All The Write Stuff: Charlie N. Holmberg’s Book of Magic

Unravel the secrets to crafting a masterful magic system from best-selling fantasy author Charlie N. Holmberg.

Charlie N. Holmberg’s Book of Magic

By Charlie N. Holmberg

Genre: Speculative Nonfiction, Writing Self-Help

Unravel the secrets to crafting a masterful magic system from best-selling fantasy author Charlie N. Holmberg.

Whether using magic as flavor or as an essential piece of plot, this book will guide fantasy authors, from new to experienced, through the delicate layers of creating, utilizing, and mastering magic systems.

In this book, we will...

*Discuss the schools, laws, and spectrum of magic

*Learn to build individual pieces of a magic system

*Dig into magic’s influence on worldbuilding

*Examine different types and styles of magic

*Develop and polish original magic systems

With workshops, work pages, and reference materials included, this succinct one-and-done guide to crafting the magical elements of the fantasy genre is a must-have for speculative fiction authors.

“If you haven’t had the fortune of attending one of Charlie’s writing classes (which I have), this is the next best thing. Book of Magic contains so much wit, wisdom, and practical suggestions for helping any beginning author, or veteran, make their magic systems rise up and be noticed. She uses expert examples from other authors you know as well as teaching a masterclass on developing magic systems from scratch based on methods she’s invented. You just may need this book to help find out what kind of magic-based diseases might be festering in your neighbor’s cabbages.” —Jeff Wheeler, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Kingfountain series

GUEST POST

Who did the narration on the audiobook and what made you choose them?

Angela Dawe! Angela did a few of my books (The Fifth Doll, Followed by Frost, and The Will and the Wilds). Girl can drop her voice like it’s HOT. I’ve never heard a woman voice men so well before. And while this book isn’t fiction, when my publisher asked me if I had any preferences, I mentioned Angela and she happened to be free!

How many audiobooks do you currently have and are there any more on the horizon?

All 24 of my published novels are available in audio! If you have an Audible subscription, I am happy to take up the next two years of your listening ;)

And yes, all my future contracted books will also be available on audio!

Do you prefer to listen to audiobooks or read a book?

I prefer to read on a Kindle. I can only listen to fiction audiobooks when I’m driving, otherwise my mind wanders. (Though I can listen to nonfiction while I’m at the gym; if I miss a sentence or two there, I don’t feel like I’ve ruined the story, so it’s fine.) And I’m such a princess now that if I have to hold open the covers of a physical book I just can’t even.

What are your top 10 favorite books/authors?

The Bird and the Sword by Amy Harmon

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Souless by Gail Carriger

Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson

Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

The Dragonsworn Trilogy by Caitlyn McFarland

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

What book do you think everyone should read?

Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones. Because it’s delightful.

How long have you been writing?

Overall, 23 years. Professionally, 11.

Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?

The main characters are all on my radar before I start writing; minor characters have a tendency of popping up on their own (and being named Martha, for some reason).

Do you read yourself and if so what is your favorite genre?

Can you write without reading??

Of course! I LOVE romantic fantasy. I am so chuffed that romantasy is a big thing right now because IT IS MY JAM.

Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?

I write in silence. Even if I turn music on, my brain blocks it out when I write. I don’t notice what’s playing. I get so absorbed into the scene, you know? That said, I don’t play music because if it doesn’t fit the scene PRECISELY, it makes it harder to get into the zone.

Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?

I’m usually only drafting one book at a time, but often I’m brainstorming another, or copyedits may come in for a third. So there’s always more than one story happening in some aspect, but big things like drafting and developmental edits are one-book deals.*

*This is with the exception of The Plastic Magician and The Will and the Wilds, which I drafted at the same time because the first was under contract and the second I was obsessed with.

If you could have been the author of any book ever written, which book would you choose?

I mean… I’d happily take credit for The Lord of the Rings series…

Pen or type writer or computer?

While I hand-write all my notes, I type much faster than I pen anything.

Tell us about a favorite character from a book.

I freaking loved Penryn’s mom from the Penryn & The End of Days series by Susan Ee.

What made you want to become an author and do you feel it was the right decision?

I do not have a special book that made me want to be an author; instead, it was an anime that made me want to be a storyteller. At the age of thirteen, my older sister bullied me into watching this new show that had been on Fox Kids but got cancelled, so she purchased the DVDs. It was called The Vision of Escaflowne. I LOVED the story in this. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. All I knew is that I wanted to create stories as masterful as what I saw in that show (and even as an adult, I recommend it to anyone, even non-anime-lovers). I figured I could either draw stories, like in a comic book, or write stories, a la novels. I could objectively tell I was a terrible artist. I could not objectively tell I was a terrible writer, so that’s the path I took!

Advice they would give new authors?

First, do a daily wordcount. Most people who want to write a book never actually finish a book, so if you pen “the end” on something, even if it’s terrible, you’re ahead of the curve. 500 words a day is a professional pace, and that’s roughly ½-1 pages on Microsoft Word.

Second, allow yourself to suck. Be terrible. Don’t edit until the book is done. It’s a rough draft, it’s literally not supposed to be GOOD. Giving yourself permission to not be perfect helps so much in productivity and mental health!

What makes a good story?

There are a lot of things that make a story good. Interesting premise, conflict, likeable characters . . . but the thing I think that really separates amazing writing from just good stories is emotion. Feeling what the characters feel, yearning as they yearn. Books that make me cry? Take my money, please.

What is your writing Kryptonite?

