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Rayne Hall
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Writing About Magic: Professional Techniques for Paranormal and Fantasy Fiction (Writer's Craft Book 3) Kindle Edition

by Rayne Hall (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 out of 5 stars 139 ratings
Do you write fantasy fiction? This book is a resource for authors. Crammed with information, tips, and plot ideas, it helps you create stories about magic and magicians which are believable and exciting.

Learn about power-raising, ritual, training, initiation, love spells, sex magic, costuming, equipment, correspondences, magical weapons, healing, protection, miracles, spells, amulets, talismans, curses, hexes, illusionists, charlatans, natural and ceremonial magic, witchcraft, shamanism, alchemy, necromancy, ethics, conflicts, secrecy and more.

Draw up a psychological profile for your magician, invent fictional spells that work, avoid blunders, and create trouble for your characters.

This book is part of the Writer' Craft series (Writing Fight Scenes, Writing Scary Scenes, The Word-Loss Diet, Writing About Villains etc.), and is especially useful for writers of high fantasy, urban fantasy and paranormal romance.

British English.

CONTENTS:

1. MAGICIAN CHARACTERS. Personality Profile. Food for Thought. Assignment

2. MAGIC SYSTEMS: Pick a System. High Magic and Low Magic. Black Magic and White Magic. Ceremonial Magic. Natural Magic. Religious Magic. Alchemy. Traditional Witchcraft. Wiccan Witchcraft. Necromancy. Shamanism. Ancient Egyptian Magic. Folk Magic. Voodoo. Invent a System. Terms, Definitions, Spellings. Blunders to Avoid. Further Reading. Food For Thought. Assignment.

3. TRAINING AND INITIATION. Training Opportunities. School of Magic. Apprenticeship. Self-Study. Part-Time Study Informal Learning. Candidate Selection. The Daily Grind of Learning. Examples from Literature. Initiation. Blunders to Avoid. Food for Thought. Assignment.

4. RITUAL AND POWER-RAISING. Structure of the Ritual. Casting the Circle. Invocation. Altering the State of Consciousness. Raising Power. Speaking the Spell. Dismissing the Spirits. Closing the Circle. Grounding. Keeping Records. Resting. Fiction Ideas for Power-Raising. Blunders to Avoid. Food For Thought. Assignment.

5. LOCATION AND CIRCLE-CASTING. Choosing the venue. How to Cast the Circle. Choosing the Time. Plot Possibilities. Food for Thought. Assignment.

6. COSTUMING AND EQUIPMENT. What the Magician Wears. Equipment. Plot Possibilities. Further Reading Food for Thought. Assignment.
7. PHRASING THE SPELL. How to Write A Spell. Sample Spells. Further Reading. Food for Thought. Assignment.

8. CORRESPONDENCES. Using Charts. Correspondence Topics. List of Colour Correspondences. Further Reading. Food for Thought. Assignment.

9. LOVE SPELLS. Rituals. Clients. Conflicts. Does Your Magician Perform Love Spells? Conflict - Plot Possibilities. Consequences - Plot Possibilities. Further Reading. Food for Thought. Assignment.

10. SEX MAGIC. Power-Raising. Structure of the Ritual. Variations. Plot Possibilities. Further Reading. Assignment.

11. MAGICAL WEAPONS AND WARFARE. Material, Size and Shape. How it Works. Charging and Cleansing. Plot Possibilities. How to Defeat a Magician. Magic in Warfare. Assignment.

12. HEALING AND PROTECTION. Healing. Protection. Guarding Against Harmful Magic. Hexes and Curses. Protection Against Magical Attacks. Talismans and Amulets. Further Reading. Food for Thought. Assignment.

13. ETHICS, CONFLICTS, SECRECY. Ethics. Villainous Ethics. The Wiccan Rede. Secrecy. When Mages Make Mistakes - Plot Possibilities. Outer Conflict - Plot Possibilities. Inner Conflict - Plot Possibilities. Food for Thought. Assignment.

