Among the potentially observable gravitational wave emission processes involving neutron stars, are those that are directly induced by magnetic field effects. These include (i) the emission of continuous signals from rotating magnetically-deformed neutron stars and (ii) the gravitational wave damping of neutron star oscillations excited by hydromagnetic instabilities. The latter can potentially occur, for example, in correspondence to magnetar giant flares. We focus on these two processes, discussing the prospects of detection according to our recent results on the subject.