"Magic is what makes fantasy fantastic," someone says, "you can't apply rules to them or else it loses wonder!" I respond, "Sure, but if you want to write them you will certainly want to know how they work." Writing is all about execution, and I find applying some basic laws of physics to magic systems make them more understandable and realistic. Here, I'm going to outline my basic method for developing a magic system.
Column by Chaos2651
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Also the Alcatraz books. Every time I read them in public I have to look around sheepishly a lot, because I keep laughing. BYU has the only publicly available copy of Dragonsteel in existence, but Brandon is lifting large chunks out of that to use in WoK and the rest of TSA, so I'm not sure reading it is a good idea. Didn't stop me though. 
Got up to book 5-6 in WoT before my elitist older sister essentually shattered the fantasy genre for me by describing the near entirety of first book using only fantasy cliche's (and having never read it).Hey, cliches aren't bad. There are so many of them it's practically impossible to avoid prominent use of several at once in everything. Seriously, go check out tvtropes.org. When you've had enough of reading through that staggeringly huge list that's actually more for stories in general than TV, come back and take this to heart: cliches are not bad; what really matters is the style, details, and execution, all of which the Wheel of Time does superbly.
I have never heard of a college having a SFF magazine. Do they have an English degree for people who want to write this? Having so much SFF at a university that many of us percieve as being very religious is kind of odd. Does this ever come at odds with BYU administration?You don't just perceive it as being religious, it IS religious. Fortunately, the religion in question happens to have a very favorable view of the arts, up to and including fantasy literature. Brandon has his own little shelf in the bookstore. (Last I checked, they still have some signed WARBREAKER hardbacks, and a whole pile of TGS.)
I think if anything, the quality of the BOOKS dictates how crappy the movie will be. Of course that's not the case for every book turned movie franchise, but it's probably a good rule of thumb for most.
Maybe it's possible to make a good movie from a bad book by changing things around so that it is unrecognizable, and to make a bad movie from a good book by doing the same thing, but if the major themes are intact, and the details are good, there's no reason an excellent book can't be made into an excellent movie. Or maybe I'm completely misunderstanding you. So much confusion! ... Really, after typing all that, now I'm starting to think you were agreeing with me. Aghh! These forums are Ruined Forever!
Though, ook posts quite often, and I'm sure he knows exactly as much as brandon on any given subject (being his assistant and all) so we may as well be getting it "straight from the horses mouth" so to speak when he says anything.
So, sorry but, yes, you need to go into Realmatic Theory to understand it. 
Presumably, all worlds are connected to the Shadesmar, but I guess SLA is going to be the first series to use it in any way. (I think I found this in the Hero of Ages Spoiler thread.)