14. ILLUSIONISTS AND CHARLATANS
Illusionists. What They Do. How It's Done. Psychological Profile of an Illusionist. Charlatans. Psychological Profile of a Charlatan. Religious Charlatans. Blurred Lines. Plot Possibilities. Assignment.

15. MAGIC IN THE FUTURE. Future Magic Scenarios. Food for Thought. Assignment.

16. FICTION SAMPLES. Short story 'By Your Own Free Will'. Excerpt from Storm Dancer.

FURTHER READING Useful books for further research.
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  1. Accessibility
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  2. Publication date
    January 7, 2014
  3. Part of series
    Writer's Craft
  4. Language
    English
  5. File size
    1.3 MB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rayne Hall is the author of sixty books in several genres (mostly fantasy, horror and non-fiction) published under several pen names in several languages. She is the editor of the Ten Tales series of fantasy anthologies.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00CQWXSQI
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rayne Hall
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 7, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.3 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 180 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Part of series ‏ : ‎ Writer's Craft
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 out of 5 stars 139 ratings

About the author

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Rayne Hall

Rayne Hall

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Rayne Hall MA is the author of over 100 books, mostly Dark Fantasy and Gothic Horror, e.g. The Bride’s Curse: Bulgarian Gothic Ghost and Horror Stories. She is also the acclaimed editor of Gothic, Fantasy and Horror anthologies (e.g. Among the Headstones: Creepy Tales from the Graveyard) and author of the bestselling Writer’s Craft series for advanced-level writers, including and the bestselling Writer’s Craft series e.g. Writing Gothic Fiction Writing Scary Scenes, Writing Vivid Settings, Writing Vivid Dialogue, Writing Vivid Characters, Writing Deep Point of View.

Born and raised in Germany, Rayne Hall has lived in China, Mongolia, Nepal and Britain. Now she resides in a village in Bulgaria, where men perform the annual demon dance, ghosts and sirens beckon, and abandoned decaying houses hold memories of a glorious past.

Her lucky black rescue cat Sulu often accompanies her when she explores spooky derelict buildings. He delights in walking across shattered roof tiles, scratching charred timbers and sniffing at long-abandoned hearths. He even senses the presence of ghosts… but that’s another story.

Rayne has worked as an investigative journalist, development aid worker, museum guide, apple picker, tarot reader, adult education teacher, belly dancer, magazine editor, publishing manager and more, and now writes full time.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
139 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers appreciate the book's knowledge, with one mentioning it provides many references for researching magic and covers various magical systems. The story length receives positive feedback, with one customer noting it includes a short story at the end.

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KnowledgeStory length
7 customers mention "Knowledge"5 positive2 negative

Customers appreciate the book's knowledge, finding it interesting with many references for researching magic, and one customer notes it covers a wide variety of magical systems.

"...I really enjoyed the peek into of all the major magic systems of the world...." Read more

"...It is full of excellent suggestions, clever and credible ideas backed by excellent further reading suggestions...." Read more

"...the Wiccan view of magic and practicing witchcraft with barely any exploration of magic in other cultures or time periods...." Read more

"Some interesting ideas, I just don't want to get too boxed in by them, I'll take them as suggestions...." Read more

4 customers mention "Story length"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the story length of the book, with one mentioning it includes a short story at the end, while another notes it flows well and helps with story ideas.

"...It was very original and had a delicious and ironic ending. The second example story, which is from one of your books made me want to read it...." Read more

"...My favorite part was the short story at the end, used to demonstrate all the concepts in the previous chapters...." Read more

"...It's short and to the point, and it is similar to their other writing." Read more

"Helped a lot with a story idea...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Zanden Xade
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing insights and wonderful tips!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Ms Hall, I salute you. My magic system did not need much work, I did have lots of limits but it was a little too easy to learn. I really enjoyed the peek into of all the major magic systems of the world. Reading it gave me lots of ideas for my villain, who did not learn all the "High magic" in his life due to circumstances. Now that I've read your wonderful book I will have him learn other types, to really surprise the high magic user hero of my story. I originally had my villain try to fake my hero out but now I have a different idea. Thanks!

