Writing Prompt What is Magic?

[Kurotsubaki]

Many unnatural power are usually categorized as magic. But what is magic itself?
Try writing a paragraph or two that describe what is magic to you.

Lets start from me :

Magic is the law of the world. The power that keep the shape of all things from returning to the chaos state which is the default state of universe. This power is generated by world tree, the seed of all worlds and the one first emerge from the chaos.

When a creature use magic, they use the power which retain their shape, and thats why they turn into dust if they use too much magic as the balance between chaos and magic power broken

 

[Kotohood]

Magic is an excuse people use when they fail to explain how something works.

I throw a fireball. How I did I do that? Magic.

Jokes aside. Magic to me is like going to a shop. Then you trade magic/mana to buy something. The more skilled you are in the magic the better the deals to the shop.

 

[Kurotsubaki]

Magic is an excuse people use when they fail to explain how something works.

I throw a fireball. How I did I do that? Magic.

Jokes aside. Magic to me is like going to a shop. Then you trade magic/mana to buy something. The more skilled you are in the magic the better the deals to the shop.

So, a currency eh?

 

[Kotohood]

So, a currency eh?

That's basically how I describe mine. You can solve pretty much 90% of magic plot problems with this setting.

 

[Ninetailed_Furball]

Magic is an excuse people use when they fail to explain how something works.

I throw a fireball. How I did I do that? Magic.

Jokes aside. Magic to me is like going to a shop. Then you trade magic/mana to buy something. The more skilled you are in the magic the better the deals to the shop.

That's a great way to describe it. At the very least, it does cover how it's done in most stories when you strip out the lore.

For me, magic is a force or energy that doesn't exist in the real world, but change the world in tangible ways.

 

[ChubbyLiv]

For me, it's power of mind.

Does it make sense?

 

[gaylolis]

Magic is the moment I realize, I actually finished three Twilight books.

 

[ArcadiaBlade]

Magic is easy.

The concept of magic derives from how you explain the laws of the world and through the magical formula to create. Mana comes from the measurement of how much you trade the essence of the world or 'yourself' through the calculations of how much your willing to trade to use magic. It is an equivalent exchange as each person contains a 'core' to trade the mana within to use magic. As for the Overpowered individuals, they contain more essence derived from the world as they have been reincarnated.

Simply put, once they transfer their souls in another body, the mana fuses with the soul as it adapts to it. Since the soul is large, the mana should be larger but since they are within a child's body, the core would adapt to the soul and the body would quickly take the essence of the enviroment to hasten the adaptation process.

Some research also explains to other personel that has no mana but gaining strong physical strength. This explains that the core had overloaded and destroy itself from the process of loading mana on a body yet due to the adaptation process, the mana fused with the main body to strengthen its muscles and physical growth.

Further explainations here: http://www.whyamiwritingaconceptofmagic.com

 

[Phantomheart]

Magic is the manipulation of atoms in the most scientific terms. It can also manipulate time and space in the most advanced way. The best way I like to describe magic is that is a science what we have yet to understand.

Therefore poorly written magic systems immediately get a C+ in my eyes.

 

[steve2116]

Magic is form of energy unknown to anyone. It travels within us like blood and is in the atmosphere the same way oxygen and CO2 is. We use it by using our will and imagination to create form for it be released. The strength of the magic used is determined by how efficient the form is and how dense/concentrated the magic used is. While knowledge is not a main factor on how to use it, by having knowledge on how to efficiently use it you become stronger the same way when you have practice doing a task you get faster.

 

[Llamadragon]

"Auntie, what is magic?"
Two people shared an avocado on a bench by the beach, in the pleasant shade of a tree. One was an old woman whose skin had wrinkled and hair bleached white in the many years she spent at sea, and the other was a little girl, perhaps five years old.
The woman thought for a second at the girls question. Then she took out the avocado pit from her meal and tossed it in her hands a few times. She did it casually, though it glowed with her magic, a little brighter with each toss. She stopped, inspected her handiwork, and handed the pit to the girl. It was carved in the shape of a tree.

"Don't think so much about magic. Just take it in." she said, and continued to eat her avocado.

 

[TotallyHuman]

I described it as follows:
Magic is everything that has to do anything with manipulating arcane energies or will to cause supernatural phenomena. A phenomenon is called supernatural if it defies the laws of the world, realm, plane, etc where it takes place. Creating an iceberg out of nowhere, moving at supersonic speeds or teleporting without causing a disturbance in the atmosphere and such are magic

 

[HURGMCGURG]

Magic is that which cannot be explained through scientific laws. Depending on the story, magic can be any number of things. In a lot of modern stories, magic is seen usually as the manipulation of Mana in some way to produce an effect. In other stories, magic is something unexplainable for the common mind. In Lord of the Rings, those that could use magic were rare and powerful, but the way they used magic was a mystery. In old stories of witches, their methods of using magic would vary between many different things, from potions to deals with demons. In ancient mythology, such as Norse or Greek, the gods would wield magic to enact their will. What magic is to me though, is a convenient plot device which allows me to ignore the conventional rules of our reality in order to make a more interesting story.