45 Questions About Magic

45 Questions About Magic

Who has it?

Who can use it?

Where does it come from?

What does it go through?

Is it active? Passive? Both?

Is it tangible? Visible?

Can magic people sense magic?

Can non-magic people sense magic?

Can non-humans be or have magic?

Can objects be or have magic?

Can it be used by accident?

What are the consequences of using magic? Of not using it?

Do some things (eg causing injury, death, etc.) have greater consequences?

Does level/degree of use correlate to degree of consequences?

Does magic require a bargain (eg service to a god)?

Can someone lose their magic?

Can someone gain magic?

Can magic be transferred or stolen?

Is magic something to be turned on and off or is it always there?

Does a person have a limited amount of magic? Can it be replenished?

Does everyone’s magic manifest the same way?

Does everyone call upon their magic the same way?

Does magic require physical aids? Meditation?

Is strength innate or based on training? Can it change?

How is strength indicated?

Are there physical indicators of magic use?

Is there some sort of test to be allowed to use magic?

To show competency?

To show mastery?

To certify teaching?

Is magic tied to or antithetical to religion?

Must magic obey science?

Does magic operate the same way everywhere?

Does magic operate the same way on everyone/everything?

Is healing possible? Is it telekinetic? Time-based? Done by switching physical health?

Does magic require a sacrifice? Before or after? User’s or others’?

Is magic something a person is? Does? Uses?

How is magic conceptualized? Is that correct?

What can someone do with magic?

What can’t someone do with magic? Why?

What are ethical/moral lines that have been drawn regarding magic? How are they enforced?

Is belief necessary?

Can magic only be done at certain times or in certain places?

How do powerful magic users face consequences from the law?

Is magic something that people want to be?

Things Overheard on a Magical College Campus

“So, we had to have another fucking hall meeting about people teleporting in the halls.”

“Her parents are high elf sorcerers, so obviously they bought her her own Pegasus already and everything.” “Ugh, rich kids.”

“What are you gonna do with a minor in Dragonology?”

“Well, if you fail this class you can always sell your soul to obtain power through unholy means.” “I can’t! I already sold my soul to pay my student loans!”

“He’s got the Chosen One scholarship. Full ride,” “Really? I was going to apply for that, but my parents are still alive, soooo...” “I applied but I think they’re looking for more of a farm-boy-raised-by-aunt-and-uncle type. I mean, I’m adopted, but I grew up in the city.”

“Really?” “Yeah, so that’s why the freshmen aren’t allowed to learn fireball anymore.”

“Don’t you dare bring weed into my dorm. My RA’s a werewolf, she can smell that shit!”

“I’ve got an alchemy class in ten minutes, think I can afford to skip?” “Who’ve you got?” “Zorbo.” “Ehh, better not, he tests mostly from his lectures. His exams are whack too, last time he spent so long on transmuting copper alloys and it was barely even in the textbook.”

“Yeah, so the cat’s actually the RA’s familiar, so that’s how she found out I had a waffle iron in the dorm.”

“Oh, I know the girl with the seeing-eye spider! She’s on my hall!”

“I guess I could always sell my body to the Dark Lord’s undead armies to pay off my student loans...”

“So I’m doing a group project with a bunch of Heroism majors so that’s how my life is going.”

“Guess who didn’t get any fucking sleep because someone backfired a spell in the bathroom at 3am and the whole fucking dorm had to evacuate?”

“I’m taking Dark Omens 312 as an elective.” “Really? I thought you needed Interpreting Vague Prophecies as a prerequisite.” “Oh, I have transfer credit.”

“I love the Witchcraft building, it always smells like bog water and bone dust.”

“I left my fucking battle axe in one of the bathrooms and now it’s gone!” “I dunno man. You could check the Lost and Found desk.”

“Maybe we can hang out in your dorm?” “I dunno, it’s a full moon so I’m pretty sure my roommate is wolfing out right now.”

“So I’m majoring in Mad Science now.” “Oh, have you taken your Unethics class?”

“Hey, wanna go to the Abandoned Dark Tower and hang out in the torture dungeons?” “Nah, I have like a hundred sigils to learn before the test Monday.” “Come onnn! It’s one of the best spots on campus!”

“Done with that exam, pretty sure I failed it, time to run into the woods and join the roving bands of undead wolves.”