I have a hard time staying in the same world for too long (The Whimbrel House series is a fluke). By the time I get to book 3, I’m bored. I want to discover something new! I have several duologies because of this.

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

I try to lean more original. That said, I notice that if I’m really excited about something, my readers are likely to also be excited about that thing. (Though I admit I have book coming out next year where I swim through favorite reader tropes like I’m Michael Phelps.)

Do you believe in writer’s block?

Yes. In my experience, two things cause writer’s block. The first is disinterest in your story. It’s no longer appealing to you, or you’re bored with your characters or plot. In that

case, you need to either revamp what’s happening or work on a new, exciting project. The second is mental health. It’s hard to be creative and to pour yourself into a project when you’re not feeling your best, or you’re suffering from a condition that affects your brain. In that case, you need to address the mental health issue before you can write again.

I’ve experienced both types. Admittedly, the second cause is a lot harder than the first. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. We just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other until we reach it <3

EXCERPT

Originality

Before we get into the bones of building a magic system, I want to take a page or two to discuss originality.

Originality really is what separates a lot of books and a lot of authors. In fantasy, it’s tempting to default to an “easy” magic system so we can focus on storytelling. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing—if I want to start my story in medias res[1], with a man being assaulted by a vampire in an alleyway, all I have to do is say “vampire” and the antagonistic force is set. I don’t have to waste time grounding the reader, because vampires are so common, I can start the story with no learning curve. And if I’m trying to hook readers on the action, then this is absolutely a tool I’m going to use.

Books can employ simple or preset magic systems when the goal is flavor, highlighting power, or invoking a fantastical setting. Easy magic has a shallow learning curve, and therefore can attract more readers, especially those unused to the conventions of the fantasy genre. But for those who want magic to be a large part of the story—tied in deeply with characters and plot—take a moment to differentiate yourself from the books that may sit beside yours on the shelf (or above and below you on the Amazon scroll). Take your time with it—don’t rush development. Great magic systems, like great stories, need time to marinate in your brain before they come to life on paper.

A few tips to spark originality:

Take note of what’s currently saturating the market and avoid it. If you bank off writing to market, then jumping on the bandwagon of what’s hot now can pay off in the short term. However, if you want something to stand out in one of the many slush piles of traditional publishing, or you want to guarantee your book will still be interesting ten years from now, consider taking the untrodden path.

Take a “done” magic and make it different. If your heart is set on elemental magic or powered-up tattoos, that’s okay! Just put a unique twist on it. This is what Stephenie Meyer did with Twilight. She took vampires (done, done, and done) and made them her own. This is also why you can have two books with seemingly similar magic systems and have completely different stories. Case in point, both Brent Weeks’ Lightbringer trilogy and Brandon Sanderson’s Warbreaker use color-based magic. But the magic is explored in such fundamentally different manners that the casual reader would never dream of comparing them.

In regard to my Paper Magician series, I wasn’t the first person to think of magical origami (though at the time, driving in my car between Idaho and Utah, I thought maybe I was). Paper magic is also in the 1999 manga series Read or Die, for instance. But my expanding paper magic into the realm of manmade materials made it unique. If you’re trying to turn heads, you don’t need an entirely unique, never-seen-before magic system (or hey, let the book’s premise be the unique element and go ahead and write about fairies or fire or whatever makes your id[2] happy). You can have something familiar with a unique twist or quirk.

Make a list. This process can be done with any aspect of brainstorming, not just magic. Make a list of whatever it is you need to figure out, such as what kind of creature will innately possess magic in your story (more on this in Chapter 6). And just start vomiting out ideas. The further down the list you get, the harder your brain is working, and the more original your ideas will be. (Note that going too far down the list might leave you with something too bizarre to realistically work with.)

For example,

1. Unicorns

2. Vampires

3. Pegasi

4. Flying frogs

5. Flying fish

6. Giant bats

7. Giant butterflies

8. Wolves with butterfly wings

9. Forest-eating caterpillars

10. Three-headed snakes

Based on that list (which I literally did write off the top of my head and have not changed from the rough draft of this book for the sake of reality), I really like the idea of forest-eating caterpillars. And they can transform into giant butterflies, so that’s a two-for-one.

Remember, more often than not, simpler is better. It’s really easy for us to go overboard with our worldbuilding and open a giant can of worms that will devour and suffocate our readers, so it’s important to keep it simple. Take a moment and think of the best magic systems you’ve read in your favorite books. More likely than not, you could explain them to someone quickly and concisely. Getting too complex with magic steepens the learning curve and frustrates readers.

Rule of thumb? If you, the author, have to continually look at your notes to remember how your magic works, your reader isn’t going to stick around to learn it.

[1] Meaning “in the middle” of the action.

[2] A la Freud: id, ego, super-ego. The id is your carnal desire, your impulses, your pleasure center.

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Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4MZM3XK

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/charlie-n-holmberg-s-book-of-magic-by-charlie-n-holmberg

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217485012-charlie-n-holmberg-s-book-of-magic

About the Author

Charlie N. Holmberg is a Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of fantasy and romance fiction, including the Paper Magician series, the Spellbreaker series, and the Whimbrel House series, and writes contemporary romance under C. N. Holmberg. She is published in over twenty languages and is a Goodreads Choice Award, ALA, and RITA finalist. Born in Salt Lake City, Charlie was raised a Trekkie alongside three sisters who also have boy names. A BYU alumna, she discovered in her thirties that she’s actually a cat person. She lives with her family in Utah. Visit her at www.charlienholmberg.com .

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