Writing Excuses 9.21: Sanderson’s 3rd Law

Brandon has some rules about magic systems -- rules he uses as guideposts for his own writing. In his own words, "I name them Sanderson's Laws partially out of hubris..." Sanderson's third law states, in effect, that a thorough exploration of a single magical ability is better than the creation of lots of different abilities--going for depth rather than breadth. And to immediately break that rule, we explore the wider application of this rule in other arenas. We talk about how we apply this principle--depth rather than breadth--in many aspects of our own work, and then we drill back down (*ahem*) on its application in the creation of magic systems.