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* Most PsychicPowers in ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' are fairly instinctual to use but a TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening means the onset comes on ''fast'' and controlling or being precise with their powers is a challenge for a lot of characters. TrainingTheGiftOfMagic usually ensues if they're Chosen. Warrl gives Kerowyn one on one lessons in {{Telepathy}}. Lavan's [[PlayingWithFire Firestarting]] is powerful on an unprecedented and rather alarming level to the point where he has very little conscious control without Kalira to act as a limiter, so teaching ''him'' meant getting creative.
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* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', the kids got the general hang of morphing easily, but had to watch every new morph because they risked losing control of it. And in some cases, like termites, they never morphed them again.
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* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', the kids got the general hang of morphing easily, but had easily. Focus on an animal while touching it to acquire its DNA, then focus on it hard and for a sustained period to painlessly if gruesomely transform into it. Handle the [[TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody animal instincts]] that come with the morph and [[RequiredSecondaryPowers make it possible to move and act easily in a very different body]]. Become human again by focusing on their own human bodies. It does take them time to get as skilled at it as they become, though. Because morphing takes a lot of energy and is very alarming to watch every new morph because at first, in the first few books they risked losing tend to pause and rest after demorphing rather than immediately morphing something else, and they struggled more with the animal instincts at the start. Either the animal mind wrested control of it. And in some cases, like termites, from them for longer, or they never morphed them again.didn't work with it smoothly and, as birds for example, flapped clumsily.
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* Henry of ''Literature/OneHundredCupboards'' develops Green Man powers which he gets the hang of pretty quickly...except for a tendency for [[FertileFeet dandelions to spring up in any nearby soil]]. This isn't helpful when he's trying to stay hidden, or when the plants are thick enough to trap him in place.
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Renamed, cutting ZCEs, low-context potholes and non-examples.
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* In ''{{Literature/Dinoverse}}'', kids are [[TimeTravel sent back in time]] and possess the bodies of dinosaurs. Most of them get used to their new abilities quickly, but Janine, in the body of a [[PteroSoarer Quetzalcoatlus]], had to struggle and work to learn {{Flight}}.
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* In ''{{Literature/Dinoverse}}'', kids are [[TimeTravel sent back in time]] and possess the bodies of dinosaurs. Most of them get used to their new abilities quickly, but Janine, in the body of a [[PteroSoarer Quetzalcoatlus]], had ''Quetzalcoatlus'', has to struggle and work to learn {{Flight}}.
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* PlayedForDrama and/or {{Wangst}} in ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''. Becoming a vampire in this 'verse grants you SuperStrength and NighInvulnerability, but you have to spend a long time relearning your fine-motor skills and [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength accidentally break stuff a lot]]. Edward's ''still'' got a fair way to go on this issue a hundred years after being turned.
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* PlayedForDrama and/or {{Wangst}} in ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''.''Literature/TheTwilightSaga''. Becoming a vampire in this 'verse grants you SuperStrength and NighInvulnerability, but you have to spend a long time relearning your fine-motor skills and [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength accidentally break stuff a lot]]. Edward's ''still'' got a fair way to go on this issue a hundred years after being turned.
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**The werewolves also get hit with this, as not only do they get SuperStrength, but they also can take up to several weeks to get the hang of their VoluntaryShapeshifting.
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* Say what you will about the {{Doorstopper}} length of Robert Jordan's ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series, but it does allow the channeling characters a realistic period of time to get a grasp on controlling and developing their powers. Notably, none of the characters become {{Instant Expert}}s, but have a learning curve of three or four books before they gain consistent control. Nyneave takes a full ''seven'' books to overcome her block. Learning to use ''saidin'' without a teacher is so difficult that Rand finally has to [[BatmanGambit trap a Forsaken]] to keep from getting himself killed. Later, Nynaeve and Elayne hold another one hostage in order to learn lost techniques that have stayed lost for a good three millennia. Eventually, the Asha'man (a corps of male Channelers) are created an it was realized this trope could come into play. They develop a TrainingFromHell regimen (similar to Covenant's above in that recruits learn by using the Power for ''everything'' in order to get the hang of it quickly) to deal with this.
