Way With Worlds: The Differences Between Magic And Technology

by

TechMagic

[Way With Worlds appears at Seventh Sanctum and at MuseHack]

Last column, I looked at writing magic and technology for your setting – and noted that in many ways for the sake of world building they could be treated the same.  I still believe that, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t call out the differences as well.  Or perhaps  I should say “areas of variance,” as it gets complicated, but more on that shortly.

I believe it’s important to loo at differences, as in too many cases creating the magic and/or technology for a setting treats them as the same for all the wrong reason – as opposed to the right ones.  Technology easily becomes hand-woven neutron particle miracle rays, a mythology with lab tools and circuit boards.  Magic can get systematized or explained in such a way it either is technology, or is really just magic wearing technologies clothes and wandering around looking out of place.

So, having suggested that you have to look at them as similar for the sake of worldbuilding, I now want to deal with when you have to look at them differently.  Yes, this may produce writing whiplash, but who said worldbuilding was going to be boring and straightforward?  I certainly didn’t promise that.

Think of it as general and specifics.  In general, they’re the ways people change and affect the world.  In specifics, well . . .

Read more

Hook Up With Crossroads Alpha And Muse Hack!

by

Hey gang, if you’d like to contribute to Muse Hack – or really any one of the Crossroads Alpha alliance sites, be sure to drop by our site and give me a buzz.  We’re looking for people!

Comics Bulletin Is Looking For . . .

  • Writers – We’re looking for reviewers and writers..
  • Site Personnel – People experienced in site “traffic control” – posting, editing, and more to help behind the scenes.

Indie Haven Is Looking For . . .

  • Contributing writer- I need someone willing to write written content for the website. We’re always in need of reviewers, but also people who can write features, news posts and Op/Eds if they are willing. Previous journalism experience welcome, but not required.
  • Livestreamers- I’m looking for people willing to play games while doing commentary for our TwitchTV stream. Some video editing and writing skills will be required. Part of the job will entail editing those streams and putting them up on YouTube then posting those vids as posts on our site.

MuseHack Is Looking For . . .

  • Contributing writer – Looking for writers who want to focus on geeks, fans, otaku and how they use their interests in career and community building. We’re interested in both general and specific subjects, and are especially interested if one wants to take on a specific focus.
  • News Gatherers – I’m looking for someone who can compile relevant news articles into weekly and monthly updates, focusing on news related to.

Seventh Sanctum Is Looking For . . .

  • Contributing writers – We need writers who can write on creativity – art, fiction, and more. Prefer themed columns.
  • Link Gatherers – We want to publish gatherings of amusing and artistic links relevant to the audience. Light commitment, but we prefer updates every week to every few days.

– Steven Savage

Update 2/9/2014

by

Hello everyone, hope you’re all doing well.  What’s up with me?

  • I am now formatting the book.  I am never sure how long this is going to take since between tool updates, lessons learned, and my different kinds of book it’s a tad unpredictable.  I’m hopefully going to finish by Monday next week so I can get a test print early.  But we’ll see.
  • You saw the new Magic Guild Generator, so now after a break, I’ll decide what’s next to do.
  • We are recruiting at Crossroads Alpha. Stay tuned for more to come from that side . . .
  • I’m lining up some more speaking events, but still haven’t finalized my spring/summer schedule.  I actually should get to that shouldn’t I?
  • I do need to do more here on my site.  I got a lot of cooking I want to post, some actual relevant things about me, so we’ll see.  I’m definitely going BACK to my old method of consolidating writing time.

That’s all for me – what about you?

– Steven Savage