| Revision as of 01:26, 12 February 2011 editColtonlg (talk | contribs)59 edits ←Created page with ''''Sanderson's Laws of Magic''' are several laws developed by epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson for use in designing settings for genre writers. W...' | Latest revision as of 00:13, 24 April 2023 edit undo2804:431:f73d:e5c0:c43b:e81:6fc0:a2c0 (talk) ←Changed redirect target from Brandon Sanderson#Hard and soft magic systems to Brandon Sanderson#Sanderson's First LawTags: Redirect target changed Mobile edit Mobile web edit | ||
| (28 intermediate revisions by 16 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| ⚫ | #REDIRECT ] | ||
| '''Sanderson's Laws of Magic''' are several ] developed by epic fantasy author ] for use in designing settings for genre writers. While originally created as rules for magic systems in fantasy novels, Sanderson has specified that these laws need not apply just to ], but are applicable to ] as well. <ref name=SFL>{{cite web ||url=http://www.brandonsanderson.com/article/40/Sandersons-First-Law |title=Sanderson's First Law |author=Sanderson, Brandon |accessdate=10 February 2011 }}</ref> | |||
| {{R to anchor}} | |||
| == The Laws == | |||
| # {{Anchor|Sanderson's First Law}}An author's ability to solve conflict with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic. | |||
| # {{Anchor|Sanderson's Second Law}}Magic doesn't happen in a static white box. | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| This Law was originally defined in Brandon's essay, "Sanderson's First Law" located on his website.<ref name=SFL/> In the essay he qualifies the two extremes{{ref|a|1}} of design as being: | |||
| # Magic/technology has well defined rules that the audience understands. As a result, one can use this to solve conflict more easily as the capabilities are cleanly defined. Brandon classifies this as "Hard Magic". | |||
| # Magic/technology has unclear or vague rules, or none at all. This allows for a greater sense of wonder to be attained for the reader, but the ability to solve problems without resorting to ] decreases. Brandon classifies this as "Soft Magic". | |||
| == Sanderson's Second Law == | |||
| Sanderson's Second Law was set down in Episode 14 of the podcast ].<ref>{{cite podcast|url= http://www.writingexcuses.com/2008/05/18/writing-excuses-episode-15-costs-and-ramifications-of-magic/ |title=Writing Excuses Episode 15: Costs and Ramifications of Magic |website=www.writingexcuses.com |host=Sanderson, Brandon; Howard Tayler, ] |date=18 May 2008 |accessdate=10 Feburary 2011 }}</ref> In summary, when a certain technology or magic exists or is created, it changes the world around it as a result.{{ref|b|2}} | |||
| == Notes == | |||
| :1.{{note|a}}In the essay, Brandon clarifies, "Most writers are somewhere in the middle between these two extremes." | |||
| :2.{{note|a}}From the same episode, this law is also called ] First Law. "If the energy you are getting from your magic is cheaper than letting a donkey do it, your medieval economy just fell apart." | |||
| == See Also == | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| == References == | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| == External Links == | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
Latest revision as of 00:13, 24 April 2023
Redirect to:
- To an embedded anchor: This is a redirect from a topic that does not have its own page to an embedded anchor on the redirect's target page.
- An
{{anchor|(anchor name)}}or{{visible anchor}}template, a HTML element withid="(anchor name)", or an|id=(anchor name)parameter might be installed at the beginning of a paragraph, in or near a section header or within a table. The anchor might also be an old section header that has been edited and is anchored within or near the new header to prevent broken internal and external links. - Even though section headers of the general form
==(Header name)==are themselves a type of anchor, use {{R to section}} instead.
- An