“Do you think it’s too late to change my major to Necromancy?”

“My professor came in this morning and she’d forgotten to change back from a cloud of crows into a person, so that was something.”

“You can tell the freshmen by how freaked out they get at hearing the werewolf club do their howl-off.”

“Look, just because a professor is a demon doesn’t mean I can sacrifice my firstborn to him to get a better grade. Anyway, I already promised my firstborn to a witch to pay off my student loans.”

“Yeah I forgot to take a towel or anything to the showers so I had to cast a glamour over myself and walk back ass-naked to my room.” “Don’t you have a robe?” “I mean. They don’t really make bathrobes that work when you have wings.” “Oh, that sucks.”

“I almost got an A. It was the fucking question about flight magic vs. levitation magic that got me.”

“There’s this one guy in my Divination 100 class who keeps derailing every class arguing with the professor about predestination...” “Lemme guess, an Arcane Languages major?” “I think he’s like double majoring in Cursebreaking and Arcane Engineering.” “Oof, even worse.”

“Ha, my professor spent like 20 minutes ranting about how shit the Dark Lord’s foreign policy is this morning.”

“We’re going into town, want to come with?” “Nah, I’m taking a nap. Still gotta work on stuff for Dreamwalking Club, and I haven’t got a lot of sleep lately.” “Aw. Ok.”

“So, yeah, I cast a purifying spell on the dining hall chicken nuggets and they just straight up vaporized into dust, so, no.”

“My parents are all like, go into something useful like Cursebreaking or some bullshit like that, blah blah blah...”

“So like, my roommate like bailed at the last second or something, right? And I got stuck with a rando and she’s a vampire and so she’s like, completely nocturnal and it’s driving me crazy because I can’t sleep when she’s up banging around heating up her blood bags in the microwave or whatever...”

“Fuck, I still haven’t got the chicken blood for the ritual due tomorrow. Shit.”

“I’m so tired, I think my soul is too thin to even be worth selling to pay off my student loans.”

“Fuck this shit. I’m going back to my room and making garlic bread.” “But...You’re a vampire...” “It’s finals week, do I look like I care?”

(inspired mostly by conversations with @awhellstothejoe, lol)

Things to Consider when Creating a Magic System

What are the drawbacks of using magic? Does it have mental, physical, and/or emotional consequences for the user?

What tools are needed to harness magic? Wands? Spells? Magical artifacts?

How do people learn magic? Instinct? In school? From family members?

Can everyone use magic or are only certain people capable of using it?

Is the capability to use magic hereditary? What about different ways of using magic (transformation powers, teleportation, etc.)?

What is impossible for magic to do?

How long does it take to master different magical skills?

Can creatures other than humans learn magic? Are different creatures better at using different kinds of magic?

Does it require spells to be spoken, written, or thought?

Is it possible for someone to lose their magical abilities?

How do characters’ emotions affect their ability to use magic? Do their emotions affect the magic’s intensity or controllability? 

How does the strength of a person’s magical abilities change as they age?

Can people normally perform any kind of magic or can they only perform things that fall under their specialty? Are their exceptions?

What rules restrict magic use in society?

How do people’s magical abilities impact their career prospects?

What kinds of magic are the most feared or seen as the most powerful? Which are seen as mere jokes?

How do people use magic to help with everyday tasks?

Can magical energy be stored for later use?

What objects or other factors can amplify someone’s magical powers?

When do magical abilities initially manifest? From birth? At a certain age? Under certain conditions?

What is the first spell a character is likely to learn?

What happens if a spell is performed incorrectly? Nothing at all? A weaker version of the intended results? Pain?

Can different spell casting methods be used to obtain the same result? What are their advantages and disadvantages?

WriterofthePrompts Ultimate Ask Masterlist 2 (Updated 05/20)

Wow, first of all I just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the support on the First Ask Masterlist! Obviously I had to make a second one with all the asks I’ve answered since then so here you go. You can also check out my list of Random Writing Tips. As last time, some of these posts have notes from lovely people who have added onto my answers with their advice and you can also help out fellow writers by adding your tips or ideas to the posts in the replies or by reblogging. Hope you enjoy! 😊

Writing Tips

Can’t think of what to write for a scene? Cut it.

The “organized chaos” form of outlining

Resources for writing a story synopsis

Can a comedy also have a good message?

