Hellooooo! 
For some reason, on my pc the Forums are still on lol
I’m finishing writing my story on Episode, and I want to know what are the things that Episode readers hate about stories :))
Stories with very long intros!! Even if the story is well directed, long intros are a turn off for me.
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Hey hun,
How are you? What I read few hours ago is that they postponed the date to end of August. I am so happy, because Discord is so confusing.
But to answer your question:
- The LI is mostly an over the top handsome mafia leader (with tattoos and scars), while in real life mafia leaders aren’t handsome at all. The most of them are in reality old ugly men;
- The MC’s ex has cheated on MC and is jealous when she meets LI.;
- There has to be always a mean girl, that wants to make MC’s life a living hell, because the MC and the mean girl both want to be with the LI;
- The MC and LI love each other instantly, without learning to know each other;
- For the MC it’s always easy to get pregnant from LI (except if the MC is a guy of course, but mostly MC’s are female.) and the pregnancy doesn’t have complications.;
- Those pregnancies are ‘unexpected’, mostly discovered when the LI runs away from MC, or is on a business trip or for an unknown reason away for a few months (or even years);
- The mean girl needs to fake pregnancy to convince LI not to be with MC but with her (get a real life, sis. Faking pregnancy is so outdated. );
- Parents die by cancer, a (car) accident or murder, or are alcoholics or drug addicts (really, let the parents live a happy life.) (sorry had to say this, but if there are no parents around, they always are dead because of those circumstances…);
- MC is mostly innocent and ‘not as the other girls’;
- and LI needs to be an handsome young bad boy who is still attending high school or college.
And I totally stop reading your story, when:
- the same plot as everyone → So, no mean girls and creeps attacking MC in alleys or drugging MC during a party;
- MC and LI love each other too quick → Try to make the love slow burn… Not that they need to stalk each other, but love in real life doesn’t come in one day.
- a whole day description about the MC → No, MC waking up and describing the whole day, every episode;
- drama everywhere → Some authors put 4 or 5 drama-events in every episode. Please, don’t. There is no need to put 5 drama-events in every episode. Give the MC also a break to breathe;
- your character → you may use your own character in the story, but not in every episode. Some readers find it quite annoying if you put your character out there in the story every episode. And for me I find it quite annoying if I am reading a story and the authors character is taking half of the time to say something outside the story, while you can put that at the end during a QuestionandAnswers-session. It’s distracting and annoying;
- whole episode for CC (limited or full) of MC, LI and their whole family. Also CC for side characters that only are in the whole story for 5 minutes or even 5 seconds let me stop reading a story.;
- many black screens for narration (gets me on my nerves.) Use other backgrounds and characters doing something on the background;
- mistakes in layering (I won’t stop reading but it’s irritating me) and basic directing (don’t use entering/exiting from left/right, but use spot directing). Spot directing takes time, but it shows that you took your time to write your story.;
- toxic relationships, violence against the LGBTQ+ community and/or racism.
That is it for now. If I remember something else I will let you know.
Love A-W
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As a new writer, this is actually so helpful. I was worried people wouldn’t like my story because it doesn’t contain these elements, but this made me realize that’s a good thing lol. Thank you for being so informative too!
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Long intros (first episode is okay, after that it becomes a little annoying lol) & the opening scene something that happens in the future. I feel like it ruins the story for me.
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I despise stories which romanticize bullies (like, I’m not talking about when the MC and Li banter, because that’s not bullying, they’re just messing with one another, with no real intent to harm). But when the Li is straight up rude, and the MC just lets it happen (and it’s supposed to be seen as romantic?). It really irks me. As a victim of this type of bullying, I will never understand the appeal of the bully-victim trope.
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I actually lost a story of mine due to excessive bullying which was about the MC fighting back against her bullies. So you’re telling me, standing up to bullies promotes bullying but a bully romance doesn’t? Hmm, seems unfair, if you ask me.
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I’m sorry you lost your story for that! It sucks.
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If you mean why they’re still open, it’s because they postponed the closing. Instead, the forums close at the end of August.
First, I want to preface that while we are talking about pet peeves, don’t feel that you have to stick to any of our thoughts to a T. Pet peeves are just a type of opinion, so if you feel that your story shines with anything of the pet peeves people shared, embrace that thing and make it your own. : )
As for pet peeves, here’s mine:
- Rushed pacing- Trust your reader to pick up on the things that aren’t outright said. If it’s still clear when you show it, then do so. And as @/AngelWings1983 said, too many big events at once is a lot, so spread the events out a bit and allow for some cool-down time.
- Also, as a slow burn lover, please build some tension first before having your “payoff” moments. The MC and LI should have moments that aren’t physical to bond first before confessions, dates, etc.
- Changing the mystery villain last-second- Again, trust the reader and let them have the victory of cluing in on who the true villain is. The best part of reading mysteries is playing detective and piecing clues together to solve the mystery.
- Imbalance of “show vs tell”- Both showing and telling has their time and place in stories, but I feel like many stories miss the mark, either by showing or telling too much (usually the latter). Like I stated before, if something can be shown and understood, show it. If it causes misunderstandings, tell us through narration or dialogue.
- Cliches- To name a few examples, “Oh no! I’m late for school!” “OMG, my boyfriend is cheating on me with my best friend.” Unless it’s to parody or subvert a cliche, avoid them. Don’t confuse them with tropes though; terms like “friends to lovers” are great for writers and readers to use for identifying stories, and they’re different from cliches, which are re-existing things in stories that are overly present. (Examples of cliches include mean girls, nerd-turned-prom-queen, the ex, etc.)
