Writing Excuses: I Bet Y’all Like This One, Too
Posted May 19th, 2008 by Howard Tayler
This week the Writing Excuses team discusses magic again, this time focusing on the cost and ramifications of magic. Whether or not your magic system has internally-consistent rules your readers can follow (per Sanderson’s First Law and last week’s ‘cast) you need to consider the ramifications of using magic in the worlds you create. Or at least, that’s what we think. Have a listen and find out why.
Also, this week I attempted to create “Tayler’s First Law” using a donkey. It can’t have gone too well, since by the end of the podcast I am clearly trying to give the donkey away.
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May 19th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Any chance of transcripts getting posted?
May 19th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Full transcripts? Maybe someday. We’re not made of quite enough time to hammer them out ourselves, though. Perhaps once we can afford to hire a transcriber…
May 19th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
So, have you read Harry Turtledove’s “The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump”?
May 19th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
No, but it was mentioned in the comments under the podcast either this week or last.
May 19th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Well, you can read it online here:
http://www.webscription.net/p-59-the-case-of-the-toxic-spell-dump.aspx
It’s a lot of fun.
May 20th, 2008 at 6:04 am
Not sure about the line between ‘magic’ and ‘technology’ here
- I’d hazard a guess that if it fits with the world you’ve written and is comonly available, then it’s technology, not magic…
So the Terraport is tech, it’s a plot device, powers and limitations are well-defined.
It doesn’t quite put the Gatekeepers Donkey out of business, either, but it’s not getting so many carrots anymore.