Magical realism is a genre that can be incredibly rewarding to write, but it requires some specific tips. The key to writing great magical realism is understanding the genre’s fundamentals and crafting an exciting story that will engage your audience.

In this article, we’ll discuss the genre’s key aspects and give you some practical tips for bringing your stories to life. These tips will help you craft an exciting, authentic, and realistic story that will be a delight to read.

1. Magical Realist Stories Have a Light Touch

The key to writing a magical realist story is to be careful with introducing and using supernatural elements in your fiction. These supernatural elements should never feel overt or overwhelming. They must play a meaningful role in your story and contribute to the overall story arc while also being consistent with your characterization and narrative style.

2. Use Magical Elements to Boost Your Characterisation

The best way to bring a character to life is to make them feel three-dimensional and believable. This means giving them a rich background, unique quirks, flaws, and the facets of their personality that make them who they are.

Creating a strong characterization is also essential for enticing and keeping your readers engaged. This is because it’s your job to convince them that the characters in your story aren’t just figments of your imagination or just another plot device but rather actual, living people who can be influenced by the mysterious, supernatural events that occur in their lives.

3. The Story Needs a Non-Linear Structure

One of the main characteristics of magical realist fiction is that it does not move through time in the traditional sense. Instead, it may shift and twist like a Mobius strip. This reflects the worldview of magical realist writers, who do not believe in linear time or objective reality.

4. The Magical Realist World View Conveys an Unrealistic Perspective

In the magical realist worldview, there is no such thing as “reality” or “truth.” In this universe, time is not linear, and causality is subject to interpretation. This is not to say that the supernatural is real, but rather that it provides a different and more compassionate way to see the world.

5. The Magical Realist World View Can be a Tool for Socially Relevant Issues

A major strength of magical realism is that it can be used to address important social issues, such as the role of women in society or racism. In addition, this genre can help to create a new and visceral understanding of a current news story or event by offering a new point of view.

6. The Story Needs a Strong, Determinable Hero

Good characterization is also essential for a story to succeed in this genre. Your protagonist should be a complex, engaging, and fully-rounded character who can carry your story from beginning to end without compromising the integrity of the plot.

If you’re a fan of literature and artwork, you might have come across the term magic realism. It is a different art and literary fiction form that has taken over the world of mystical and magical elements. It is one of the most loved genres in novels that portray the mystical world and supernatural phenomena in a mundane setting.

It is one of the essential genres of literacy that covers the different aspects and elements of myth and fantasy with the everyday real world. It is a form of critiquing real-world situations and ideas. Famous authors like Isabel Allende, Frida Kahlo, and Gabriel Marquez are closely associated with the work of magic realism.

Magic realism originated in the easy 90s in Latin America, and since then, it has spread to different parts of the world. However, this form of literary work closely connects with stories related to Latin American literature and other artistic fields, including theater, painting, and the film industry.

• The incorporation and amalgam of supernatural elements or magic in a very original and realistic setting.
• A thin line between the use of fantastical and real-world stories
• The apt use of symbolism and metaphor to explore different ideas and discuss deeper themes
• The focus is on incorporating magic elements and different ways of critiquing real-world solutions.

Characteristics of Magic realism

Since the genre of literature began in the early 90s, it has developed some essential characteristics which have helped to increase its popularity over the years.

Incorporation of magic and fantasy

One of the key characteristics is the amalgam of fantasy and the real world. For instance, characters in this genre suddenly develop wings, a city filled with talking animals, and so on. The presence of such characters helps build a dreamlike reality in an unrealistic world.

The subjective experience of characters

It is another important characteristic of magical realism. It mainly focuses on delivering different perspectives and interpretations rather than providing a clear, objective view of our world. Also, the fans of this genre of literature and art will develop a deep connection to the tradition and their rich cultural heritage. Most of them are also influenced by these fictional characters, which often portray some cultural influences.

Social and political commentary

The genre uses fantastical elements in its storyline, sometimes symbolizing political and real-world issues. For instance, a talking tree might help educate people about environmental problems and the character’s ability to symbolize and long for independence and freedom from suffering.

Conclusion

Magical realism, also called magic realism, is a form of a literary and artistic movement that depicts a magical experience in a real-world setting, entertaining or educating people on different aspects.

In the early 20th century, a Latin American literary movement called “magical realism” emerged. The term was coined by German art critic Franz Roh, who used it to describe paintings by European artists Georges Rouault and Max Ernst.

These painters illustrated scenes from daily life that were filled with fantastic elements, such as ghosts or monsters, to express their spiritual concerns and fears. In this way, they could reveal something more profoundly deeper about our reality than mere physical appearances could convey on their own.

Magical Realism is a Genre of Fiction Writing, Specifically within the Novel Genre

Magical realism is a literary genre and form of fiction, often characterized by blending the fantastic and the everyday. Magical realist novels are usually placed in the same category as allegory, fantasy, fables, folklore, legends and mythic fiction because they all tell an incredible story through believable characters.

Magical realism is distinct from science fiction because it does not focus on technology or futuristic gadgets as much as it does on emotions and human life experiences within a given world that may or may not be parallel to ours. he

Described as Being Part of the Postmodern Movement

The movement of magical realism is also often described as being part of the postmodern movement. Postmodernism is a movement that began in the 1960s and 1970s, and it’s generally seen as a reaction to modernism.

In contrast to its predecessor, postmodernism is characterized by its use of irony and parody; it attempts to break away from rigid rules set by previous authors.