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* Say what you will about the {{Doorstopper}} length of Robert Jordan's ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series, but it does allow the channeling characters a realistic period of time to get a grasp on controlling and developing their powers. Notably, none of the characters become {{Instant Expert}}s, but have a learning curve of three or four books before they gain consistent control. Nyneave takes a full ''seven'' books to overcome her block. Learning to use ''saidin'' without a teacher is so difficult that Rand finally has to [[BatmanGambit trap a Forsaken]] to keep from getting himself killed. Later, Nynaeve and Elayne hold another one hostage in order to learn lost techniques that have stayed lost for a good three millennia. Eventually, the Asha'man (a corps of male Channelers) are created an when it was realized this trope could come into play. They develop a TrainingFromHell regimen (similar to Covenant's above in that recruits learn by using the Power for ''everything'' in order to get the hang of it quickly) to deal with this.
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%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!
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Characters [[HowDoIShotWeb struggling to figure out how their powers work]] in {{Literature}}.
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* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', the kids got the general hang of morphing easily, but had to watch every new morph because they risked losing control of it. And in some cases, like termites, they never morphed them again.
* In ''Literature/ChildrenOfTheBlackSun'', Sympaths almost always have this, if they even try. They have the ability to generate vast amounts of magic from their surroundings, but seldom know how to do anything notable with it, and are more often used as accumulators of magic for other mages. Sierra, the protagonist, was originally intended to be this (much against her will), but becomes very dangerous when she escapes and starts learning how to ''use'' the magic she gathers.
* Covenant in ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'' spends a remarkable number of pages not having a real hang of his own WildMagic. Most of it is pure instinct, even without his knowledge early on (towards the end of the first trilogy, he even says that he still doesn't know how to ''use'' it, but he's figured out how to ''trigger'' it... which basically amounts to putting himself in mortal danger and relying on the wild magic itself and/or his own subconscious to save him). It's not until the second trilogy that we see him directing it toward definite purposes, complete with a training regimen... he uses his wild magic to shave, precisely to teach himself control over it. Technically, he still doesn't know how to turn it on. Instead, he had to learn to keep it under control due to [[spoiler:Lord Foul's venom acting as a permanent trigger]].
* In the ''Literature/CodexAlera'' series, we see the Academy is where most Alerans go through this learning process. However, when [[spoiler:Tavi]] becomes aware of furies, the person goes through a TrainingFromHell for months, which we see briefly in the second to last book.
* In ''{{Literature/Dinoverse}}'', kids are [[TimeTravel sent back in time]] and possess the bodies of dinosaurs. Most of them get used to their new abilities quickly, but Janine, in the body of a [[PteroSoarer Quetzalcoatlus]], had to struggle and work to learn {{Flight}}.
* ''Literature/{{Dragaera}}'': Vladimir Taltos has no freaking clue what he's doing with [[spoiler:his new EmpathicWeapon, Godslayer]] and has gotten himself in a lot of trouble with such screw-ups as accidentally destroying a sorceress's soul in the process of blocking something nasty she threw at him.
* In the ''Literature/{{Drenai}}'' saga, Decado, a former BadassNormal, experiences this on his first astral travel as there is nobody around to teach him the subtleties of it. Whereas his friends' spirit forms appear clothed in silver armour and carrying swords of light, he has to fight the forces of evil [[FullFrontalAssault naked]] and with his bare hands. Not that this slows him down too much.
* In ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'', young Tash Arranda is an untrained Force-Sensitive. The Force is a fantastic power... but she really doesn't know anything about using it beyond what a sympathetic Luke Skywalker told her in the first book: that she should trust her feelings. When she fails at Jedi anything in ''The Nightmare Machine'', her memory of this failure sabotages her repeatedly in ''Ghost of the Jedi''.
