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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/32784
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The main thing to remember is that the audience doesn't need to know the details of your magic system _unless the characters need to know.__You_ may be geeked about the system you've put together, but that doesn't justify shoehorning the details into your book.

With that said, _Master of the Five Magics_ (Lyndon Hardy) successfully introduces not just two, but five different, alien magical systems. How does he do it? His main character has to master all five different systems in a desperate race against time, against the opposition of the secretive groups that control the magics. Not only that, but the distinctive differences between the systems play a significant role in the plot. So learning the systems isn't an info dump, it's a integral part of the story.

It's great that you know exactly how your magic system works, but treat that info in your story as a precious and protected resource. Don't shove it down the throats of the reader (or the characters), make them want to seek it out. The more you leave shrouded in mystery the more "magical" it will all seem. In this way, confusion becomes your friend, not your enemy.

Original score: 28