Think of writing a novel with magic in it - thoughts?

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Summary:

• The God in the fantasy world which gives certain humans the ability to use magic (I.e magic is natural in that world)
• Those who try to acquire this magic through other means are punished
• Magic is a prevalent theme in the novel
• The bad guys use “dark spells” a form of magic that is not the one given by the God in this world

What do you guys think? Would this go against Catholic teachings?

EDIT: thank you all for the answers :). This just popped up in my head but would making magic a central theme in the novel promote magic? That is definitely not my intention, but if it does, then I’ll have to turn it into a minor theme. What do you guys think?
 
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Ignore seagull.

Magic used as a plot device is different then the plot. CS Lewis and Tolkien used magic very very freely and no one judges them for it.
 
Yes, Seagull’s response is completely irrelevant to the OP’s question. Apples and oranges. And some of Father’s claims are…interesting…to say the least.
 
I really feel like so called “exorcist” struggle to remain relivent in a modern era where mental health is acknowledged and people don’t assume Crovax (not a real demon name is know of, chill) is playing guitar on your nervous system.

Want to convince me? Make an attempt to publicly document these demonic incusions so we can proply identify the problem.

Instead of the average Catholic panicked thier child vomitted after communion so the tie the poor kid to a chair and get a mop with Holy water.
Instead of you know taking the time to know once the host desolves (which happens very quickly) Jesus is no longer in person of it. Furthermore checking for flu or allergies from post Sunday gatherings.
 
Well, as a writer myself,
not a good one, relax, just as a creative hobby,
I once heard -
“ DON’T write ANYTHING that you’ll be ashamed of, on resurrection day “

As a side note,
I was floored at just how good Dan Brown’s Divinci Code was 🙂
Talk about a real page turner !
 
That’s interesting. I was thinking about the Narnia books in my head, and I was trying to think of when characters-who-were-not-Aslan did something magical/supernatural, and I kept coming up with bad guys… the White Witch’s perpetual winter; the hag and the werewolf trying to resurrect the White Witch; the Magician and his colored rings; etc.

Which is even more interesting, because he brings out mythological creatures from pagan religions-- the naiads and dryads and the river god and Pomona and fauns and Bacchus and whatever-- and makes them into good guys.

I haven’t read the Tolkein stuff as much, but I remember having a conversation with people who had when all the movies came out. “If Gandalf is so strong, why can’t he use his powers whenever he wants?” And they explained to me that he’s not allowed to use power inappropriately-- that there’s an appropriate use and an inappropriate use of power-- and if you increase your power artificially, or use more power than is necessary against a particular foe, then that’s Bad. So with Gandalf v. Balrog, he can use all of his power, because they’re beings on the same level. Or with Gandalf v. Saruman, same thing.

But I’d say that the Narnia books and the LotR books are definitely places to look at how very brilliant men balanced their theology with their fantasy, Lewis doing it very conspicuously, and Tolkein doing it more implicitly.
 
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Kinda agree with you but remember the Mage on the Island of the Paddlefoots in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. He used magic frequently and in his words “ruffly” on his subjects for their own good.
 
If your intent is to give credence or sanction to the “dark arts” that the Church teaches is sinful, then you are out of bounds. If your intent is to have fun, much like the Harry Potter series where magic is just that, magical and not evil, then go for it and have fun. Hope you are successful.
 
Prior to exorcism the one up for exorcism goes through a psychological evaluation and all natural causes are exhausted prior to the exorcism.

A LOT are determined to be natural causes, I think at least 80%.
 
I don’t see anything wrong with magic in books if it promotes good :). I once heard a sermon by a priest who said this when speaking about Harry Potter. He said that since Harry promoted good, kindness, honestly, and friendship, there was nothing wrong. It was only bad if it promoted the idea of using magic to harm others. It’s not bad if you keep this in mind.
 
Oh! Completely forgot about the Dufflepuds. 😛 Wasn’t the magician not a human, but a fallen star?
 
Presentation is everything. Knowing your audience is another issue. Having read a lot of fiction manuscripts as a working editor, and having done some writing, intention matters. Over 95% of the manuscripts received by the company I work for are bad. There are many reasons for this. The primary one being we all start as amateurs or people like to copy off of whatever they can get from other fictional works.

Enduring books with magic in them takes a bit of research. Why is this or that type of magic interesting? It might be argued that The Force in Star Wars was a type of magic. When clearly separated from reality, as Star Wars did, magic, or something like it, can be used well. It takes a bit of practice to learn how to tell stories well.

Regardless of the fact that we live in the 21st Century, the learning curve will never go away.
 
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