-->''For a while, I thought I might be -- or could be -- a Jedi. But now I think that was just a fluke. When we were on Hologram Fun World, I didn't know what was happening even though we were in danger. Now I just feel like I'm going crazy. That's the opposite of what a Jedi is.''
* Most of the mutants in ''Literature/{{Gone}}'' suffer from this, particularly Sam. Strangely, Caine and Diana have already figured out how to use their powers because EvilIsCool and GoodIsDumb. Diana and Caine spent a while practicing their powers before coming down to Perdido Beach. It was said in the first book they'd had their powers for a couple months.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' builds this trope right into the setting. You've got magical powers? Great! You still have to go to school for seven years to learn how to use them. Both young Harry and Tom Riddle are able to occasionally "will" something to happen, but the effects are haphazard without training.
** All young witches and wizards can use magic during times of stress or when feeling extreme emotions, though the effects are notoriously unpredictable (though they'll often reflect the emotion the kid's feeling; for instance, when Harry wanted to escape from Dudley and his friends, he apparated on top of the school chimney). It's shown that they can gain ''some'' control over it on their own, like Lily did as a kid, but to do anything functional and avoid losing control of their powers, they need schooling.
* Deliberately invoked in ''Literature/TheImmortals'' when [[spoiler:Emperor Ozorne]] turns himself into a Stormwing to avoid punishment. As the Stormwing queen Barzha tells him, he just lost all his mortal magic in exchange for immortal magic, which he has no idea how to control. [[spoiler:Sadly, he gets a grip on it pretty fast.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Ozorne:''']] I still have magic! I have Stormwing magic!\\
'''Barzha:''' [[DeadpanSnarker That's sweet, dearie. Do you know how to use it?]]
* In each of the ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'' books, the protagonists have to get the hang of being the Incarnations of Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Evil, Good, and Night, respectively.
* ''Literature/InCryptid'':
** Ghostly Mary Dunlavy is only just learning how to be a ghost. Fran knows more about it than she does.
-->'''Fran:''' You're a goddamn ''ghost''! Do I need to get you an instruction book? Walk through the door!
** [[OurMagesAreDifferent Sorcerers]] like [[PlayingWithFire Antimony]] and [[AnIcePerson James]] often have to figure out their powers by trial and error, since sorcerers are few and far between, largely due to persecution by the [[KnightTemplar Covenant]].
** After [[spoiler:Sarah becomes a Johrlac Queen]], she takes a while to figure out her vastly expanded new powers, partially because she doesn't want to accidentally hurt anyone with them.
* Not knowing how to properly control magic in the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' will likely kill you from either a rebound of magical energy or, more likely, draining your life force away before you can cancel the spell. It's also been said repeatedly in-universe that truly mastering the art of magic takes decades of practice and diligence. For the first book and a half, Eragon's progress follows this trend, as he slowly progresses from struggling to lift a rock with his mind to effortlessly casting fire-based spells. Of course, then he undergoes a crash course in magic with the elves and then becomes half-elf during the Blood-Oath Ceremony, completely eliminating the need for a slow progression.
** He's still learning clear through to the last book, but after the Blood-Oath Ceremony, it's less about how to use magic, and more about learning what he can accomplish with it.
* ''Literature/LegacyOfTheAldenata'': [[HordeOfAlienLocusts The Posleen]] inherited all of their technology from their NeglectfulPrecursors, and they have no idea how most of it works. This can lead to some humorous bits, such as when a computer helpfully informs one Posleen about incoming artillery fire and he just stares at it like a moron.
* The better part of a chapter of ''[[Literature/TheHitchhikersGuidetotheGalaxy Life The Universe and Everything]]'' is devoted to Arthur Dent learning to fly. ''By accident.'' To put it simply, he was falling, and got so distracted that he ''missed the ground.'' He does eventually become adept enough to teach another person to fly, and they end up [[spoiler:having sex in midair]].
