Hellooo, everybody! We haven't talked about tropes in a while, have we? You already know I am a huge
fan of fantasy, which means I have read more than my fair share of magic systems. Sometimes they're
awesome, sometimes they fucking suck. We're here to discuss the latter. Magic itself is a trope,
but there are so many sub-tropes revolving around magical systems or magical creatures,
and sometimes they're the worst. Half the time the trope itself isn't bad, it's just
the execution that’s so godawful. Writers, why are you doing this? What did this trope do to deserve
such shameful representation? Since it's TSC’s book birthday month, now seemed like a good
time to discuss this because for some reason, you guys really liked to hear me whine. I'm
happy to deliver. I am breaking down the ten worst magic systems of all time. The magic systems that
really stink-up the page. Are any of your favorite tropes on this list?
If so, what the hell is wrong with you? Get it together. ​​
(The sound of a pen scratching. LOGO.)
Today’s topic was requested by one of my patrons over on Patreon, Dylan. Dylan was missing my trope
videos, and was specifically eager to hear all of my qualms about fictional magic. I admittedly
had a much longer list than this. I had to narrow it down to just ten. Should I make a part two in
the future? Let me know in the comments below. Friendly reminder, The Savior Series fan art
contest is going down right now! So whether you like to draw, paint, create aesthetics,
create memes, do calligraphy—whatever. If you have any kind of artsy-fartsy inclinations,
now is the time to get involved. I have a link to all the details and the entry form listed
below. Three lucky winners are gonna walk away with massive TSC and TSS themed prize packages,
and it could be you! So click the link, learn more, get involved. Don't forget to subscribe
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subscribe and ring the bell. My dark fantasy romance novels The Savior's Champion and The
Savior’s Sister are available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audiobooks. So if you like yourself
some magical books that don't have any of these magical tropes, I promise you that,
check ‘em out. They are award winners, they’re bestsellers, and they’re linked below. Now I
am firing off the ten worst magic tropes, in my humble but completely correct opinion. A brief
disclaimer: this list is my subjective opinion. If you disagree, I don't give a shit. Additionally,
just because a trope is on this list, doesn't mean I hate every incarnation of it. Some of these
tropes can be handled very well. There's always exceptions to the rule. And lastly, I reserve the
right to change my mind, because unless you're a sick headed dumbass, thoughts and opinions
are supposed to evolve over time. Let's dive in. Number One (1): Well, that was convenient.
I don't know if this counts as a trope, but this is probably my biggest magic system pet peeve.
Magic systems can be complex, which means you need to describe bits and pieces of it over time. But
the time to introduce a life saving magic trick isn't the exact moment it's needed. It doesn't
read as a magical hero saving the day, it reads as a ‘get out of jail free’ card. The writer didn't
know what to do in that moment, so they added super convenient magic to move the story along.
We all know what you're doing. You're not subtle, but you may be a tiny bit stupid. If you do have
lifesaving magic and intend to utilize it, introduce it BEFORE it's necessary. That way
it doesn't read in the last minute additive to get you out of a plot hole. This is magic system
101 here. You can’t just drop in some superpowers the moment it's convenient, unless you want your
readers to judge you…harshly. Which brings us to Number Two (2): The magical resurrection. I don't
mind resurrections as a whole, I've seen them done really well. But just like the first point, if a
resurrection feels too convenient, I'm gonna roll my eyes far enough to see my brain. You can't have
everyone mourning the loss of a character, only for someone to saunter in and say, “By the way,
did I tell you I can resurrect people? No? Must have slipped my mind.” I don't care if it's a
magical character who performs the resurrection. I don't care if it's a spell or a talisman. Make
it inconvenient, make it a struggle, or make it a possibility the readers are already aware of. Stop
shoehorning in resurrections at the last minute to save your precious darlings. All it does is tell
readers: don't get emotionally invested if anyone dies, we're just gonna bring ‘em back. Thanks for
putting in no effort at all. Number Three (3): Shape shifting. Before you shit your diaper, hear
me out. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with shapeshifters. If that's your jam,
read and write to your heart's content. I just find shapeshifters kind of boring. Shifter fiction
is extremely popular, people absolutely love it. But it kind of seems like they all revolve
around the same three plots either. Either we've got one pack of shifters battling another pack
of shifters. Or we've got shifters battling a different fantasy race. Or we've got a woman
getting married off and dicked down by a grizzled shifter dude. It's not super interesting to me.
Plus, I don't get the appeal of a man who can turn into a tiger or a bear. Do you wanna get fucked,
or do you wanna get mauled? Call me vanilla but I'd rather keep my flesh attached to
my body. Number Four (4): The sage magical mentor. He's usually white, definitely male,
possibly a wizard, and pretty damn old. “You shall not pass!” You already know that I'm not a fan of
the mentor trope in general, I know I'm in the minority with that one. But this old sage wizard
is my least favorite of all mentors. Ask any woman about their experience with old white men who want
to mentor them, and I guarantee it'll be the most audacious, ridiculous bag of shit you ever heard.
The first old white man to offer to mentor me as a writer and a YouTuber, was back when I had 7000
subscribers. He had three. We’d both published one book. His had a spelling error in its first
sentence, I know because he told me. He drew his cover himself, it featured Jesus on the cross next
to the Grim Reaper holding a beer, I think. And when I denied his wisdom, he sent me videos of him
doing push ups to prove that despite his age, he's still got it. Cuz we all know push ups are the key
to writing compelling Jesus fiction. This is not my only experience with mentors, and it certainly
won't be the last. And you want me to read about these men and take their advice seriously?
