From Engineering to Writing: Connecting Two Worlds

Salutations readers! I spent a significant amount of my life studying engineering and I've built a successful engineering career in my adult life. So why write fantasy you might ask? First off, I write it because I like it OK? Get off my back! No, but seriously, this is my hot take: I don't think science and art should be considered separate. They are two parts of creation. Creativity and innovation. These two words have very different connotations.

The word creativity often leads people to think of a form of art, painting, sculpting, drawing, even placing blocks down in Minecraft! Innovation, however, typically leads people to think of a more technical aspect, like blueprints for a technical manual, experimentation, patents, and the like. However, the denotation of the two words are very similar. In my mind, being creative is an imperative character trait to being successful in science, technology, and engineering.

If I never think critically and expand upon the technology and science that was handed to me by previous generations, am I any better than a bird using a rock to crack open seeds? We got to where we are as a species because people have a knack for thinking beyond what they've been given and imagining a new and exciting world.

Creativity without bounds can be unrealistic. For me, this is where my technical background comes in. Have you ever watched a movie where something happens to the main character or they do something that is completely unrealistic? To me, that pulls me out of the story and I'm left scratching my head wondering why the producer chose to include that in the final cut. Did they not do their homework when they created this story? Or do they think that whatever magic system they created excuses a lack of realism in their storytelling? Honestly, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what I think. The creator's justification is the one that creates the story.

HOWEVER, the fact that a viewer or reader was pulled out of the story and was left questioning the validity of their story should not be brushed off. I have tried to keep a solid basis of reality in my fantasy writing. How does that even work? Well, first I like to think about magic as a tool that people use, just like people use the laws of physics to their advantage by using a lever or ramp. Pattern your magic system off of nature and it will always be more relatable if not believable.

In nature, there is always balance. Newton's Third law: For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. The first law of thermodynamics: Energy is always conserved. These are ground rules that we use to create machines, devices, and contraptions that literally power our entire world. You don't need to create an exhaustive list of laws for your magic system. I didn't. But you should consider some of these aspects to help your magic system feel more real.

My magic system is heavily dependent on energy. Energy cannot be generated from nothing. It has to be created. If you were to wave a wand and levitate an object up a steep incline, shouldn't it require the same amount of energy as if you were to lug that same object up the incline with your own two legs? The exciting and creative part of magic is not that we can't understand it, but that the way we solve problems changes.

A word of caution: When creating a completely fictional work, don't let your lack of knowledge or experience staunch your creativity. Everyone is at a different level of academic achievement. Whether you are a high school dropout who is self taught or you graduated from Harvard with your Ph.D. the truth is, no one knows everything!

Don't use ignorance as an excuse not to do your homework, but at the same time, don't let the fact that you can't know everything stop you from writing something that you love. There are bound to be mistakes or flaws in the magic system I created when writing the Necromancer, but I tried my best with the knowledge that I had and in my opinion, that means something.

Thanks for reading! Take care, stay creative, and always question!