* Mathias Martel in ''Literature/MagikOnline'' spends most of the story's first arc testing out the limits of his spells through trial and errors. He eventually figures out how to combine two spells into one.
* ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'': After becoming the Master of the Deck of Dragons, Ganoes Paran spends quite a while not knowing what his abilities (or responsibilities) actually are, let alone how to use them. By ''The Crippled God'' he has become a full-blown SpaceMaster capable of opening portals between or within dimensions and can go to or summon to himself anyone represented by the Deck. Since he is also commanding a BadassArmy this is terrifyingly effective in terms of logistics and maneuvers.
* ''Literature/{{Matilda}}'' spends a substantial amount of time trying to figure out the ins and outs of her "push-stuff-around-with-her-eyes" (telekinesis) power.
* In ''Literature/MinecraftTheIsland'', a major part of the early chapters is the protagonist learning how ''Minecraft'' works and what they can and can't do, especially what foods they can and can't eat.
* In ''Franchise/{{Mistborn}}'': The first book has several amusing scenes of Kelsier teaching Vin about Allomancy and being a Mistborn. In particular, after he teaches her the basics of steel and iron (blue lines that connect to sources of metal), but says he'll explain the rest later, Vin's suspicious nature gets the better of her. She experimentally "tugs" on one of the blue lines, and yips and ducks as a loose nail shoots at her chest. Kelsier simply muses "I should have expected you to do that," then proceeds to explain Ironpulling and Steelpushing to her. Still takes her a bit to figure it out, though.
** An unusually grand variant of this trope [[spoiler: is what resulted in the world becoming an ash-blanketed wasteland a thousand years ago. The Lord Ruler received cosmic levels of power for a ''very'' limited amount of time and tried to stop the mists that were destroying civilisation. The power came with instinctive knowledge of how to use it to, say, move the planet closer to the sun to burn off the mists, but gave no information about the consequences of doing so or where the best place to put it would be. The Lord Ruler couldn't get the position right, and with limited time decided to move it too close to the sun, and then introduce a permanent nuclear winter to stop it overheating too much. He then realised plants and animals couldn't survive such a world, and frantically tried to adjust their biology to fit the new environment, with each change causing more problems until his power ran out.]]
* In ''[[{{Literature/Nightside}} Just Another Judgement Day]]'', there's a humorous scene at the Adventurer's Club when a wannabe supervillain with no clue how his (stolen) magic rings work accidentally teleports himself into the midst of a huge crowd of Nightside heroes, rather than into the neighboring club he'd intended to rob.
* In ''Literature/{{The Reader|2016}}'', Sefia experiences this while trying to figure out her Sight abilities, mainly because she's not formally trained. Quite often it fizzles out, and when it does work she's exhausted.
* ''Shonsu'' in ''The Seventh Sword'' trilogy, by Creator/DaveDuncan, spends all three books learning to use the abilities given to him by a goddess. When he is first granted the abilities and knowledge to be the world's greatest swordsman, he has no idea. As the story progresses, he learns more and more about his capabilities, usually as the situations arise. This even applies to textbook-type knowledge, which actually works really well in the story.
* Daylen experiences this in ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror'' with his newfound Lightbinding magic. He's able to rapidly figure out the basics within two chapters of even ''getting'' the ability, but it's a slow trickle from there on out, due to him not being able to get a mentor until late in the book. Even then, there's a lot of information about Lightbinding magic that [[SequelHook won't be revealed until future installments]].
* In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'', a major part of the first half of the novel is learning to use the powered armor "suits" of the Mobile Infantry.
* Various Surgebinders in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' suffer from this. Kaladin takes something like a book and a half to really get a handle on things.
* ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'':
** Richard from never learns how to use the vast majority of his abilities... except, of course, the ones that are absolutely necessary to allow him to [[DeusExMachina save the day]]. Richard's magic appears to be keyed to strong emotion; a big deal was made of whether or not he could actually ''use'' his anger in the first book, as opposed to simply keeping it locked inside himself.
