Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote, website, podcast, etc) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes of them.
F Tropes: magic
Current Event: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magick
O, come on!
REALLY?
As much as we want “magic” to be reality, no one, anywhere really, actually believes in witches, warlocks, spells, swords, sorcery, hats, elves and all that other crap.
Right?
There’s NOTHING THERE! Can you personally say that you have observed a witch cast a spell that worked? Can you tell me honestly that you’ve never wondered about psychics who claim to predict YOUR future but have never won the lottery themselves? Have you ever seen a real elf? A real ent? Have you ever taken a brief trip to The Land? When was the last time you touched the Sword of Shannara?
It’s all, part and parcel entirely from our imaginations! That’s what “fantasy” is all about – it’s totally fabricated and totally untrue.
But what if you hark back to an ancient definition: “[the British occultist, Aleister] Crowley saw magick as the essential method for a person to reach true understanding of the self and to act according to one's True Will, which he saw as the reconciliation ‘between freewill and destiny.’”
What if a couple of middle school kids wanted to really understand themselves, to discover their True Will. That method included both “mundane” or every-day actions and actions that can bring the magickers True Will and are OPPOSITE of science.
So think of every science experiment you’ve ever performed or watched, then imagine its opposite and give your story a start! (You might want to keep in mind, Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”]
Image: http://www.my-magicshop.com/images/science-magic.jpg
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