On Magic

    I was having trouble thinking up something to talk about for this blog but I still felt like writing.  I wanted to type and I wanted to create.  There really wasn't anything coming to my head though so I decided to go back to some old topics I've considered writing on.  Now, I'm no expert by any stretch of the word on writing.  Despite that, I'd like to talk about magic systems in writing.  Most specifically "soft" and "hard" magic systems.  A lot of this information and these opinions are from a small work Brandon Sanderson did called "Sanderson's First Law" and I may touch on some topics he wrote in his second law as well.  Here's a link if you'd rather read about the laws: http://brandonsanderson.com/article/40/Sandersons-First-Law.

    So magic is incredibly interesting.  In many novels it is the driving force behind all the politics, adventure, mysteries, etc.  Magic often helps if not outright carries the plot.  This isn't a bad thing necessarily!  In the Harry Potter Books, magic is so central to everything in the wizarding world and all the story can be linked to magical events or magic itself.  Harry Potter is also fantastic so this clearly isn't bad.  Magic is a wondrous force of some kind that helps define the fantasy genre though isn't required for it.

    Let's look at what I mentioned briefly: soft and hard magic.  Nothing about magic is defined in reality and fantasy can throw out the rules it wants to anyway so long as there's a good enough explanation.  However, some magic has very little explanation and this is called soft magic.  A lot of Sanderson's first law deals with how much characters can rely on the magic for your plot to be successful.  The less well explained the magic is the less it can be relied on or it will feel too much like deus ex machina.  That doesn't mean soft magic systems have no place in books mind you!  Just that the heroes can't solve all their problems with it.  For example, in Lord of the Rings there isn't much explanation of what Wizards are or how they do their magic nor the elvish magic.  Despite this there is well used magic throughout that doesn't hurt the story.

    An example of hard magic that comes to mind is in one of Sanderson's books, Mistborn.  Other than that I'm having trouble thinking of any good examples...  In Mistborn, the magic system is called Allomancy and the rules are defined very sharply.  They are also pretty simple for the most part and it's in tandem with everything else that makes it exciting.  There are also a few unexplained (to start) exceptions to the rules that keep a good amount of mystery.

    Most magic systems are much more in between than these examples and lean one way or another.  Harry Potter has a pretty soft magic system.  Some things are explained but for the most part you can do whatever you'd like with magic. However, the characters cannot due to skill or experience so they still have to rely on using other things to solve their problems quite often.  An example of a mostly hard magic system is the alchemy in Fullmetal Alchemist.  You could actually make an argument that this system of magic is entirely a hard system but it's tough to draw any lines with these.  In Fullmetal Alchemist you are able to transmute a set of materials to their equivalent in a different form.  If you want to make wood you need the proper elements to do so: to my knowledge that's entirely hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen.  So if you take something with carbon such as coal (which also has hydrogen and oxygen by the way) with the right amount of water you could create a tree.  Which means you could also create paper or a clock's body (you'd probably need metal for the gears).  However, it takes a lot of study as well to not only know how things are composed and work but how to concentrate just right with the magic symbol thing (transmutation circle).  They don't ever really explain why those are necessary (I don't think) nor why the main character doesn't need one.  So there are soft elements to the system, it isn't utterly explained.  Also, as a side note, what energy does it use to fuel the change?  Is it something inside the alchemist?  And what makes the glow?!

    I have to say, I enjoy hard magic more than soft magic as the constraints make for the most interesting methods and situations.  For example, should you not have as much mass as the person you are "pushing' in Mistborn you will go flying backward, not them, but if there is something with more mass like a building or the ground on the opposite side then the other person will go flying.  This allows for not only interesting battles but also clever tricks like using coins on the ground to "jump" around the city.  The possibilities for situations are incredible as well as difficulties for the characters in other ways.  In essence, I like what the constraints add to the story and the feel of the magic over the wonder and potential power given by most softer systems.  Hard magic makes me think and it makes my mind fly through possibilities then the author surprises me with their use anyway.  It's clever and exciting!

    One last thing I want to mention is the main aspect of Sanderson's Second Law: "Limitations > Powers".  In essence, it is the limitations of magic that often make them interesting.  Using Mistborn as an example again, the allomancer needs to have the metal (we'll go with steel for this one) ingested.  Steel allows you to use your weight to push on metal with your own mass (as well as mass that affects you like a wall).  However, you cannot push on metal inside someone else.  You only have your own mass to work with and you have to face the consequences of pushing something greater than you.  You only have a certain amount and the harder you "burn" it the faster it runs out.  In addition, extended use can have serious consequences on the body (shown with other metals more often).  You cannot surpass the limitations here and that adds so much that you can barely even think of to the action and the story.  This also means, the stronger something is the more its limitations have to be.  For example, Atium is the strongest metal to burn but burns out the fastest making it more of a trump card than a way to win every fight.

    I'd say read the laws for yourself as they are interesting and think about the magic of books you like.  Do you tend to prefer soft magic systems or hard magic systems?

Tangents Sprung from Fluffy Hair

    So I haven't made a post in forever but that's a mix of business, laziness, and just not having any thoughts I really felt like sharing.  Tonight however, I'm feeling much more bored with my usual activities and no one is available to hang out. This is in spite of my hair being awesome and fluffy today.  All I really wanted for the day was to share my the fluffiness of my hair and my good mood.  Sadly things don't always turn out how we'd like them to.

