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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/36739
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/36739
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Your question can be read in two ways: are you talking of stage magic, or of a fantasy world with actual working magic?

If you are writing about stage magic, you should very definitely do your research: existing stage tricks and how they're done, industry practices, etc. This isn't to say that you cannot make up your own tricks, or suggest something impressive being done on stage without explaining how it's actually done. But you wouldn't want to invent a convoluted explanation for a trick that's actually very simple, for example, right? And you wouldn't want to unknowingly write about practices that the industry would consider unethical as if they're the norm. **Research provides you a foundation, on top of which you build your story.** Research isn't meant to limit you - there's no reason why you shouldn't invent your own whatever. But research helps you avoid mistakes, as well as sending your imagination into new directions.

If, on the other hand, you are writing about a fantasy world with functioning magic, the magic system itself is your playground, as other answers point out. You can base it on some existing folklore, or you can make it up from scratch. You can give plenty of details about it, or very little - whatever better suits your story. **However, there would be other aspects of the story you'd probably need to research.** Are you planning a big war between Good and Evil? You'd need to find out about warfare. Would your characters be dealing with hostile terrain? You'd want to find out about survival in those conditions. Etc.

Original score: 2