Now we really know this is a fantasy world, because that's the fakest shit I ever heard.
Number Five (5): You're the long lost magical person we've been looking for all these years.
Bonus points if all their power showed up on their birthday, and if people are coming to kill
them. Tell me you're a YA hero without telling me you're a YA hero. You already know I love magical
characters, and I have no problem with their magic evolving over time. It's just that we get the same
scenario over and over. It's your birthday, here's the magic you didn't know you had. Oh look, a
mentor is suddenly here to train you. By the way, this evil person wants you dead. Don't you just
wish you were a regular teenager like everyone else? Writers can we do literally anything else?
What if their magic evolves alongside puberty? They're popping out pubes and potions at the same
time. What if they don't have a mentor? They have to figure shit out on their own. I know that would
reduce your ability to provide boring streams of exposition, but no one likes that shit anyway.
There's the saying if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But consider this trope broke. Do something
different for the love of God. Number Six (6): Verbal spells. This is another trope that isn't
inherently bad. I think verbal spells can be very believable and add a lot of value to your story.
So long as you don't suck at writing them. There are two spell formats in particular
that are really easy to butcher. The first one is the ridiculous word spell. Your character shouts
something like “Kalamazoo!” and bam, magic. It's fucking stupid. You guys are choosing the
dumbest words and I can't take ‘em seriously. The second format is the poetry spell. Your character
either recites or sings some rhymes, and your characters are lulled into a state of mystery and
tranquility. Unless your poem sucks. Not everyone can write poetry or song lyrics and if that's not
your jam, choose something else. It's just hard for me to focus on the story when I'm over here
laughing at your clunky rhymes. “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo. Your verbal spells are poopoo.” It's fine
to admit when something isn't working, go with another option, please. Number Seven (7): I saw
it foretold in a dream. I'm one of the few people who don't mind dreams in fiction. I suffer from
PTSD. I have a lot of PTSD nightmares. So dreams in fiction to me are relatable and add value to a
story. Dream prophecies on the other hand are not my favorite. Quite often the book opens with the
character having a dream they don't understand. Bam that's your inciting incident. Turns out it
was a prophecy! Better buckle up bitches, cuz shit’s about to get crazy. First up, the setup
is overdone. I've lost track of the stories that have utilized this cliche as an inciting incident
and I'm bored with it. Second, nine times out of ten, we never see any other dreams of the future.
That's it, one and done. Honestly, that's what annoys me the most about this trope. You can't
implement a super cool magic act and then never use it again. That's such a dick tease. This is
once again an example of convenient writing, and I promise there are way more exciting ways
to deliver an inciting incident. Number Eight (8): The overcomplicated magic system. I've complained
about this before and all complain about it again. If your magic system requires a glossary,
a dictionary, and pages upon pages of exposition to explain away every single facet and feature,
I don't want it. Throw the whole book away. I read to relax and have fun, not to feel
like I'm preparing for the SATs all over again. An overcomplicated magic system is confusing to read.
It makes the reading experience feel like work. But on top of that, if you can't explain something
in a simplified manner, that's a prime example that you don't understand the material yourself.
So now I'm sitting here thinking: do you even get your own magic system? How do you expect
me to get it if you can't explain it right? And really, you don't need a million and one rules
to make a magic system interesting, because it's magic. I know you wanna be original,
but boring your readers to tears ain't the way to do it. Number Nine (9): The magical talisman.
This is yet another trope that I don't inherently hate, but again, it's all in the execution. The
magical talisman is always one of four things: a staff, a sword, a book or a piece of jewelry.
And what's the story about? That's right, your character either has to find the talisman,
protect the talisman, or destroy the talisman. We've read the story before, we've seen the movie,
you can move on now. Or you can at least make your talisman unique. Hell, I would read a book about a
magical tampon at this point, just to experience something different. And the quest to find, save,
or destroy this talisman always has the characters tossing the amulet back and forth like a game of
hot potato. Magical objects are fine, but can we not write an entire book about them? I feel
like that's a reasonable request. And Number Ten (10): The overpowered magical protagonist.
Half the points on this list boil down to this particular issue. If your main character is
overpowered with magic, I'm not interested. Magic that pops up at convenient times is overpowered.
Magic that essentially renders your characters immortal is overpowered. It's perfectly fine for
magic to be an asset to your characters, or to get them out of some shitty situations. But they
need to be fallible, they need to have weaknesses and limitations, otherwise the story is boring. If
your character can't hurt, can't die, or can't be defeated, what are the stakes? The stakes do not
exist. I know power fantasies are fun, but save that for your fanfic. If you're trying to publish
a fantasy novel, please don't overpower your magical protagonist, unless you wanna completely
destroy the reading experience. So that's all I got for you today. A huge thank you to Dylan for
requesting today's topic. If you'd like the chance to have a video dedicated to you, or if you want
access to tons of other awards, check me out on Patreon. We have early access to videos, we have
an exclusive writing group, we have a monthly live stream and signed books. I have it linked below.
Friendly reminder The Savior's Series fan art contest is still going down, so you have time to
enter. This contest is available internationally, and there's no limitations—you can enter as many
times as you want. Check out the details in the link in the description. Don't forget to subscribe
to my channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays. And if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload,
ring that bell. The Savior's Champion and The Savior's Sister are available in ebook, paperback,
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I'm on Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook and BookBub. And of course you can tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!
(Regal, But Distracted Female Voice) Oh! Hello there. I’m Leila and I'm off to…a
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