Writing a fantasy fit for most ages (also under Fantasy)

When you’ve got an idea but don’t know how to expand it

Building on your story yourself  

Will posting writing online hurt publishing chances?

Using a prompt for a series

Ways to give information to a character

How to give the same information to multiple characters at different times

Dialogue tips

Coming up with a title (expanded)

Making the real villain a plot twist 

GRAMMAR CHEAT SHEET

Some resources for creating a language

How to decide if you want a good or sad ending (Also, how not to screw up an ending) (Also, why the GoT ending makes me sad)

How to skip over the passage fo time in writing (Part 1)

How to use scene breaks for the passage of time, change in location etc. (Part 2)

Story Structure Tips

Travelling scenes: when to skip and how to make them impactful

Writing a sloooow carriage ride without being boring 

Moving back and forth in time in the story

difference between inciting incident and plot point 1

Blending backstory with present to further the plot

Writing scenes with a lot of characters

Writing a story as a journal or video log style

Third or first person?

Limited third person vs first person

Writing a long series

Connecting your ideas

When to introduce major and minor conflicts

How to develop your own style of writing

When to describe a character

Motivation and Positivity

Worrying about “originality” with your writing

Staying focused on writing

Sticking to one idea before moving on to the next?

Turning off the editor voice

starting to write and keeping motivation

quick tip on writing down inspiration in the moment

How do you know you are cut out to be a writer?

When you feel your plot isn’t exciting enough

When you think your idea is stupid (it’s not)

On covid-19 and whether I think it’s “bad” to take inspiration from it

When you think you’re writing has lost feeling

Character Development

Writing unnecessary scenes with your characters just for fun

Tips for writing a fully-fledged peppy girl

Teen raised by twenty-year-old family member

Mentor/Mentee relationship

Describing nature the way a nature-lover would

Showing a dead family member’s impact on the MC

Writing about a character losing loved one

Ways to show a character’s disgust 

Why a “good” character would switch to the bad side

Why the “White Saviour” thing is a cliche and sucks

Villains who do things like “killing the dog”

Good and bad reasons to kill off a character

Character exercise when you lose their voice

Resources for learning more for a Jewish character (in the notes)

A reason a character might feel cliche

Representations of Gluttony and Laziness as humans

More on twins and siblings

How a tough character might react to something shocking/upsetting

Writing Types of Characters

Writing a good guy MC who turns out to be the villain

Bad guy turning good and making them sympathetic

Dr. Doof: how to write a great villain

Coming up with villains

Coming up with villains 2

Writing a scheming character

A character raised by a computer

Bilingual character tip

Interracial couples

Some negative traits for someone in a zombie apocalypse

Flaws for a Gary Stu type 

a character trying to learn the language on a new world (also under World Building)

Good guy vs bad guy stories aren’t a cliche

Writing a CIA/FBI/Military character (also under Thriller)

writing a drunk character with some heartfelt moments and humour

Why NOT having diversity in your story cast is odd

A character with diabetes

Fictional races where one is “superior” to the other

Writing a serial killer as your main character (also under Thriller/Crime)

Writing a good Strong Female Character™️ 

Writing about a mob character (also under Thriller)

Writing a female astronomer in ancient Greece (Also under Historical)

Shy characters don’t have to be passive

Shyness and confidence aren’t mutually exclusive

World Building

Creating a creation myth

The creation of gods based on people’s beliefs

History research post (also under Historical)

Making an acronym from an organization

Naming world building aspects

strange weather ideas

ideas for ridiculous rules to join an excuse club

Why someone would put on a massive tournament

a character trying to learn the language on a new world (also under Types of Characters)

Making a magical setting exciting (also under fantasy/paranormal)

When you have too much information for an expansive world

Weaving a complex magic system into your story (also under fantasy/paranormal)

Using words referring to our world in a fictional world

Fantasy/Paranormal

Why gods would abandon their world

Aphrodite, Hephaestus and Ares: the original love triangle

basing gods on multiple gods

Why someone would control dreams

Dark fantasy with a dream shop

Conflicts for someone with the power to share dreams with others *

Ways to break a curse

Reasons why someone would need to break their curse now

Coming up with a good curse for your character

Ways to break the curse to get the Prince out of the tower

When the princess rescues the prince

Prince/ss of one kingdom raised by another king

why a princess would run away

Prompts for a King or Queen getting assassinated *

Why a villain would overthrow a royal family *

Reasons two Kings would marry each other *

which fairytales deserve retellings

Fairy tale prompts

Using fairytale characters in retellings

Stories written from the POV of fairytale villains

Writing a fantasy fit for most ages (also under Writing Tips)

Friendship between a dragon and a human

Vampire and human couple meeting

Angel and ex-demon hanging out together

demons that feed on love and joy?

mythical kids meeting humans

Sword fight resources (also under Historical)

Using an axe as a weapon

Haunted house story from ghost’s perspective

A family moves in to a house that is alive 

Does the afterlife have to include religious aspects?

