am in love with the concept of Magic as a truly supernatural and awe-inspiring force. In my mind, if you are magical then it means that you are above the laws of nature and you represent a terrible power.

I am against the ideas of Magic as a nearly scientific force full of rules and limitations, which is common in so many Fantasy works... however, you can find some limits in my Magic and some things that my Mages cannot do.

My mages almost always consider themselves as rightfully superior to common people, but they still have feelings and problems. They are not deities, despite their high levels of power and all the terrible things that they can do.

2- What writer/writers do you think have done the magic-user character well? Tolkien did a wonderful job with the character of Gandalf, and J.K. Rowling did so as well with Albus Dumbledore... I love them both =)

3- Would you make a magic-user character a main character in your story/novel? Why or why not? Yes, absolutely! I love Magic so much that my stories are always about Magical characters. The story is always about Mages, their challenges and their lives, and I relegate the common people and their affairs to a background setting.

 

[Firekeeper]

1. I do like the idea of the physically weak sorcerer. In my worlds, magic is a lifelong pursuit, no one ever truly "masters" it because there is always more to learn. It takes a lifetime of dedicated study just to acquire rudimentary abilities. On top of that, magic users are rare because magic has been outlawed, so those who practice either have to live as hermits outside of society or have to have a "day job" within society. Because of all of these factors, I don't really see how a mage in my world could have time to develop an imposing physique. Unless, his day job is blacksmithing. Hmm, now that might be a good idea (makes a mental note)

Anyway, long answer made short: my mages tend to be physically weak, full of secrets and constantly striving to learn more. Their attitudes vary, from those who believe they are better than non-magical people to those who have dedicated themselves to healing and other "good" uses for magic.

2. I love Gandalf. Jane Lindskold did a good job as well. Obviously JK Rowling did extremely well. But my favorite so far has to be Patrick Rothfuss, I love how his magic/sympathy works.

3> Absolutely. When it comes to magic, while I want to be unique in my work I'm not going to try to blaze a new trail and leave behind magic or downplay it. I love it, and I love the cliches. So while my mages aren't going to be tossing fireballs at every problem they face, there will always be magic in my work and as such mages will like emerge as MCs every now and then.

 

[PaulineMRoss]

My absolute favourite magic users are in Glenda Larke's Stormlords Trilogy. The only magical power is the ability to detect and manipulate water. The weakest users can only detect the presence of water. The strongest can lift water from the oceans into clouds and shift them to where rainfall is needed. It sounds a fairly trivial type of magic, but the author came up with an astonishing number of inventive ways to use it. For instance, you can hide under water by moving the water aside to create an air pocket with a little air tube to the surface. You can create waterspouts. You can make it rain on your enemy. You can kill people by sucking the water out of them. You can float objects over walls. Etc. I look at clouds, sometimes, and think, if only...

They're great books in other ways, too. Highly recommended.

 

[Jess A]

My absolute favourite magic users are in Glenda Larke's Stormlords Trilogy.

They're great books in other ways, too. Highly recommended.

Glenda Larke is fantastic.

 

[SeverinR]

Physically weak magic-users: a variation on the "geniuses are ugly and scrawny because life is fair" myth. Even when used in the name of "game balance," it's a silly notion, and it definitely doesn't make sense in novels. I'd like to see more fantasy stories where magic requires the user to be physically fit because working magic is strenuous and an out-of-shape mage is likely to die in the middle of a spell.

(Good example of a magic-using character who is also good with mundane combat, etc., and for good reason: Sun Wolf, from Barbara Hambly's novel The Dark Hand of Magic .)

I could see some amgic being very exhausting, requiring a physically fit body to cast regularly, or that is built by using the magic regularly. But some magic should be rather less physical. Or maybe learned one way it requires physical strength, but learned another it requires a energy drain of some other type?

I did write about a Necromancer, the weird woman that messes with dead people, and talks to herself, no one speaks to because she can get dead bodies to work for her, and call on life energy magic(positive and negitive). But she isn't evil, she actually blesses all the townspeople's dead so they can't be called up to fight for an evil necromancer. (Actually, unbeknownst to the towns people, she can call them up if she needed them. Which she only calls up the dead of the unrecognizable(rotted or a dead drifter no one knew) so the townspeople won't get upset seeing a dearly departed going for a walk down mainstreet or a backalley. (And she actually talks to ghosts)

 

[Saigonnus]

1. I do like the idea of the physically weak sorcerer. In my worlds, magic is a lifelong pursuit, no one ever truly "masters" it because there is always more to learn. It takes a lifetime of dedicated study just to acquire rudimentary abilities. On top of that, magic users are rare because magic has been outlawed, so those who practice either have to live as hermits outside of society or have to have a "day job" within society. Because of all of these factors, I don't really see how a mage in my world could have time to develop an imposing physique. Unless, his day job is blacksmithing. Hmm, now that might be a good idea (makes a mental note)

Even living on the fringes of society, you'd need to provide for yourself; which likely means hunting, trapping, raising livestock, gardening and maybe even repairing your own home (hanging shingles, building fences, etc) most of those would probably make a person at least physically fit if not strong.

