It's Not Magic
I recently read a fantasy book, and in the first chapter, the main character “used their magic to cast a spell.” This sentence got stuck in my bonkers mind, and it took a while to figure out why. After a walk, I concluded that the word magic was not being used correctly. Allow me to provide some examples.
Let’s say a character needs to fix something. “He tightened the bolt.” Logically, readers would understand what had occurred and fill in the technical aspects. Yet, I could have stated, “He used mechanics to tighten the bolt.” That is what I am getting at. “He used baking to add the cinnamon.” “She used driving to turn the steering wheel.” “They used art to paint pictures.” Yikes, what awful sentences.
In magical stores, wizards cast spells, and witches brew up potions. How? In that universe, it is possible to break the laws of physics, which makes the impossible possible. Still, in real life, we do have magic that follows the physical rules. For example, a magician can use sleight-of-hand to make a card magically disappear. A worker can get a job done very quickly, and when people ask how, they respond “magic.”
My hang-up is that in a book where magic is possible, the term should be invalid. In that alternate world, waving a wand to lift a person into the air is just another skill, and no big deal is made. The same could be said of a blacksmith or a cook. But does this really matter?
The goal of a writer is to bring readers into a story. It is a careful dance, and once a reader gets hung up, there is no turning back. And that was precisely what happened. I got hung up on a single word. Still, it is excellent to use the word in a book description and as a general term in the same way that “baking” covers a broad range of skills. Thus, I am not going to end this article magically.
You’re the best -Bill
September 01, 2021 Updated January 24, 2026
Let’s say a character needs to fix something. “He tightened the bolt.” Logically, readers would understand what had occurred and fill in the technical aspects. Yet, I could have stated, “He used mechanics to tighten the bolt.” That is what I am getting at. “He used baking to add the cinnamon.” “She used driving to turn the steering wheel.” “They used art to paint pictures.” Yikes, what awful sentences.
In magical stores, wizards cast spells, and witches brew up potions. How? In that universe, it is possible to break the laws of physics, which makes the impossible possible. Still, in real life, we do have magic that follows the physical rules. For example, a magician can use sleight-of-hand to make a card magically disappear. A worker can get a job done very quickly, and when people ask how, they respond “magic.”
My hang-up is that in a book where magic is possible, the term should be invalid. In that alternate world, waving a wand to lift a person into the air is just another skill, and no big deal is made. The same could be said of a blacksmith or a cook. But does this really matter?
The goal of a writer is to bring readers into a story. It is a careful dance, and once a reader gets hung up, there is no turning back. And that was precisely what happened. I got hung up on a single word. Still, it is excellent to use the word in a book description and as a general term in the same way that “baking” covers a broad range of skills. Thus, I am not going to end this article magically.
You’re the best -Bill
September 01, 2021 Updated January 24, 2026
