HELP: Advice for a Harry Potter Fanfic

[Greninjaman]

I plan on doing a Harry Potter Fanfic, but am struggling with the Magic System. My questions:

1: What should I do about spells that do the same thing?
2: Would it be a problem if I grouped the spells like this:
Spells (Offence)
Charms (Defence/healing)
Jinxs (Prank)
Curses (Dark Magic)

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

1. Why would you have to do anything about them?

2. I don't see why it would be a problem.

Harry Potter's magic "system" isn't really a system. It's mysterious and fantastical, as per the themes and feel of the books. I doubt you'll have any luck making it rational and consistent the way detailed fantasy settings only occasionally do — if that is indeed what you're concerned with here.

 

[Greninjaman]

1. Why would you have to do anything about them?
2. I don't see why it would be a problem.

Harry Potter's magic "system" isn't really a system. It's mysterious and fantastical, as per the themes and feel of the books. I doubt you'll have any luck making it rational and consistent the way detailed fantasy settings only occasionally do — if that is indeed what you're concerned with here.

Indeed, I want to make a rational system in my fanfic as opposed to just being able to use whatever I want and avoid doing Deus Ex Machina.

I want to make a list of spells for consistency sake. What advice do you have on this?

 

[Beth Pavell]

List of spells

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

To be honest, a 'rational system' isn't a good way of making sure your story is plausible. The mundane skills and abilities of humans, conversations between people, emotion and chance and perception — these things aren't simulated in prose fiction with a consistent and restrictive model for what people are capable of. It needn't be so for magic either. After all, the actual Harry Potter books don't have a rational system to prevent deus ex machinas. They just... don't have deus ex machinas. Because preventing deus ex machinas is about foreshadowing, alluding to possibilities, setting up Chekhov's Guns and so on. It's not about providing readers with a list of spells.

 

[Iggy]

I would never reduce magic to fake science. That would make magic no longer what it is; mysterious and frightening, following no law or logic.

 

[Greninjaman]

I guess a rational system won't work at all. Also, I just remembered: I tried to do a Harry Potter Fanfic and gave up on it because I'm more interested in journey/quest stories then school stories (I enjoyed Harry Potter don't get me wrong).

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

There's no reason you couldn't write a journey story set in the HP universe.

 

[Greninjaman]

I suppose I could.
However, in a fantasy story I made a long time ago (It no longer exists sadly), I didn't really do much with of magic. Should i just not bother with magic at all (or perhaps limiting the magic to Magic Items as opposed to magical powers that a person has)?
And thinking back at how I did the fights, it seemed like I was more explaining a boss battle in a video game then a fight taking place in the story. *Facepalm*.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

I can't tell you what to write, Greninjaman. I can only offer you advice about the craft of storytelling. You have to decide what to write about first.

 

[Greninjaman]

I think i won't go the harry Potter route than.