 

[Lovecraftian]

Without preamble:

1. You're quite along the same lines of logic I use, in that the character has to be unique as possible. If it isn't his power that is unique, then he must have character traits that are unique. People don't want to read the same Wizard/Witch/Warlock/Whatever they did in the previous fantasy book, and speaking for myself, I really don't want to write anything generic or borrowed either.

2.

I've always been interested in the idea of magicians that only have one spell. For some reason I find that fascinating.

A writer by the name of Terry Pratchett (you probably know him) wrote of a Wizard named Rincewind who only knew one spell. It's too complicated and spoiler-prone to write a full synopsis of his character, so my only suggestion is to read it. I think Pratchett's Discworld series is a great example of magic and magic-users.

3. A great deal of fantasy stories have magic-users as main characters, and I personally have and will continue to include all manner of magical creature/people in my writings as main characters. Particularly for fantasy, it just widens your horizons in terms of scope and potential. You can do a great deal more with a character who has a spell or two up his sleeve, in my opinion.

 

[Ivan Sailor]

1. I am very fond of the idea that power is corrupting. In the most realistic scenario, the mage would probably not be the good guy. At best he would be an antihero. Also, nobility. If they are not considered completely evil and hunted down for it, mages would probably be the nobility. Already having a lot of actual, concrete power and probably more education than the military side of the feudal system (depending on the world) , any detrmined mage could quickly harness enough political power to effectively become the established nobility. Of course, that depends a lot on the setting. So I'd probably give my magic user some measure of corruption which makes for great internal struggle.

2. Brent Weeks' Durzo Blint from The Way of Shadows and Gavin Guile from The Dark Prism are both great magic users. The only problem is their strong similarities despite the fact that these are two different series. Also, all the mage characters from the book Dragon Age: Asunder. They are just awesomely made, all of them. Oddly enough, the magic users seem more like real world people than the rest.

3. The first version (of many) of my current WIP had a mage as main character but I found a lot of issues with that. The first of which being the act that it was hard to relate to him due to the fact of ... evilness. He was also too overpowered. like most of the mages in that story. But I had fun fleshing him out even though he's a minor antagonist now.

 

[CupofJoe]

1- How would you write your ideal magic-user character?
I'm trying to get right a teenage girl who is just coming to realise how strong her magic is. I'm trying to make it feel more like she is a child prodigy, she has the talent but not the skills [think untrained tennis player – she can hit hard and move fast but has no game skills...]. In the story the people controlling her want her to be just one thing but she's going to discover that she can do much more.
I like magic users to learn and grow, to become more powerful. I also want the magic to be [somewhat] unreliable and have distinct limitations. If the magic is all powerful, then the story could be very boring or really short.

2- What writer/writers do you think have done the magic-user character well?
Terry Pratchett. His Wizards are very well crafted and he seems to understand academia too. Their magical ability is almost incidental to their involvement in his tales.
I liked the limitations that David&Leigh Eddings put on their magicians. It meant that world shaking power was possible but it had a terrible price. I especially loved when one of the baddies killing himself by wanting something else gone...

3- Would you make a magic-user character a main character in your story/novel? Why or why not?
Probably not the main character or if they are, they are not there for their magical ability. Magic can just be the deus ex machina that you use to get your character out of a sticky situation because you can't think of a way to write them out of it.

All this said and as you might have guessed I tend not to have a lot of magic in my stories.

 

[Trick]

1- How would you write your ideal magic-user character?

Just that, as a CHARACTER. If they are sentient then they are not just a weapon or a tool. I want the magical characters to be as, if not more, fleshed out than their non-magical counterparts. I like the idea that magic changes a person and I want to see that in their dialogue and interaction. I am always striving to make my magic-users more than enigmatic mentors or self-aiming catapults and I hope that I succeed.

2- What writer/writers do you think have done the magic-user character well?

Brandon Sanderson has an amazing way of producing magic users that are unique and fantastic without going so far off the mark that I lose interest. The Stormlight Archive is awesome and the assassin in white character is half of the reason I will keep reading them as they come out; I want to know more about him! If Sanderson's goal was to reinvent magic with every new series, in my mind, he has accomplished it. Just look at Mistborn, so well written and magic like no other I've ever read. I like to know the rules of magic in a given book, even if they can be broken, and I lose interest in mage characters whose powers are never even partially defined.