** Subverted in the case of swordplay -- which is, let's face it, the first thing to master when trying to use any magic sword's [[AbsurdlySharpBlade first and foremost super power]]. Getting magic swords that can cut anything is great -- for knights and swordmasters. For anyone else, it's a health risk. Richard's a woodsman, the most experience he'd have with blades would be limited to a machette and a skinning knife. He'd have to learn swordplay like any other, right? [[spoiler:No. [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement The Sword of Truth]] [[InstantExpert can share the collective combat experience of all previous users with the Seeker]]; Richard of course learns this ''while'', and promptly uses it during, a fight with 30 -- that's ''thirty'' -- Baka Ban Mana blademasters. They're guys who spend most of their lives training swordplay, each day, ''all'' day, dawn till dusk. [[StoryBreakerPower Right]].]] He actually lampshades it right before that fight, thinking that against one man he ''is'' virtually unstoppable -- but only because the sword cannot be parried, and so he can count on getting one strike through.
** There is a villainous case in book 4, where [[BigBad Jagang]] takes over the mind of a wizard. He ''can'' use simple telekinesis and throw fireballs, but never uses more advanced powers like DeflectorShields or tranfiguration.
* PlayedForDrama and/or {{Wangst}} in ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''. Becoming a vampire in this 'verse grants you SuperStrength and NighInvulnerability, but you have to spend a long time relearning your fine-motor skills and [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength accidentally break stuff a lot]]. Edward's ''still'' got a fair way to go on this issue a hundred years after being turned.
* Say what you will about the {{Doorstopper}} length of Robert Jordan's ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series, but it does allow the channeling characters a realistic period of time to get a grasp on controlling and developing their powers. Notably, none of the characters become {{Instant Expert}}s, but have a learning curve of three or four books before they gain consistent control. Nyneave takes a full ''seven'' books to overcome her block. Learning to use ''saidin'' without a teacher is so difficult that Rand finally has to [[BatmanGambit trap a Forsaken]] to keep from getting himself killed. Later, Nynaeve and Elayne hold another one hostage in order to learn lost techniques that have stayed lost for a good three millennia. Eventually, the Asha'man (a corps of male Channelers) are created an it was realized this trope could come into play. They develop a TrainingFromHell regimen (similar to Covenant's above in that recruits learn by using the Power for ''everything'' in order to get the hang of it quickly) to deal with this.
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%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!
%%
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Characters [[HowDoIShotWeb struggling to figure out how their powers work]] in {{Literature}}.
----
* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', the kids got the general hang of morphing easily, but had to watch every new morph because they risked losing control of it. And in some cases, like termites, they never morphed them again.
* In ''Literature/ChildrenOfTheBlackSun'', Sympaths almost always have this, if they even try. They have the ability to generate vast amounts of magic from their surroundings, but seldom know how to do anything notable with it, and are more often used as accumulators of magic for other mages. Sierra, the protagonist, was originally intended to be this (much against her will), but becomes very dangerous when she escapes and starts learning how to ''use'' the magic she gathers.
* Covenant in ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'' spends a remarkable number of pages not having a real hang of his own WildMagic. Most of it is pure instinct, even without his knowledge early on (towards the end of the first trilogy, he even says that he still doesn't know how to ''use'' it, but he's figured out how to ''trigger'' it... which basically amounts to putting himself in mortal danger and relying on the wild magic itself and/or his own subconscious to save him). It's not until the second trilogy that we see him directing it toward definite purposes, complete with a training regimen... he uses his wild magic to shave, precisely to teach himself control over it. Technically, he still doesn't know how to turn it on. Instead, he had to learn to keep it under control due to [[spoiler:Lord Foul's venom acting as a permanent trigger]].
