Using Magic in a Story

Magic. I'm not generally keen on its use in fantasy. Too often it seems (to me anyway) that magic is used to help a writer get out of a painted corner. It's almost like using the phrase, "and then I woke up", to end a stressful scene.

To me, magic is simply undiscovered science. Perhaps there is also an innate physical ability, such as fireflies, electric eels, octopi, and chameleons. By taking this approach I put a definable limit on what my "magic" can do. Having a limit means having a weakness which can be exploited when that limit has been neared, reached, or surpassed. This helps create tension.

When I was in grade school I was not above the "and then I woke up" ending. I often wrote my characters into impossible situations from which there was no logical escape. So the entire story became a nightmare. Well, that may work with five- and six-year-olds, but it doesn't with the more savvy readers I wish to attract. So I quickly learned to seek out believeable resolutions to the situations in which I placed my characters. That can be hard. When it becomes impossible the situation itself has to be abandoned. Hate doing that, but the story has to make sense.