    I really got a kick out of the first mini story. It was very original and had a delicious and ironic ending. The second example story, which is from one of your books made me want to read it. Thank you for all that you do!
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  • Michael W. Fisher
    4.0 out of 5 stars Helped a lot with a story idea.
    Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Sometimes when you are working on a book idea it is next to impossible to find a website or book to help get that little bit of data you need. This book was a huge help.
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  • BrooklynChatty
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Resource
    Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    After years of writing in one genre, I decided to try my hand at fantasy. While I'm a fan of the genre, I don't have a great depth of magical knowledge. I had some ideas about how and why magic could be used in my world, but something wasn't clicking. I was feeling insecure about my abilities to pull off my new story and my attempts at research often left me feeling overwhelmed. Luckily, I stumbled across Ms. Hall's book as one of the “also boughts” on another author’s page, downloaded the sample, and knew I needed to purchase the book after only reading a few paragraphs.

    Writing About Magic is exactly what I needed to solidify the plot points I was tinkering with already and it also sent me in inventive new directions. I couldn't be more thrilled. I especially appreciate Ms. Hall's inclusion of details about non-Western magic.

    While the book is not encyclopedic, it has given me a firm foundation to tweak existing magical rules to fit my world and the option of using the extensive bibliographies to delve deeper and create my own system. Now I feel confident choosing amulets vs talismans and I’ve figured out how my MC will defeat her more powerful magical antagonist.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Kristen S. Walker
    3.0 out of 5 stars Okay book for the beginner, but do more research elsewhere
    Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I would call this book a basic introduction instead of an in-depth guide. The author covers many topics, but doesn't seem to go into most of them in much detail, relying mostly on tropes and stereotypes. I was disappointed because other guides by the same author usually have more information. Most of this could have come from a quick scan of Wikipedia articles on types of magic. There aren't many actual techniques for using magic in a story like I expected. The other problem I had is that there are real world religions mixed in with fictional types of magic without much distinction or respect for certain beliefs that some people actually hold. As a Wiccan, I didn't find her description of Wicca to be very accurate, and I didn't really feel comfortable with reading about my religion described as if it were in a Dungeon & Dragons manual. Overall, the information might be useful to a beginner who doesn't know much about magic and wants an overview, but I would recommend doing further research elsewhere to learn more about each topic and to correct some of the inaccuracies/biases in the book.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Laura Apolo
    5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely one for your reference collection
    Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This book is fabulous, and I highly recommend it if you aspire to weave magic and enchantment into your writing. The author's writing style is welcoming and friendly and shares advice and suggestions in a way that leaves you feeling confident in writing about magic. It is full of excellent suggestions, clever and credible ideas backed by excellent further reading suggestions. The most exciting aspect of this book, though, is the assignments which, unlike many other writing books, have me itching to begin writing! Of all the books on the craft of writing in my collection, this is definitely one of my favourite purchases.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Crystal Holdefer
    4.0 out of 5 stars That's A Lot Of Information!
    Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    This writing guide was much more thorough than I expected, making it more of a tool to go back to then finding everything useful right now. The writer provided points I didn't consider when using magic that were helpful to me. My favorite part was the short story at the end, used to demonstrate all the concepts in the previous chapters.

    The story of trading intelligence for love was fascinating and had me on the edge of my seat. The magic elements were small, beautiful additions that flowed in the story.
    Helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • rachelle cooke
    5.0 out of 5 stars The five book collection works out less expensive!
    Reviewed in Australia on February 25, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Writing about magic - Rayne Hall

    *If you’re writing about magic in any form - you need this book.