Magical Realism Mixes “Magical” Elements  with Realistic Elements and Characters

In magical realism, characters inhabit a world that is not quite like ours. This can happen in several ways: magical or fantastical events occur without explanation; the setting of the story is mysterious and unusual, or the characters are ordinary people who are caught up in extraordinary circumstances.

These elements combine to create an atmosphere where readers are often left to decide whether they’re reading about “real life” or something otherworldly.

The best way to learn how to write this kind of book is by studying examples of it from writers who have mastered the form—like Gabriel García Márquez and Alice Hoffman (two authors whose work I highly recommend).

Magical realism has been taken up in many forms of art, but it has remained most prominent in the literature. For example, you can find magical realism in music (such as the work of Frank Zappa), art (such as Magritte’s paintings) and film (such as Fellini’s work).

Just as there are many forms of magical realism, there are also many ways to approach reading this genre. Readers can choose from plenty of books that break down the basics of magical realism in literary terms, or they can go more experientially with a book that offers readings on how it works for individual works. And if one isn’t enough for you, well, maybe we just found your next book club read!

If you are a voracious reader who reads different styles of literature, then you might have come across the term magic realism. You might be familiar with the works of authors like Gabriel Garcia Marques or Jorge Luis Borges and might have seen how they have effortlessly added the element of fantasy to reality.

But if you are a person who is hearing the term ‘magic-realism’ for the first time, you may confuse it with fantasy. You can look into this guide to understand the difference between magic realism and fantasy.

What is Magic realism?

Magic realism is a genre of literature that depicts the real world but uses elements of fantasy or magic. Here the world will be situated in a real world where elements of magic are considered very normal. The world of magic realism blurs the difference between magic and reality.

Characters of magic realism

You can look into these features of magic realism to understand it better.

Realistic setting

One of the main features of magic realism is that the novel will be set in a realistic place that all the readers will be familiar with.

Element of Magic

Even though they are set in a realistic world, readers will be able to find elements of magic or fantasy. You can find supernatural creatures dead creatures or telepathic powers.

Response to the unrealistic elements

Another feature of magic realism is how characters respond to the element of fantasy. The characters will respond to these unrealistic things around them in a very normal way. Compared to other genres of fiction that separate fantasy from reality, magic realism blurs the line between fantasy and reality. The characters will respond to these unrealistic events quite naturally as if that is very common.

Limited information

Unlike fiction where they will widely explain the fantasy world, in magic realism the author will give limited information about the elements of magic. By leaving those elements of magic unexplained, the readers will feel that they are normal and is a part of everyday life.

For instance, in the novel Midnight children by Salman Rushdie, the boy born at midnight on the day India got independence has telepathic power. Even though there are elements of imagination, we feel it is natural.

Critique

Most of the time, the author uses magic realism to critique society. This genre is developed in Latin America where people were oppressed and exploited by Western World. They used Magic realism to comment on this exploitation.

Fantasy takes the readers to a world that is unreal with unreal characters. For instance, the world that is depicted in the famous trilogy The Lord of the Rings which is filled with elves and dwarfs is the best example of fantasy. But in magic realism, you will not be able to distinguish between reality and fantasy as they are intelligently woven into each other.

Magical Realism Movies sprinkle fantasy into the depiction of ordinary everyday life. They provide us with the best of both worlds – reality and fantasy. One of the common denominators of any Magical realism movies is that they are set in the real world. In those seemingly ordinary settings, you might see uncommon incidents. Here are some of the greatest magical realism movies of all time:

Black Swan:

Black Swan is a psychological thriller released in 2010, directed by Darren Aronofsky. The film saw an exceptional performance from Natalie Portman in the lead role as a ballerina. The movie depicts the life of Nina (played by Natalie Portman) as an overworked ballerina who is hardworking and strives tremendously for artistic perfection. The movie strives to educate the audience about the hard work any artist has to undertake and how the mind can break down under immense performance pressure. The movie teaches us that we are our own worst enemies, plagued by self-doubt and imposter syndrome.

Midnight in Paris:

Midnight in Paris, written and directed by Woody Allen, is a fantasy comedy released in the year 2011. The movie is set in the city of love, Paris, the perfect location for a romantic movie. The movie is about an engaged couple who travels to Paris for business. Gil Pender (played by Owen Wilson) is a nostalgic writer who is not so happy with his present life. One day while walking through the streets of Paris, he is whisked into an era to meet all his idols from the past. The movie teaches the audience that the past may have been golden, but the present and future are not bad either. If anything, the movie teaches us to learn to enjoy the present moment rather than spending time reveling in the past or wondering about the future.

Edward Scissorhands:

Edward Scissorhands, released in 1990, is a romantic fantasy directed by Tim Burton. The main character Edward, an outcast, is played by Johnny Depp. Edward is not a pleasant sight with his unruly black shot hair and blades for fingers. However, Edward is a sweetheart of a boy, always kind and helping others. The movie attempts to teach the audience not to judge a book by its cover. The story takes a romantic twist when a kind saleswoman Peg takes Edward home, where he falls for Peg’s daughter (played by Winona Ryder).

Life of Pi:

Life of Pi is a classic of the magical realism movie genre. Released in 2012 and directed by Ang Lee, the movie is adapted from the book of the same name. The movie is about of boy who ends up alone in the middle of the ocean after a tragedy strikes his family on the way to Canada. Pi (played by Suraj Sharma) finds himself with a Bengal tiger in a lifeboat floating in the sea. As they continue their ordeal, eventually, the tiger and the boy learn to trust each other for survival. The movie also depicts the natural instincts of Pi to learn and search for a higher purpose and his journey towards faith.