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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/27836
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/27836
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I am in favor of rules and coherence. However, also remember that you do not have to show all your work.

Just because you as the writer/creator know how magic/powers work doesn't mean you have to tell readers. Mercedes Lackey has a widely developed magical universe and only once, sort of in passing, mentioned where magic "comes from" or how people can access it. The rest of the time it just _is._ Poeople are inborn mages or they aren't.

One of the benefits of rules is that it forces you to think about consequences. What happens when you _break_ the rules? What happens when your character runs up against a limitation of powers?

In David and Leigh Eddings' Belgariad/Malloreon series, sorcery is essentially limited to the Will and the Word: if you want something badly enough and say it, it will happen. _But:_ You cannot _unmake_ something with sorcery. "Be Not" is one of the few checks on ultimate power. The backlash is that the sorcerer/ess explodes. Why? "The universe gets offended." No more than that. Where does magic come from? Dunno. It just appears if you will it hard enough. _Will_ is enough of a barrier to overcome that not everyone is a sorcerer.

Having a powerful character thwarted by "Captain, ye cannae change the laws of (magical) physics" creates _conflict,_ and conflict is how your story becomes interesting. Two all-powerful whatevers bashing away at each other is a flashy spectacle on screen, but it becomes boring and unbelievable after a while (and faster so on the page).

Embrace rules and restrictions. They will force you to think more creatively, and therefore increase the conflict your characters have to overcome.

Original score: 6