* In the ''Literature/CodexAlera'' series, we see the Academy is where most Alerans go through this learning process. However, when [[spoiler:Tavi]] becomes aware of furies, the person goes through a TrainingFromHell for months, which we see briefly in the second to last book.
* In ''{{Literature/Dinoverse}}'', kids are [[TimeTravel sent back in time]] and possess the bodies of dinosaurs. Most of them get used to their new abilities quickly, but Janine, in the body of a [[PteroSoarer Quetzalcoatlus]], had to struggle and work to learn {{Flight}}.
* ''Literature/{{Dragaera}}'': Vladimir Taltos has no freaking clue what he's doing with [[spoiler:his new EmpathicWeapon, Godslayer]] and has gotten himself in a lot of trouble with such screw-ups as accidentally destroying a sorceress's soul in the process of blocking something nasty she threw at him.
* In the ''Literature/{{Drenai}}'' saga, Decado, a former BadassNormal, experiences this on his first astral travel as there is nobody around to teach him the subtleties of it. Whereas his friends' spirit forms appear clothed in silver armour and carrying swords of light, he has to fight the forces of evil [[FullFrontalAssault naked]] and with his bare hands. Not that this slows him down too much.
* In ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'', young Tash Arranda is an untrained Force-Sensitive. The Force is a fantastic power... but she really doesn't know anything about using it beyond what a sympathetic Luke Skywalker told her in the first book: that she should trust her feelings. When she fails at Jedi anything in ''The Nightmare Machine'', her memory of this failure sabotages her repeatedly in ''Ghost of the Jedi''.
-->''For a while, I thought I might be -- or could be -- a Jedi. But now I think that was just a fluke. When we were on Hologram Fun World, I didn't know what was happening even though we were in danger. Now I just feel like I'm going crazy. That's the opposite of what a Jedi is.''
* Most of the mutants in ''Literature/{{Gone}}'' suffer from this, particularly Sam. Strangely, Caine and Diana have already figured out how to use their powers because EvilIsCool and GoodIsDumb. Diana and Caine spent a while practicing their powers before coming down to Perdido Beach. It was said in the first book they'd had their powers for a couple months.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' builds this trope right into the setting. You've got magical powers? Great! You still have to go to school for seven years to learn how to use them. Both young Harry and Tom Riddle are able to occasionally "will" something to happen, but the effects are haphazard without training.
** All young witches and wizards can use magic during times of stress or when feeling extreme emotions, though the effects are notoriously unpredictable (though they'll often reflect the emotion the kid's feeling; for instance, when Harry wanted to escape from Dudley and his friends, he apparated on top of the school chimney). It's shown that they can gain ''some'' control over it on their own, like Lily did as a kid, but to do anything functional and avoid losing control of their powers, they need schooling.
* Deliberately invoked in ''Literature/TheImmortals'' when [[spoiler:Emperor Ozorne]] turns himself into a Stormwing to avoid punishment. As the Stormwing queen Barzha tells him, he just lost all his mortal magic in exchange for immortal magic, which he has no idea how to control. [[spoiler:Sadly, he gets a grip on it pretty fast.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Ozorne:''']] I still have magic! I have Stormwing magic!\\
'''Barzha:''' [[DeadpanSnarker That's sweet, dearie. Do you know how to use it?]]
* In each of the ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'' books, the protagonists have to get the hang of being the Incarnations of Death, Time, Fate, War, Nature, Evil, Good, and Night, respectively.
* ''Literature/InCryptid'':
** Ghostly Mary Dunlavy is only just learning how to be a ghost. Fran knows more about it than she does.
-->'''Fran:''' You're a goddamn ''ghost''! Do I need to get you an instruction book? Walk through the door!
** [[OurMagesAreDifferent Sorcerers]] like [[PlayingWithFire Antimony]] and [[AnIcePerson James]] often have to figure out their powers by trial and error, since sorcerers are few and far between, largely due to persecution by the [[KnightTemplar Covenant]].