3- Would you make a magic-user character a main character in your story/novel? Why or why not?

Absolutely and I almost always do. I have read fantasy novels without magical main characters but I'm not a fan. IMHO, a magical character is very important to a fantasy story, good or bad, weak or strong. The kind of magic is half of what draws me into books.

I have so many ideas for magic users in my different WIPs that it's hard to pick an all out favorite but I have two that I'm a big fan of right now. One is a young thief who randomly learns of his people's ancient heritage and qains the attributes of totem animals through magical tattoos. Imagine being able to call up the strength of an elephant or the speed of a cheetah! Obviously, since the animals are limited so is his magic but the idea of attribute magic has also led me on to various other forms for other characters also.

My second is an astromancer type (different project) who can manipulate time and space by LYING to the stars. Basically he can tell the stars that he is in one place and because they believe him, he is there. The same goes for time, though with less flexibility; it's more of a slowing down/jumping back a few seconds situation. His limitations are created by any lacking knowledge of the stars and the amount of practice and study it takes to become an accomplished astromancer.

 

[Mizore]

1. How would you write your ideal magic-user character?

My ideal magic-user character is someone who lives in a world where magic is what is used when the technology is not enough. Not a typical magician, because they are psychic where psi is the basis of reality and they have decided or are destined to protect the living beings from the threats of the dark side of the life, where these threats can be called demons. Magicians would the mortal level of what some religions call angels.

The psychics go through several stages, from being a little faster and stronger, manipulating space and time to become incorporeal beings who can travel effortlessly through the different levels of reality, always careful not to become a monster like those with the fighting.

 

[thedarknessrising]

1. How would you write your ideal magic-user character?

Magic is sort of like the Force in my novel. It's everywhere, but only a few are attuned to use it. And while there are those who would use it for good and noble purposes, there are also those who are evil and use it to hurt others. Magic also has a limitless amount of capabilities, provided the magic user is strong enough to use them.

2. What writer/writers do you think have done the magic-user character well?

Well, George Lucas for one. And JK Rowling with the Harry Potter series.

3. Would you make a magic-user character a main character in your story/novel? Why or why not?

Yep. I am using one in my current WIP. They're fun to write, because there are endless possibilities with them.

 

[Saigonnus]

An ideal mage is one that has/gets the tools/powers necessary to overcome/assist in the mission at hand.

I liked Harry Potter, Khelben Blackstaff from Forgotten Realms

My principal WIP is centered around a man who is given power from the goddess and has to learn how to use it at the same time he has to try and overcome the baddies.


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[Miskatonic]

One rule that I'm trying to stick to is that magic takes it's toll on the user, the less experienced the more it drains them. Thus strategic use of magic is necessary. Also if a really powerful spell must be cast it would take multiple magic users to pull it off, and even then it may prove fatal to one or all of them.

This is more of a restriction for humans, where as supernatural creatures with a high level of intelligence may be able to use magic more often.

 

[MineOwnKing]

I think the idea of fate or karma, shown as a possible tool or even as a reasoning entity is as interesting as a typical magic user can be.

Perhaps magic use could be included to perform civil duties, such as in cases of law and order where the laws are not detailed enough to repair intangible injuries to self or reputation.

Like in a case of false accusation and or irreparable and unwarranted defamation of character leading to deep emotional wounds.

Instead of those false accusers going about their lives as if nothing happened, karma could help to show them the error of their ways.

 

[Miskatonic]

I think the idea of fate or karma, shown as a possible tool or even as a reasoning entity is as interesting as a typical magic user can be.

Perhaps magic use could be included to perform civil duties, such as in cases of law and order where the laws are not detailed enough to repair intangible injuries to self or reputation.

Like in a case of false accusation and or irreparable and unwarranted defamation of character leading to deep emotional wounds.

Instead of those false accusers going about their lives as if nothing happened, karma could help to show them the error of their ways.

I definitely think the use of magic should have some ethical or moral implications. It's a force that can bring destruction or restoration, not something that should be wielded with impunity. Having a magic user that just wipes whatever he/she wants off the face of the earth, whenever he/she wants, sounds extremely boring.

 

[Russ]

Having a magic user that just wipes whatever he/she wants off the face of the earth, whenever he/she wants, sounds extremely boring.

Unless it is the antagonist...

 

[Miskatonic]

Unless it is the antagonist...

Even then it can still be more of a nuisance.

George Martin pointed out something that rang true. Basically he said if you have a wizard that can cast a spell and wipe out a 10,000 man army, there would be no 10,000 man army. This is because no sane person would join an army to take on that wizard to begin with.

Someone that powerful doesn't have to worry about any kind of threat.