    I'm going to run off on my first tangent of this post.  I really like fall!  It's my favorite season of all of them and I doubt it will ever change.  I hate the heat of summer and fall brings the brisk and chilly air that is perfect for wearing hoodies and jeans.  It's perfect for cuddling up with that someone special and just enjoying being close to someone.  To me, fall is the mot beautiful season both literally and figuratively.  Don't worry, I'll explain.  Fall is the season of death.  Things are coming to and end in both the year and the cycle of nature.  Winter is the period of rest and being dead while fall, to me, is the transition.  Despite this, everything makes an effort to be vibrant and as beautiful as it can.  It's a final farewell.  It seems like nature is shouting that if it's going to die (albeit only for a while) it's going to live as hard as it can before it's over.  I think I'd like that in my life.  I know it's not a new idea of course.  Knowing the phases, realizing their meaning and actually living that way while maintaining responsibility though?  That isn't the easiest of things to do.  Still.  Fall is beautiful and it makes me feel alive.

Simply Gorgeous

    I may also feel alive due to this next tangent though!  I have been dieting these last few weeks.  Five is more accurate.  It's been exactly 36 days according to the thing I've been using.  I just recorded my weight today and I'm making pretty good progress!  I've lost 13.6 pounds so far.  It may not always seem like a ton to me.  I don't look that different to me nor is it incredibly large compared to how much I want to be.  Still, it's working remarkably well.  All I've been doing is counting calories basically.  My parents both did this before I started and so I want to as well.  My limit for a day is technically 1690 calories.  I feel disappointed if I get past 1600 though.  Ironically, some days I eat really light and I have to eat extra so that I get to at least 1200.  Apparently it's not healthy to have less and your body thinks it needs to store more fat?  I don't know.  What's remarkable about this is that I don't actually Do much.  I have my college online, I play video games and watch shows/movies, and I read.  I don't do a whole lot of exercise but I'm still losing over two pounds a week on average.  It can be tough though.  It isn't at home very much but when I go out to eat it's so difficult!  I usually only eat half of my meal and it's over alf the calories I'll eat for the day.  Also, salads can be bloody deceptive!  Many restaurants have salads as meals.  These often sound pretty good.  Yeah... I had a crispy chicken salad on an earlier week.  It was around 1500 calories alone >_<!  whatever they put in those (chicken, sigh...) is calorie-filled.  It isn't always bad though.  I had a salad somewhere else and used only half the dressing they gave me on the side.  That was a pretty low calorie option and incredibly tasty!

    Tangent number three is about books.  In fact, it is about four books that have become an infamous sensation.  That's right, this tangent is all about the Twilight series.  Now, as you may know, I am a male.  You may also know, I like to play video games.  I read fantasy books that are deemed quite well written.  I really love the Twilight books.  I typed that sentence quite hard, just so you know.  I don't care if you think it's pathetic of me, I'll always hold them pretty close in my heart.  Now, that doesn't mean I read them all the time though I have read them all at least twice.  They're something comfortable, something safe.  When something happens or I feel incredibly down about something, it's not uncommon for me to pick up and try and lose myself in it.  Kingdom Hearts is a similar thing for me actually but that's not for this tangent.  Now, I know it isn't the best writing in the world.  I also know that Bella isn't the best of protagonists.  I also know how horrible and blasphemous it is to have vampires sparkle.  Though you know what?  The other aspects of the vampires I have no problem with.  Had it just been a species of predator that had evolved to look human and found human flesh the most satisfying no one would mind Meyer's vampires.  My point of all this is that I'm so sick of everyone hating it.  Clearly not everyone hates Twilight as it sold incredibly well!  Something about it is enticing right?  It may not be to you, but I enjoy it and I really hate all the crap it gets.  I can respect your opinions, yeah.  It's fine if you've read it and didn't like it.  How could I blame you for that? A lot of people who vocally bash it haven't though!  These are people who comment on how it's badly written too!  It makes me really annoyed when I shouldn't let it but it gets to me every time.  I'm fine if you know it's not your style of book and you know that it wouldn't interest you so you don't read it. I also know it won't stop being ridiculed any time soon either; people like easy sport after all.

    Tangent four is related to tangent three actually.  It's about Brandon Sanderson, one of my favorite authors.  Sanderson writes more than I can fathom.  His first work, Elantris, was published in 2005.  Okay, not too long yeah?  He has six short stories/novellas, four young adult books in a series, Mistborn, a full size trilogy with a fourth book recently published, two standalone novels, And his most recent novel, the start of a longer series, The Stormlight Archive (hardback 1001 pages, paperback 1250ish... yeah.).  In addition to all that he also finished Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series which is known for its intense amount of plot lines and characters.  Sounds like a ton, yeah?  That's not it though!  He also teaches some writing classes.  He does a lot of writing for his blog as well.  Even more than that however, he does some behind the scenes writings chapter by chapter for many of his books that can be found on his website!  He writes a lot.  It's discouraging in some ways.  On the plus side, He'll often have new stuff for me to read!  That's much better than slower authors.  My other favorite author, Patrick Rothfuss, writes much slower.  The Name of the wind came out in 2007 and the second book in 2011...  I really want the third one out so I can read the rest of them because they are incredibly fantastic!!! Sigh... fantastic enough it completely discouraged my novel I was working on.  That's okay though, with hindsight, I didn't have enough meat for my plot.

A Couple Books of Sanderson's

   Yup.  I think that's a large enough blog for today!  I'll try and keep up an occasional blog from now on, I really will.  What will the next one be?  More random thoughts and tangents?  Another thing about a video game or series?  Maybe on books?  It'll be whatever I feel like!  That or maybe what you think I should write on.  If you Do have desire to read about something, let me know and I'd be happy to write on it!

Oh yeah. Rothfuss is a Wizard. Just FYI.