** After [[spoiler:Sarah becomes a Johrlac Queen]], she takes a while to figure out her vastly expanded new powers, partially because she doesn't want to accidentally hurt anyone with them.
* Not knowing how to properly control magic in the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' will likely kill you from either a rebound of magical energy or, more likely, draining your life force away before you can cancel the spell. It's also been said repeatedly in-universe that truly mastering the art of magic takes decades of practice and diligence. For the first book and a half, Eragon's progress follows this trend, as he slowly progresses from struggling to lift a rock with his mind to effortlessly casting fire-based spells. Of course, then he undergoes a crash course in magic with the elves and then becomes half-elf during the Blood-Oath Ceremony, completely eliminating the need for a slow progression.
** He's still learning clear through to the last book, but after the Blood-Oath Ceremony, it's less about how to use magic, and more about learning what he can accomplish with it.
* ''Literature/LegacyOfTheAldenata'': [[HordeOfAlienLocusts The Posleen]] inherited all of their technology from their NeglectfulPrecursors, and they have no idea how most of it works. This can lead to some humorous bits, such as when a computer helpfully informs one Posleen about incoming artillery fire and he just stares at it like a moron.
* The better part of a chapter of ''[[Literature/TheHitchhikersGuidetotheGalaxy Life The Universe and Everything]]'' is devoted to Arthur Dent learning to fly. ''By accident.'' To put it simply, he was falling, and got so distracted that he ''missed the ground.'' He does eventually become adept enough to teach another person to fly, and they end up [[spoiler:having sex in midair]].
* Mathias Martel in ''Literature/MagikOnline'' spends most of the story's first arc testing out the limits of his spells through trial and errors. He eventually figures out how to combine two spells into one.
* ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'': After becoming the Master of the Deck of Dragons, Ganoes Paran spends quite a while not knowing what his abilities (or responsibilities) actually are, let alone how to use them. By ''The Crippled God'' he has become a full-blown SpaceMaster capable of opening portals between or within dimensions and can go to or summon to himself anyone represented by the Deck. Since he is also commanding a BadassArmy this is terrifyingly effective in terms of logistics and maneuvers.
* ''Literature/{{Matilda}}'' spends a substantial amount of time trying to figure out the ins and outs of her "push-stuff-around-with-her-eyes" (telekinesis) power.
* In ''Literature/MinecraftTheIsland'', a major part of the early chapters is the protagonist learning how ''Minecraft'' works and what they can and can't do, especially what foods they can and can't eat.
* In ''Franchise/{{Mistborn}}'': The first book has several amusing scenes of Kelsier teaching Vin about Allomancy and being a Mistborn. In particular, after he teaches her the basics of steel and iron (blue lines that connect to sources of metal), but says he'll explain the rest later, Vin's suspicious nature gets the better of her. She experimentally "tugs" on one of the blue lines, and yips and ducks as a loose nail shoots at her chest. Kelsier simply muses "I should have expected you to do that," then proceeds to explain Ironpulling and Steelpushing to her. Still takes her a bit to figure it out, though.
** An unusually grand variant of this trope [[spoiler: is what resulted in the world becoming an ash-blanketed wasteland a thousand years ago. The Lord Ruler received cosmic levels of power for a ''very'' limited amount of time and tried to stop the mists that were destroying civilisation. The power came with instinctive knowledge of how to use it to, say, move the planet closer to the sun to burn off the mists, but gave no information about the consequences of doing so or where the best place to put it would be. The Lord Ruler couldn't get the position right, and with limited time decided to move it too close to the sun, and then introduce a permanent nuclear winter to stop it overheating too much. He then realised plants and animals couldn't survive such a world, and frantically tried to adjust their biology to fit the new environment, with each change causing more problems until his power ran out.]]
* In ''[[{{Literature/Nightside}} Just Another Judgement Day]]'', there's a humorous scene at the Adventurer's Club when a wannabe supervillain with no clue how his (stolen) magic rings work accidentally teleports himself into the midst of a huge crowd of Nightside heroes, rather than into the neighboring club he'd intended to rob.
