M for Magic – #atozchallenge
Photo by Sergey Bober
Magic is what differentiates fantasy from science fiction.
Fantasy is all about what isn’t possible, science fiction is all about what might be possible.
Most of the time (but not all), there is magic in a fantasy story.
Magic can be anything from someone having a special ability that they were born with, to someone who sacrifices humans to steal their life-force. It can be what holds everything together, and it can be what threatens to tear everything apart.
It can be wonderful, or it can be terrifying. I seem to lean more toward the terrifying side, but there are moments when terrifying is wonderful in itself, because it commands your attention and makes you stop and see it.
Isn’t that what magic is, both in the fantasy land of our own heads, and in real-life? Whatever makes us stop and see?
The answer is yes. In the world I write in, magic is both a good thing, but it can be a bad thing. It is what makes people special and life easier; even for the poor. But, it can also be terrible; such as when it becomes so unbalanced it becomes a disease that kills the strongly talented and magical creatures, or it can become tainted to the point it acts as a poison requiring special means to cleanse it so it cannot damage the people, animals or land.
I agree – magic is what we make of it. It is our sense of wonder at the world; it is the emotional response from what we see around us. To me, it is this human side of it that can be truly magical. The magic we write into fantasy stories is a reflection of this reality.
Matthew Wright
http://mjwrightnz.wordpress.com
http://www.matthewwright.net
Magic is what makes fiction the purveyor of truth. 🙂
Magical, to me, is mystical and unexplained, to-date.