In historical fantasy novels, which do you think is more important, political conspiracy or magical duels？

Empire145

Empire145

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Dear authors, in my personal opinion, war should be the continuation of politics, so political conspiracy should be the main body of the story, and magic duels should be the seasoning. However, it seems that people prefer to watch exciting battles, so I wonder how you make your choices.

This is my novel. The background is the Holy Roman Empire region in the Middle Ages. The content is that the ghost of an era awakens in a new world for some reason and begins his conquest. If you are interested, you are welcome to read:https://www.scribblehub.com/series/2120645/empire/
 
Joyager2

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At the heart of any story should be the drama within and between your characters. I think a lot of folks get sidetracked by the spectacle (the magical duels) and their writing suffers for it. Politics, while also spectacle to a degree, much more easily lends itself to developing the kind of tension that makes stories dramatic and character-centric.
 
Empire145

Empire145

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Joyager2 said:
At the heart of any story should be the drama within and between your characters. I think a lot of folks get sidetracked by the spectacle (the magical duels) and their writing suffers for it. Politics, while also spectacle to a degree, much more easily lends itself to developing the kind of tension that makes stories dramatic and character-centric.
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Yes, I agree with your idea. Fighting should be more of a solution, and not the best one, even though it might seem good
 
FRWriter

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Neither... the lore and worldbuilding are the most important thing for me.

Political conspiracy can be great if it's done by a great author. Magical duels... are so overdone.
 
Anonjohn20

Anonjohn20

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Empire145 said:
Dear authors, in my personal opinion, war should be the continuation of politics, so political conspiracy should be the main body of the story, and magic duels should be the seasoning. However, it seems that people prefer to watch exciting battles, so I wonder how you make your choices.

This is my novel. The background is the Holy Roman Empire region in the Middle Ages. The content is that the ghost of an era awakens in a new world for some reason and begins his conquest. If you are interested, you are welcome to read:https://www.scribblehub.com/series/2120645/empire/
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It's your story. You choose the conflict. Star Wars had plenty of battles and duels; the story wouldn't have improved if they had spent an extra hour in the senate. 1984 had plenty of political themes; adding battles would not have helped the novel.
 
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