What Do You Like Best In A Story?

[Buddha]

Just wondering These are all large components of stories - relationships, sequels, and actually making your story palatable to readers - so I'm just looking for what's popular around here!

[Marzipan]

I'm pretty open to any kinds of stories as long as they hook me fast. Once hooked I'm devoted.

 

Every now and then I find a story that makes me wild, or a new author whose style in writing is so unique that I fell in love with every word that comes out from him/her. Those moments of anticipation and curiosity are my favourites in reading a new story or a new author to me.

 

 

[Michael9344]

I like one main stories but I read series if they are really interesting. And I love gay pairing. Guilty...

[Andrew Q Gordon]

For me, I like getting to know and feel characters - authors who engage in character building while getting their plot across always have my attention. Sex is okay if done well, but once I really get a feel for the character, I think I prefer the - they went into the room and got very little sleep kinda thing so I get to image who did what to whom.

 

Plot is also important. Having the two lead characters get up, get showered get dressed, go out, come home, eat, have sex, go to sleep repeatedly is boring. There has to be something of substance to grab me - Stuart's Seeing Double has the back drop of an intergalactic war with super powered beings, Nephy's hostage had the paranormal skills of the ruling houses - (In)visible has the whole invisible boy, who longs to be normal, Adamagick has a war between Wizards and Technology - so there are strong plots that give the author a vehicle to develop their characters.

 

Thanks about it. Sequels are not preferred, companions stories are good, so are series - the difference between series and sequel being the sequel follows a story that resolved all plot lines, but series is a stand alone book that has many parts before the conflict is resolved.

 

Andy

[Jwolf]

The best stories for me, create a newness out of activities I've seen or read about before. We've all read a story about two people that fall in love... the best stories take that basic concept and turn into something that's surprising, fresh, and unexpected.

 

Style is also a big thing for me. I read to be inspired, so when I'm exposed to different styles and voices, it really does excite me. With that, of course, comes plot, character development, etc. But how one author chooses to do those things compared to another is really thrilling.

 

With that said, I have the tendency of making up my mind about a story very shortly in. I'm ADD and a sucker for a strong hook or else I'm afraid I won't continue reading. It's a habit I'm trying to break because some of the slower starting works I have read ended up being brilliantly well written and well paced pieces by the end.

 

Just my thoughts,

 

J.

[blake_logan]

Well, the story needs to tell a good story....something that catches my interest. Most of the time I decide within the first couple of paragraphs whether or not to keep reading.

 

Next, I like to know what the characters are feeling....don't really care about the menu each time they eat or the designer clothes they wear when they go out on a date or which moves from the Kama Sutra they practice when they hook up -- unless it progresses the story line.

[rustle]

Three things make a good story for me - plot is the framework, and has to hang together to hold the reader's interest; strong character development to identify with; style and technique to give it flavor.

 

With these three things present, any story becomes enjoyable.

 

One real buzz kill, though, is bad grammar.

Edited March 14, 2011 by eon

[Cia]

I'm all about new relationships in my stories, reading and writing. I've been in one for so long I think I live through the characters be they gay, straight, bi, men, women, aliens, kitty cats, fanged folk, blue peoples Yep, like it all!

 

Beyond that, I need a story with a plot. I like to have all the emotions and excitement of two people meeting and getting to know each other but it has to be part of their lives and make sense to the story. Then they have to be involved in some other type of subplot, a mystery, an adventure, a war of galactic proportions, crime... sometimes bunny fluffy stories that are just about 2 people are okay but become quickly boring. I read very fast so I will usually give a story a chapter or two to get my attention but then if it's not sucked me in I move on but when I write I still try to have a hook in the first few paragraphs. A good line, dropping the reader into conflict right away, emotions exploding all over the place... it's all good!

[Tipdin]

It's difficult to assess EXACTLY what keeps me interested. What I have noticed about the stories I enjoyed the most was that most of them did not let me get to know the characters extremely intimately.

 

Like the Harry Potter books, we get to know the characters - to a point. We're not privy to every thought or feeling though; it allows the writer, (thus the story) to have options.

 

Regardless of genre, keep stories moving, don't allow the details to drag the plot to a standstill.

 

Nearly every book I enjoyed most had some point to make regarding a greater good. The "nobody" that sacrificed, transcended rather unimaginable odds for the greater good, sometimes not even for their own world.

 

Among the stories that have captivated me are a variety of characters. Not all human, but usually a look or personality that would stand out or one with which I could personally identify, (read, live vicariously).

 

Of course the overall plot must be something in which I would be interested. Most issues in today's world I have to deal with in my daily life so I have no desire to read about what I already know, have, or done. I want a different world, a different life, a different take on things - an escape. Otherwise, I can just read the newspapers.

 

I keep me eyes open for stories with "normal" gay characters as well. I've had enough of the stereotyped queens, and hags, both in my real life and my readings. I don't need a bitchy-boys or diesel-dykes, both have been done to death and are boring beyond tolerance. A love interest(s) is fine, but you might as well skip the love scenes - they won't be as good as my imagination, nor as..."personally satisfying."

[Sara Alva]

I'll be lame and say good writing has to draw me into a story. You could have the most creative idea in the world, but if you write it like a dry textbook or a boring history lecture, chances are it won't capture my interest. I can push through novels like this if the story is really creative, but I'd prefer not to.

 

The good news is that I think writers can always improve, so if someone does have that creative spark, they can work at getting their writing to present it in the best possible way.