    One day I will call myself a writer. And when I do it will be thanks to the effort other writers like, Rayne Hall, have gone to. These kinds of books not only help other writers but also save our butts a whole heap of time!

    Writing about magic is an in depth guide to different practices of magic that actually exist around the globe. Not only does this guide cut the research time you waste by at least half, but it also mentions little titbit’s that gets your mind racing into the realm of possibility- an essential key to writing GOOD fiction.

    With this information you will gain ideas on how to suspend disbelief, which I believe is essential to writing great novels.

    Unless you write dinosaur porn I guess…

    But I love the little things, those intricate details which differentiate ordinary from enthralling. So yeah, if you want to write a GREAT novel with ANY elements of magical life, force or even amulets- you really should read this.

    I can’t wait to read the entire Writers Craft series.

    Thanks Rayne Hall, for the time you’ve saved me already.

    P.S – The Aus cover is much prettier!
    P.P.S – The five book collection works out less expensive!

    My Rating - *****

    Amazon - http://amzn.to/1WL5EBI
    Amazon Five Book Collection - http://amzn.to/1QHrFTC
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  • Joey Wargachuk
    5.0 out of 5 stars So Insightful
    Reviewed in Canada on May 10, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Ryane Hall is an inspiration.I really enjoyed the Wimsey. Also the assignments were super helpful! I will be buying the whole series:)
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  • L
    5.0 out of 5 stars Another wonderful book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 15, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I wish I had discovered this one sooner as it resulted in a bit of a re-write!

    It was very useful in helping me to re-design a magic system that had a couple of holes in it. I admit that I skipped a couple of sections but the bits I needed boosted my confidence (another of Rayne Halls books to have done this).

    This is a book that will be staying nearby so that I can refer to it often.
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  • Tina Müller (www.buchnotizen.de)
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Writers
    Reviewed in Germany on October 1, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Wonderful, helpful, lovely, very well written ... must have for writers!!!! The ideas are really powerful and helped me coming in a magical writing flow ;-)
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  • Kay
    4.0 out of 5 stars Put Magic in your writing with this excellent book.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 12, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I wish I'd bought this book before I published my first novel.

    'Writing about Magic' by Rayne Hall is a reference book for authors who write, or who want to write, about magic and magicians. If you are such an author, I strongly advise you to buy this book and use it. 'Writing about Magic' will help you create and develop believable stories about magic and magicians, and, equally important, it will prevent you from making embarrassing mistakes!

    The book is accessible and easy to understand, something for which I was grateful. The last thing I want to do when I am writing is rack my brain to try and comprehend my research material.
    To make things even easier for the stressed-out magic author, 'Writing about Magic' is so well-organised that you can always quickly and easily find the information you need. The book is divided in aptly named chapters with clear subheadings.
    Because the book was adapted from an online course, each chapter contains an assignment as well as information about its topic. Of course no one forces you to do the assignments, but they are fun and help to focus on your magician and magic system. The book tackles common misconceptions about magic as well as mistakes that many writers make, which I found very helpful.

    The subject matter is well-researched and extensive, but in case you want to know more, 'Writing about Magic' contains a list with suggestions for further reading.

    A negative point was that it's not possible to the table of contents from the 'Go To' menu on the Kindle device. This was not a big problem as the table of contents is near the beginning, but still, for a study/reference book it is important to have smooth access to the TOC.
    'Writing about Magic' also has a weakness that occurs in many how-to books: It's not always clear that the advice is NOT a hard and fast rule. I suppose most readers will understand that, but it doesn't harm to emphasize that if you are writing a story, your rules go, and you can deviate from the advice in any self-help book as much as you want. That said, Rayne Hall's advice in 'Writing about Magic' is of a high standard, and I have seen no reason to deviate from it.

    'Writing about Magic' is part of the 'Writing Craft' series. For such a useful book the price of £2.64 is very modest.
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