* In ''Literature/{{The Reader|2016}}'', Sefia experiences this while trying to figure out her Sight abilities, mainly because she's not formally trained. Quite often it fizzles out, and when it does work she's exhausted.
* ''Shonsu'' in ''The Seventh Sword'' trilogy, by Creator/DaveDuncan, spends all three books learning to use the abilities given to him by a goddess. When he is first granted the abilities and knowledge to be the world's greatest swordsman, he has no idea. As the story progresses, he learns more and more about his capabilities, usually as the situations arise. This even applies to textbook-type knowledge, which actually works really well in the story.
* Daylen experiences this in ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror'' with his newfound Lightbinding magic. He's able to rapidly figure out the basics within two chapters of even ''getting'' the ability, but it's a slow trickle from there on out, due to him not being able to get a mentor until late in the book. Even then, there's a lot of information about Lightbinding magic that [[SequelHook won't be revealed until future installments]].
* In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'', a major part of the first half of the novel is learning to use the powered armor "suits" of the Mobile Infantry.
* Various Surgebinders in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' suffer from this. Kaladin takes something like a book and a half to really get a handle on things.
* ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'':
** Richard from never learns how to use the vast majority of his abilities... except, of course, the ones that are absolutely necessary to allow him to [[DeusExMachina save the day]]. Richard's magic appears to be keyed to strong emotion; a big deal was made of whether or not he could actually ''use'' his anger in the first book, as opposed to simply keeping it locked inside himself.
** Subverted in the case of swordplay -- which is, let's face it, the first thing to master when trying to use any magic sword's [[AbsurdlySharpBlade first and foremost super power]]. Getting magic swords that can cut anything is great -- for knights and swordmasters. For anyone else, it's a health risk. Richard's a woodsman, the most experience he'd have with blades would be limited to a machette and a skinning knife. He'd have to learn swordplay like any other, right? [[spoiler:No. [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement The Sword of Truth]] [[InstantExpert can share the collective combat experience of all previous users with the Seeker]]; Richard of course learns this ''while'', and promptly uses it during, a fight with 30 -- that's ''thirty'' -- Baka Ban Mana blademasters. They're guys who spend most of their lives training swordplay, each day, ''all'' day, dawn till dusk. [[StoryBreakerPower Right]].]] He actually lampshades it right before that fight, thinking that against one man he ''is'' virtually unstoppable -- but only because the sword cannot be parried, and so he can count on getting one strike through.
** There is a villainous case in book 4, where [[BigBad Jagang]] takes over the mind of a wizard. He ''can'' use simple telekinesis and throw fireballs, but never uses more advanced powers like DeflectorShields or tranfiguration.
* PlayedForDrama and/or {{Wangst}} in ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''. Becoming a vampire in this 'verse grants you SuperStrength and NighInvulnerability, but you have to spend a long time relearning your fine-motor skills and [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength accidentally break stuff a lot]]. Edward's ''still'' got a fair way to go on this issue a hundred years after being turned.
* Say what you will about the {{Doorstopper}} length of Robert Jordan's ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series, but it does allow the channeling characters a realistic period of time to get a grasp on controlling and developing their powers. Notably, none of the characters become {{Instant Expert}}s, but have a learning curve of three or four books before they gain consistent control. Nyneave takes a full ''seven'' books to overcome her block. Learning to use ''saidin'' without a teacher is so difficult that Rand finally has to [[BatmanGambit trap a Forsaken]] to keep from getting himself killed. Later, Nynaeve and Elayne hold another one hostage in order to learn lost techniques that have stayed lost for a good three millennia. Eventually, the Asha'man (a corps of male Channelers) are created an it was realized this trope could come into play. They develop a TrainingFromHell regimen (similar to Covenant's above in that recruits learn by using the Power for ''everything'' in order to get the hang of it quickly) to deal with this.
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