[Zolia Lily]

I'm with JWolf and Sara.

I need a good voice to keep me reading, and a writer who can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary is a prize.

That said, I love stories which someone once described to me as "simmering romances". I love a happily ever after, but i do love even more an author who puts their characters through a lot before they're allowed to get there. I like URST and obstacles and angst and conflict and possibly pain and THEN a happily ever after

[Bumblebee]

I keep me eyes open for stories with "normal" gay characters as well. I've had enough of the stereotyped queens, and hags, both in my real life and my readings. I don't need a bitchy-boys or diesel-dykes, both have been done to death and are boring beyond tolerance.

 

 

If a story has a stereotyped lesbian relationship in it, like a stone butch and a super femme - BORING! it makes me not want to read anything else from the author for fear they have written the same sorta story

 

I like romance... its why i read alot of gay male stories.... just as long as it has no sex (in the male stories cause ew its icky)

and its not an instant "we've only met today but i love you with everything in me, lets have full sex and think about adopting kiddies and raising them in the suburbs" now thats just annoying

[Tipdin]

I like romance... its why i read alot of gay male stories.... just as long as it has no sex (in the male stories cause ew its icky)

 

Icky?

 

Silly girl, that's part of what makes it so fun...!

[JamesSavik]

I think that the answer that I'm looking for is depth. There are numerous elements that make for good writing- characters, their development, setting, plot, writing craft and so on. It is the rich mixture of all these elements that make a story a world in itself.

 

In my writing, I spend a lot of time placing and setting the story. Setting the stage, setting the time and showing where the story fits and grounding the characters. I try to create a little world unto itself. If it works, I put you in a place that lets you feel the story.

 

If I can do that as a writer, I think we all win.

[Jwolf]

I think that the answer that I'm looking for is depth. There are numerous elements that make for good writing- characters, their development, setting, plot, writing craft and so on. It is the rich mixture of all these elements that make a story a world in itself...

 

...If I can do that as a writer, I think we all win.

 

I couldn't agree more, captain!

[Bumblebee]

Icky?

 

Silly girl, that's part of what makes it so fun...!

 

 

hehe well i dont reckon you like reading about lesbians getting it on? cause thats FUN!

[Matthew Jacob]

I always give any new story i'm reading 3 chapters to make me care, if i dont care, I cant read

specially when it comes to romances or Sci-Fi stories, I have to care enough to read through the mythos

and the sappiness lol

[Cyhort]

To crush your enemies, to see them driven bef- oh, wait, wrong question Well I'm here so I might as well answer this one anyway. I mostly read stories for the romance and the relationship. Sometimes I'll be into more of a plot like a thriller/gay romance or a fantasy/gay romance but if it doesn't have the gay romance part I'll lose interest really quickly. I don't really care if it has sex or not but I want the sex, or lack thereof, to be mean something to the story. If I want straight up porn I'll go to a porn site.

[Percivial]

An actual plot, likable characters with good dialogue/interactions. I love reading stories about things that are kinda new or untouched territories. Stories about coming out and finding your love interest are cool, but I love stories where the character is gay but actually has his act together regarding his sexuality and isn't struggling with his friends or family finding out.

[PrivateTim]

I like believable story lines, that is why I am a big fan of Mark Arbour & Dom Luka. Sci fi or fantasy with a gay theme isn't my thing, although I love sci fi and like fantasy in general.

 

I've tried to get into "fan fiction" but the style is so different from the original authors, I find it distracting.

[Cyhort]

I've tried to get into "fan fiction" but the style is so different from the original authors, I find it distracting.

 

I agree. I LOVE Harry Potter fan fiction but I've never read the books, only seen the movies. so it doesn't bother me. That's actually why I'll probably never read the books, I love the fan fiction so much I don't wanna ruin it for myself, lol.

[astroguy]

I like it when the stories are believable, as others said. Characters that have more dimension to them helps, but good descriptions and a host of tertiary characters make it more believable. I've noticed that of the stories I really like, there are maybe 1-4 main characters, 2-6 supporting secondary characters, but then dozens of named and unnamed tertiary characters to fill it up. Even something as simple as, "Emily kept getting bumped in the hallway so was late to class and had a hard time finding her seat in the crowded lecture hall," is much more satisfying to me than, "Emily walked to class and sat down, almost arriving late."

 

It's something I'm working on in my own writing, and it's something I need to go back and add, I think.

 

I also like stories that are paced well, which is hard (I personally think my stories are too slow moving). You need time to build sympathy for your main character(s) and turn them into "real" people for the reader, but at the same time, 5 chapters in a row about how they woke up, went to work, out to lunch, back to work, made dinner, and then went to bed is just boring. Yes, you get to know the character and may be more inclined to sympathize with them when they get into trouble, but you want to kill the author.

[Andrew Q Gordon]

To crush your enemies, to see them driven bef- oh, wait, wrong question

 

 

Took me a second to recognize the line - thank you Cyhort the Barbarian.

[AleMaho]

I like main stories and series, both.

Sequels are only fine (for me) the main story really needs one.

Otherwise, I find them dull.

 

But what I really like in a story is that sense of hook, you know. The one that gets me literally so hooked up I don't want to stop reading.

I dislike stories with too many subplots. I mean, it's ok to include one or two, but then again, don't get too sidetracked from the main characters.

[Cyhort]

Took me a second to recognize the line - thank you Cyhort the Barbarian.

 

You are quite welcome, although you should probably be thanking my unhealthy obsession with Arnold quotes, lol.