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Author Craft / Re: Are Readers Growing Tired of New Urban Fantasy?
« on: April 26, 2012, 05:01:54 PM »
Brandon Sanderson defines Soft magic as magic that is just there, with no major explinations about it. He says in a blog post of his:
He also says:
OTOH, Hard magic he describes as this:
It's clear to me that my urban fantasy novel(s) are hard magic....
Craig
Quote
On one side of the continuum, we have books where the magic is included in order to establish a sense of wonder and give the setting a fantastical feel. Books that focus on this use of magic tend to want to indicate that men are a small, small part of the eternal and mystical workings of the universe. This gives the reader a sense of tension as they're never certain what dangersor wondersthe characters will encounter. Indeed, the characters themselves never truly know what can happen and what can't.
He also says:
Quote
The really good writers of soft magic systems very, very rarely use their magic to solve problems in their books.
OTOH, Hard magic he describes as this:
Quote
This is the side where the authors explicitly describes the rules of magic. This is done so that the reader can have the fun of feeling like they themselves are part of the magic, and so that the author can show clever twists and turns in the way the magic works. The magic itself is a character, and by showing off its laws and rules, the author is able to provide twists, worldbuilding, and characterization.
If the reader understands how the magic works, then you can use the magic (or, rather, the characters using the magic) to solve problems. In this case, it's not the magic mystically making everything better. Instead, it's the characters' wit and experience that solves the problems. Magic becomes another tooland, like any other tool, its careful application can enhance the character and the plot.
It's clear to me that my urban fantasy novel(s) are hard magic....
Craig
