Hey, writers.  I believe in there holistic approach when it comes to learning.  For instance, I think even Magic cards can teach us a great deal.  I think there are lessons to be learned from set design, card creation, and even flavor text.

So what can we learn from Magic the Gathering?

Hit the jump, writers, and let’s discuss.

In competitive Magic (back when I used to follow tournaments) the minimum deck size was sixty cards.  Once in a while my friend(s) would nonchalantly go to sixty-one. Then an age-old debate would begin: 60 or 61? Did it matter? Could one card really make that much of a difference?

I was always on the side of sixty.  For the record, barring an exception or two, every article I’ve read stated that sixty was better.

See, in Magic, you play with a deck of cards and draw from the top.  Aside from a few things that affect deck order, no player should know what the top card of the deck is or isn’t.

So what’s the logic behind that?  Well, a solid stack of sixty cards ensures that each and every drawn card is useful and powerful.  Imagine if you had a sixty card deck then added forty useless cards.  You might draw something useful…or you might draw one of the forty speed bumps.

Now in the debate I mentioned above it’s 60 versus 61 and not 60 versus 100, but the concept is the same, just on a smaller scale.

For simplicity’s sake, let’s say the difference between 60 and 61 was 1%.  The debate then is a question of whether or not a 1% chance really affects the outcome of a match.

For me, it’s more of a matter of laziness.  In a well-prepared deck, that final sixty is a beautiful collection of cards that hums like a fine-tuned engine.  That one extra card represents the time the user didn’t spend to first lower his deck to 59.

That reminds me of a quote that I like:

"I would have written you a shorter letter, but I didn't have the time." -- anonymous* 

All the pro’s say that 60 is better than 61.  Should we be lazy and not cut out the chaff?  Of course not.  Writers, we have to cut out whatever seems extraneous.  At this point, I’ve gotten two novels under my belt so I won’t pretend for a second that it’s easy to cut the excess, but I still strive to minimize.

Sometimes it means chucking writing that has taken us hours to write, but if it makes the writing better then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I believe this cutting process is vital for a novel.  Having said that, it’s easily doubly as important for a short story.

You must be this tall

Writers, I’ve recently gotten back into writing short stories.  There’s multiple reasons to work on them, but today I’ll just go over one of them.

Blast off

Think about it, writers.  Let’s say you had 50,000 words to write a story (NaNoWriMo, anyone?) and you could take your sweet time to write out your ideas.  Well, you could be as flowery or as curt as you wanted.

But tighten that down…to…say…500.  Suddenly, every word has a much more important role.

I remember an episode of Boy Meets World where Eric had to write an essay.  Eric hands the paper to the teacher and says here’s your twenty thousand words.  Twenty thousand? the teacher replies. I said two thousand.

Oh, Eric thinks for a second then proceeds to rip off the back pages of the essay.  There you go!

This is comedic and I like it, but I don’t think it would work for us. If we were to write three thousand words for a short story only to tear away everything past the five hundred word mark, it wouldn’t make for a good story.  It would be akin to going to a restaurant and only consuming the bread, butter, and water….and leaving.  No steak, no shrimp.

The request to do a short story is a lot like asking someone to put an Olympic swimming pool into a one-gallon container.  As impossible as that scenario seems, I would contend that some stories shouldn’t be novels and should be left in their short story form.

For instance, there’s a Disney Pixar short film called “Paperman.”  It’s so cute and it’s so well done.  It’s only a few minutes long but the entire story is clear.  And the use of color?  Be still, my heart.

Now, should that story be a full-length movie?  Do we need it to be a rom-com or do we need to see the siblings of the main female character?  I would say no, but if you disagree, sound off in the comments.

Scratch and Win

But back to the Magic the Gathering and 60 versus 61.  Say you only had a +1% chance to get published.  Wouldn’t you take it?  Why not tighten your words in order to better your chances with an editor?

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we should go down to the absolute minimum in word count, but just as in Magic where you can play a 78 card deck if you wanted, I do recommend trimming the excess.

I’m ready for my close up

Taking the concept further, imagine if you only had one paragraph to tell your story?

The words in italics on the bottom of Magic cards are called flavor text.  Given everything else that has to fit onto a card, the space is very limited.  At most, a writer would have a paragraph to convey their message.  So how much can one fit onto one card?

I submit to you, fellow writers, my favorite Magic card.

The flavor text is so simple and clear.  I read it and my brain immediately wants more.  I start seeing images in my mind.  Even the attribution at the end of it piques my interest.

I hear the dialogue in my head.
Guy 1:  “No, man.  They’re not real.”
Guy 2:  “They’re totally real.”
Guy 1:  “People always say that, but what proof do they have?”
Guy 2:  *pulls up shirt, reveals a giant scar on his back*  “Is this real enough for you?!”

All that from a few words in italics.  Simply beautiful.

Quick aside for all the Magic players:  I love the art for this card.  The power/toughness ratio works, too.  This creature should be Shock-able.  I love the Haste and I love the fact that it bounces back to hand.  Even the casting cost works for me.  This card wouldn’t feel right as a single red.  This card was my first exposure to the Viashino and I instantly wanted to know more.  Everything on it is superb.  S+.

Alright, writers.  If there’s a story that you’ve been working on, try doing a short story version of it.  Does it still work?  What would you change?

And if you only have five hundred words or less, try shortening it to a paragraph or two.  See what works!  Experiment! 🙂

Aloha,
Alvin

*This quote which I really enjoy, has been attributed to a blurry number of people.  I’m leaving it blank until I can say for sure who said what when.