Writing the grief of a girl finding her friend as a ghost

Witch sisters with unequal powers 

Reasons a village would be afraid of a kind wizard

How a wizard’s guardian might tell them they are a wizard

Making a magical setting exciting (also under world building) 

Weaving a complex magic system into your story (also under world building) 

Things a magic council would use money for 

Ideas for magical powers

Ideas for ancient magical powers

Prompts about cities that are always in night 

Prompts about a changeling

Reasons a magical world would need a saviour 

mirroring strengths and weaknesses for magic manipulation

How an immortal could die under mysterious circumstances

How to get regular folk involved in a magical world

“Underused" fantasy settings

Funny dialogue making fun of fantasy cliches

Prompts about a hidden/occult society

Autumn prompts about fae

Manatees being confused for mermaids

Fantasy modes of communication

Sci Fi

Futuristic space pirates

How to tell who is the clone and who is the original

Artifacts curious aliens would steal from Earth

Weird things that would wipe out a part of the population

How a person could go back in time

Question prompts for a virtual afterlife

How a half-human character might realize their alien half

“Non cliche” ideas for an apocalypse story

Time travel prompts for the current era

Historical

Writing about the Tudor court

History research post (also under World Building)

Sword fight resources

Using an axe as a weapon

Quick reasons why genocide doesn’t just happen overnight

Writing a female astronomer in ancient Greece (also under Types of Characters)

Dragons in Ancient Egypt?

Writing about WOC in the 1950’s

Aftermaths of a civil war

Thriller/Crime (aka I-swear-I’m-not-a-criminal-just-a-writer asks):

writing assassins

Sassy Assassins 3!

How an assassin with special abilities would discover these abilities

Clues that would make a character suspect another for murder

Writing a CIA/FBI/Military character (also under Types of Characters)

Serial/mass murder…causes?

tests to get into secret organization

Writing a serial killer as your main character (also under Writing Types of Characters)

Tips for writing a consistent murder mystery

Murder mystery party prompts (humorous)

How to come up with subplots for a mystery

Writing about a mob character (also under Writing Types of Character)

Why a step father might be a suspect in a teen’s disappearance

Prompts of killer kids terrorizing their babysitter

Prompts about a college kid being stalked on campus

The Masked Sinner prompts

Prompts about a crime scheme in 1950’s

Superheroes and Super Villains

Sidekick wanting to be a superhero

Super villain cause ideas

Sidekick and villain falling in love (also under Romance)

Superhero story originality

How a super villain can get notoriety

Woman unknowingly falls in love a super villain

World building ideas for superhero stories

Effects of the power of intangibility

Alter ego prompts

Romance

How a princess and a pirate fall in love

two exes who end up working together

How two random kids could meet at school

Sidekick and villain falling in love (also under Superheroes)

Cliches in romance scene?

Original ways that a couple could break up

How to introduce a living girl and ghost love interests

Conflicts in relationship between chef and their pupil

Miscellaneous

Prompts about being abandoned

Character who has never danced in pressured into it

The best ask ever

MC and sister get kicked out of clan. What next? 

Reasons characters would hate another (a concubine)

A disturbing cultish 1950’s-esque town

Some links to help find Beta readers

Why a principal would hate a student

Why a character would forgive their ex

Prompts about anomalies

Reasons a parent would be controlling

Were you the one who did a post a while back talking about cover art? If so, could you take a look at the cover art I designed for my fanfic and give me your feedback? Thanks,my friend. I love your blog!

I myself have not authored a post on cover-making, but I have shared them. 

How I Make Book Covers + Tips For You!  

