: Magic and logic What do I have to consider when creating/inventing magic and magical elements for a fantasy novel? Are there do's and don'ts? How much do I have to explain to the reader?

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I highly suggest that you watch Brandon Sanderson's lecture exactly on that topic given at BYU. Someone also linked his blog if you want to read further. I'll try to summarize it from memory. It's basically 3 + 0 rules:

The more the reader understands your magic system, the more you can use it for satisfying problem solving:

This is basically proper foreshadowing. If you left it ambiguous and use it to resolve the main conflict, it's just Deus ex machina. If you explain the boundaries well beforehand and have the characters use it as a tool in different situations, every instance looks canny. Even more so for important plot points.

That is not to say you should always explain your magic in depth. For example, you can have a shiny new wizard save the protagonist from trouble early in your story. What it does is introduce a character, establish him as a badass and expand what is possible in the universe.

In short:

Scarcely explained magic can be used to create a sense of wonder and excitement.
Thoroughly explained magic can be used to solve problems in a way that the reader will perceive as clever/well thought out.

Flaws and limitations are more interesting than powers:

A tool that can solve every problem negates any conflict. Stories revolve around obstacles that are hard to overcome.

Also it's easier to make your magic mechanics look unique by placing some limitations on them, rather than think of completely new powers no one has used before. Mind control is generic and overdone. Mind control that can only be performed by the priests of a given god on followers of that faith that broke their oath can be interesting and reality immersing. Additionally, consider adding some sort of cost to your magic in addition to hard boundaries.
Go deeper, not wider:

Your tale is not a wizard's text book. There is a limit beyond which it becomes an info dump of ideas in your head, rather than a story. And as per the first rule, you better explore the sorcery you will resolve conflicts with deep enough.

In addition, it reduces the possibility for accidental plot holes.
Make it awesome:

Pretty self explanatory. If you are writing an epic fantasy series, it helps if the protagonist's power isn't to be invisible when no one is looking. Though you can totally go that route if you are writing a comedy.

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Here are some questions that you could use to prompt / guide you when inventing a magic system:

Does magic exist?
What constrains it?
What can magic not do?
Do people believe in one God, many or none?
Do people make sacrifices
to Gods?
Do an elite control religion / magic or is it accessible to
all?
Are there any magical creatures? Describe them.
To what extent is magic a learned skill or an innate talent?
Is magic a specialist, elite skill or is it used easily by commoners?
What is the price / cost of using magic?
Do magicians need to meet any
specific criteria? Be celibate? Go through a ritual?
Does magic
requires tools and props?
How is one magician stronger than
another?
Can magic be combined to increase its strength?
What
defeats magic?
Is magic admired / respected / feared / something
else?
Is any magic illegal?
What is magic generally used for?
What
are magic temples like?

These questions are from the 'magic' section of a larger world building questionnaire that can be found here: www.novel-software.com/theultimateworldbuildingquestionnaire (full disclosure - the above is my site)

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While some might not resist the temptation to immediately classify and categorize your magic system as though it is a real and already existing thing (which in fact you are only about to start developing), I will do my personal best to try.

Mr. Baker is absolutely correct then he says

...it matters because it fulfills a function in the story...

and I agree wholeheartedly. I'd go even further:

Anything you choose to put into your story has (or should have) a function.

Else it is not necessary and better be left out.

Whatever are your reasons to write your story in fantasy genre, I assume, that the choice is made and there is a dragon somewhere which needs slaying, or a unicorn waiting to be captured, or something else which required to put your characters in a secondary world (or augmented existing one) and arm them with magic, or the opposite–have to battle someone who has magic and does something bad with it. Or any combination of the above and then some.

The point is: if magic is not important for your story, it shouldn't be there. If it is, it better has rules and logic, just like any other element of your story.

Just like a rock-paper-scissor set of rules lets us play the game, there should be one developed for any element you invent, of there will be no game to play. The rules do not have to be detailed (or better yet, they can be as detailed or as simple as you wish them to be), but they have to be set.

One of the funnest parts of writing fantasy is that you do not have to explain magic, and that can let you get away with a lot of things, but, regardless of whether you explain the rules of your magic system to the reader, they have to be set, and you have to follow them.

If you just employ random magic to get out of a dire writing block, it will be immediately noted as cheating and will hurt your story.

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