what’s not ok

In a forum, a writer asked if it was “OK” to create a system of “soft magic”. Here’s what I told her…

Everything is OK— except doing it badly. And since all "badly" means is "in a way your readers dislike", that gives you plenty of latitude.

Write something everyone loves; write something only ONE person can tolerate; write something outrageously new; write something old and comfy. Do what you want— in art, there is no arbiter of "ok" except you.

Now. How do YOU feel about "soft magic"? Since you worry what others think of it, sounds like YOU think it's a little flimsy. Dig deeper into your reasons for that feeling— understand them— and then write something where you can step back and honestly say: "yep, I managed to avoid all that stuff that was bugging me".

That's all you can ever do. And that's OK!