Book Cover Design: A Definitive Author’s Guide 

[Quick Analysis of Professional YA Covers] 

Create Unique Covers for Your Wattpad Stories 

300+ Fool-Proof Fonts to use for your Book Cover Design

Wattpad/eBook Cover Ideas & Resources | HEY, Writers! Pinterest

[FREE USE IMAGES!] Book Cover Ideas | HEY, Writers! Unsplash

As for reviewing your cover, this enters the realm of “review my writing and give me feedback,” which I do not offer.

If you have a Wattpad you should post your cover in the CoverOffs for feedback from other readers/designers. It’s generally best to enter more than one version of your cover so viewers can compare.

That thread appears to be discontinued, but surely there are other places and ways to gain feedback. Instagram or Twitter, for example, might have hashtags for image/cover feedback.

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+ Please read my Ask Policy before sending in your ask. Thank you!

+ If you appreciate my updates and replies, please consider sending a little thank you and Buy Me A Coffee!

+ Follow HEY, Writers! other social media for visual inspiration and samples of my writing: AO3 - Wattpad - Unsplash - Pinterest

Writing can be so easy when the muse kisses you and you write and write and forget the world around you. But a lot times you don’t have the luxury to wait for the muse to come kiss you and you still have to write. Here are some of the things I do to motivate myself to do what has to be done.

How to motivate myself to write more

The 100 Words Challenge

Set yourself a specific amount of words that you must write every day. 100 words doesn’t sound like that much, but even if you only write them every day and not anything more you still wrote 3,650 words that year. Better than nothing and definitely helps to get back into writing, because it motivates you to write even more and helps writing on a schedule.

+ it also works with a specific amount of time

The Inspirational Jar

Grab some pieces of paper and write down prompts you saw on the internet, song lyrics you like, characters you like to write about, quotes from books or movies, or just random words or situations. Fold them and put them into a jar or a box. Now you can just open it and grab one of the papers which you use as the basis for your writing that day. It’s great for getting back into writing and finding your own writing style through different forms of writing and different topics.

+ doesn’t have to be a real story, try other forms of writing, like a poem, a stream of consciousness, fanfiction, dialogue only, texting only, a retelling, no dialogue at all, a song, a diary entry, a character description,…

+ try to spice things up by using two or more inspirational slips of paper

Set a writing time

By setting a specific writing time you can trick your mind to shift easier into the mindset you need to write. You can write just after waking up or right before going to bed or somewhere in the middle. Try it out and find out what works best for you.

Block your phone/laptop

The luxury of having the world at your finger tips is great but it’s also distracting. Use apps (like Forest or Selfcontrol) to block your phone for the time you need to write. Or use something like Cold Turkey Writer so you have to write a specific amount of words or time before you can use your computer again.

Choose a writing place

Where do you write your best works? Choose a specific place to become your writing place, so you can trick your mind (like with the writing time) to get into the right mindset.

+ switch it up from time to time and go somewhere else. Go to a library, a coffee shop or a park to get fresh ideas and then go back to your routine

Music

Try to find music that stimulates your brain to concentrate more on writing or use music that fits the scene you’re about to write to get the right mindset. Music is great to feel like you are in a specific situation or have specific feelings - that’s why it’s great to have a soundtrack to your stories (and it also motivates you to finish it, so someone can buy the rights and make a movie out of it and use your Soundtrack - or is that just me?).

Ask a friend

Ask a friend, a family member or someone else to give you a setting, a word or a character that you try to incorporate into your already existing story or write something short and new.

Exercise

When you’re stuck and suffering from writer’s block with a scene, just stop and go out and work out or do a couple exercises at home. It clears your mind and you feel better after, so that you can sit down again and concentrate. And exercising is also a great opportunity to think your story through and work on solving existing problems.

Make a calendar

Write down whenever you wrote something in a calendar or use a habit tracker. It makes it easier to keep track on what you achieved so far and where you can still improve.

Reward yourself

Don’t punish yourself if you haven’t wrote in a long time or didn’t finish on time. Rewarding yourself is much more efficient. Choose some form of reward (when I write today I can… watch the new episode of my favourite show after, call my friends and go out, order a pizza, buy a new books, etc.) and stick to it. Even if it is a really small reward, getting to recieve it will fill you with joy and pride and makes it more likely for you to do it again.

I hope this helps everyone who struggles to motivate themselve to write. Good luck to you all!

Check out my side blog for more advice and writing prompts: creativepromptsforwriting

- Jana