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magic

Announcement: Deductions, by Lyn Gala

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Deductions

QSFer Lyn Gala has a new paranormal book out: Darren is proud of his work on the FBI’s magical Talent unit. However, his own lack of magic means he can never be with Supervisory Special Agent and Shaman Kavon Boucher. The shamanic magic poses a real danger to any mundane who gets too close, so Darren tries to hide his attraction and keep a professional relationship at work. That resolve begins to crumble when a new man sets his sights on Kavon and Darren can’t control his resentment. Now they have a brutal new case of a suspect targeting magical … Read more

For Writers: Magic and Sexual Orientation

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gay mage magic

Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Elizabeth Barrette: How magic relates to sexual orientation — because just as there have been traditions that paired male and female, there have been a few that favored homosexuality instead. I’m gonna run with this a little, and suggest that we talk about how the two can be intertwined in our writing. We’ve all read the “he’s part of the magical bloodline” stories. And I’m sure there are already authors out there who are intertwining the two. So my questions today: Which stories have you read where magic is rooted in or connected to … Read more

For Writers: Tech and Trans

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Trans Sci Fi

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Elizabeth Barrette: How magic or technology can allow people to alter their bodies, and what that means for transfolk. This is a fascinating one, and a tricky one. I used magic to “transform” a trans character, and ran it by one of my trans friends. I was surprised by some of the minefields I was walking across without even knowing it. How would your trans character feel about having their physical gender changed to match their internal one? Are we being myopic thinking every trans person would want such a thing? What about gender non-conforming … Read more

Discussion: Limiting Magic

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Today’s topic comes from QSFer Freddy MacKay: World limitations that help plot, or how to limit your character so they are challengeable. AKA Setting up magic rules. Freddy makes a good point, and I’m gonna take a part of it and run with it. Magic, to be interesting in a story, has to have some limits. Imagine if a character could just “magic” whatever result they wanted? Limits can be many things: Physical – channel too much magic and you destroy yourself/burn yourself out/need top recharge Emotional or Ethical – you *can* do many things, but your moral code limits … Read more

WORLDBUILDING WEEK: Day Two – Creating Alien and Magical Races

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Worldbuilting Week

Welcome to the first annual Worldbuilding Week at QSF. We’ll talk about all aspects of building a world for your story, including languages; alien/magical races; history and timelines; culture and politics; sex, marriage and reproduction; and tools and techniques. It should be a lot of fun. Today we’re talking about alien and magical races, and Jana Denardo will be our moderator. Have you ever created a an entire alien race for a story? Or maybe a magical race for a fantasy novel? How do you design them – are they human-like? Completely alien? What characteristics do you consider? And how … Read more

Object-Driven Fiction

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One Ring

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Victroria Stagg Elliott: I will confess this question is derived from the essay I had to write for my AP English exam in high school. What about using objects to drive a queer science fiction/paranormal story? What objects are overused? What objects might be kind of fun? My AP English essay focused on how Desdemona’s hankerchief drove a lot of the story of Othello. We could come up with some interesting plot bunnies. Oooh, this one is near and dear to my little writer heart. I write a fair amount of magical realism stories, and … Read more

Discussion: Shamans and Sorcerers

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Today’s topic comes from QSFer John Allenson: “Shamans and Sorcerers. How to write competing magical systems.” So let’s break this down a little. There are many forms of magic in film, literature, and cultural tradition. As John pointed out, we have Shamans and Sorcerers – but we also have magical systems from most cultures and traditions, as well as the many types of magic invented in Fantasy. Mixing and matching these can be fun for both the writer and the reader, but can also be disastrous, especially when the systems clash. Think of such cross-cultural disasters Patsy and Eddy from … Read more

Media Crossovers: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

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I cannot wait to let my senses feast on this series for so many reasons – the responsibility of a magician during the re-emergence, the mechanics of magic as a sacrifice, the culpability of the characters, the gritty realism… You Should Know About: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Based on the novel by Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is part fantasy series, part historical drama. Set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars, the show presents an alternate version of history in which magic begins to resurface in Britain (having mysteriously disappeared years beforehand) thanks largely to the … Read more

Advanced Medical Magic

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Today’s topic comes from QSFer Hank T. Cannon: “How do you handle the social effects of “advanced medical magic” in a fantasy or science-fantasy setting? Are there economic gates preventing access to everyone? Has the legal system evolved to deal with verifiable reincarnations and resurrections? Do intrabloodline intrigues expressly involve ways to make sure old rich granddad stays dead do they can finally inherit (Or is inheritance outdated)? Are afterlives actually counted as part of the population and their inhabitants just another demographic of the planet/nation entity?” Lots to unpack here – but let’s start with the intersection of medicine … Read more