Building the Raksura: How Martha Wells Fell Into Toxic Tropes
Good intent won't erase the harm of baking bigotry into your worldbuilding.
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Episode 357: Sources of Magic
Where does the magic of a podcast come from?
Episode 342: Divine Magic
If you’re out of spellbooks and fancy crystals, try praying to some powerful wizards.
Episode 338: Mysterious Magic
Keep it secret, keep it safe.
Five Tips for Using an Arbitrary Magic System
Arbitrary magic systems can work, but they have some liabilities.
Building Earthsea: How Le Guin Laid a Shaky Foundation for Her World
Despite a novel and diverse setting, Earthsea suffers from sexism and a lack of planning.
Umbrella Academy Shows Us Why It’s Important to Plan Your Powers
The characters’ powers are all over the place, and it damages the story.
Episode 287: Magic Systems
With a snap of our fingers and an abracadabra, we summon this podcast to appear, as if by a system of magic.
Six Magic Systems That Need Stricter Limits
When heroes can easily solve every problem with magic, your story is boring.
Episode 268: Anti-Lying Magic
I could tell you what this podcast is about, but how would you know if I was telling the truth?
Five Ways Your Characters Can Acquire Magic
Whenever we create a magic system, we have to choose how it ends up in the hands of our characters.
How to Create an Eclectic Magic System
How to keep your folkloric magic system mysterious without making it feel random.
How to Create a Rational Magic System
If you make all of your spells fit together, you'll need less foreshadowing.
Four Ways to Limit Magic & Technology
How to put dampers on your fancy inventions and physics-bending word powers.
Know How Your Magic Works
How to pin down your world's reality-bending spells.
Oren Ashkenazi