- Miscommunication- In moderation, seeing characters communicate poorly is perfectly fine, as it’s realistic, but when every problem exists because the characters didn’t have a conversation… might want to reevaluate your plot, as it grows old quickly.
- Obvious self-inserts- I don’t mind seeing the author’s character in the background, but it’s a bit annoying to encounter a scene that focuses on the author. It’s especially bothersome when the self-insert plays too major of a role. While wanting to insert yourself into your work isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s really distracting and a common turn-off for readers.
- Slow directing- Most things relating to a story’s code I feel aren’t worth being bothered by, but I despise when stories take forever to read through solely because of the directing. If it’s story splashes, consider switching them for text overlays that play over the story as it happens. If it’s animation transitions, make use of the “in _” command, it’s handy.
- Also, telling the reader that the story they’re reading is your first story on Episode doesn’t make the slow directing any less annoying to deal with. I’ve seen some readers express that it has the opposite effect.
And if you want to hear a really specific pet peeve of mine…
- The standard Episode humor- Lots of zoom-ins on characters when something silly/weird happened, male ignorance being used for laughs, and there’s always that one character that’s really strange and the rest of the main cast reacts as if the character is dumb/annoying to be around. This is all fine in moderation, but it’s becoming too common in many stories. (I actually hate this more than I hate some of the other things I’ve listed.)
Good luck making those finishing touches and publishing! : D
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Bad grammar and bad character placement/directing. Both of these make it seem like the writer doesn’t care about the reading experience, and they break the immersive nature of an Episode story.
Bad grammar has made several community stories nearly unbearable- no matter how good the plot may be. If I have to decode what you wrote because you did not use proper spelling and grammar, then I will likely find another story to read.
Similarly, it is very annoying when the speech bubbles are misplaced and when the character placement is tacky. I know first hand that spot directing can be difficult, but if characters walk through one another or stand on top of one another, or are not scaled correctly, it makes it look rushed. The artwork in Episode can be really lovely, but if the characters, speech bubbles, and overlays don’t line up, anything aesthetically pleasing about a story dies quickly.
Say what you will about Episode Originals, but in my experience, they never have these issues. (With the exception of stories that don’t use the correct pronouns if you choose an LGBT+ romance.) The dialogue of these stories tends to be grammatically correct and the character placement tends to make sense. I never ‘see the author’ when reading them. (Unless it is through the plot in one of those ‘author’s barely disguised [redacted]’, but that is not the point.) I don’t have to think about the ways that the directing were created. I can just enjoy the clean graphics and enjoy the story.
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Seems rather insane to remove your story when they have an Original that literally forces you to be in a relationship with your unrepentant bully and pretends like that’s a “happy ending”. But that double standard is pretty par for the course, unfortunately.
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Popular paid authors can do anything, unfortunately 
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In the several public speaking classes that I have taken, it is always emphasized that you never start your speech with an “uwu, I’m so nervous/I an not very good at this” It draws the audience’s attention to your nerves/inexperience/lack of skill and it makes all of your mistakes very pronounced. I think that this advice also applies to Episode stories.
We have all been new once. Just write the story and cringe later.
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THIS. THIS RIGHT HERE IS SO IMPORTANT. I want to stitch it onto a pillow and use the pillow in a pillow fight. I want to paint a picture of it and put it in the Louvre.
Episode love interests are ALWAYS going to be attractive. Giving a character a pretty face and toned abs means nothing. A (and this one really grinds my gears) ‘sPaRk WhEn ThEy ToUcHeD hAnDs’ means nothing when the reader can’t actually feel the LI’s hand. (And when the reader has read that line 30 times before.) The things that will set the LI and the MC’s relationship apart are the things that they can’t find in any other story- the unique personalities, the inspiring dialogue, the shared interests, the secrets exchanged, the flaws, the laughs, etc… these are the things that make a love story. Not “look at how hot he is” or “wow what a magical kiss”.
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The forums are now closing in August now lol!
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HAHAHAH sorry I didn’t know.
Exactly. The whole “sparks fly” in romance just makes me giggle, just because of how many times I’ve seen it. What really gets my interest is those wholesome, bittersweet moments where they’re just talking and comforting each other. The strongest relationships are built on trust and communication.
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I have a few different pet peeves, and some deal breakers.
Pet Peeves
Recycled stories - by which I mean it’s essentially the same plot as fifteen zillion other stories with minor tweaks. If you can read a different story and it’s essentially the same but with different names, that’s a big nope from me. I get there are popular trends people are chasing, but at least do something unique with it.
Bad Grammar - I can tolerate some of this. I understand English isn’t everyone’s first language and, frankly, English is a difficult language to learn. That said, you can get a proof reader or use one of those free apps like Grammarly (though I’m not a big fan of that app either).
The Pregnant Elephant in the Room - I get adding a pregnancy scare can be a great way to add drama. But I’m really sick and tired of seeing characters act like because they’re pregnant that automatically means they’re having a baby. Most women experience at least one miscarriage before carrying a child to term, but this never happens in Episode stories. They have a tendency to get pregnant after doing it for the first time, which is nuts. What also never happens is a discussion about abortion. I totally get if the character doesn’t believe in it. Fine, good for them, that’s their choice. But at least have the conversation. I have a really hard time buying into the belief that it wouldn’t be at the very least discussed as an option.
Love at First Sight - I’ll allow lust at first sight. Two people are attracted to each other and want to get it on. Good for them, nothing wrong with having a healthy sex life. In fact, most health professionals who specialize in the field recommend it. But please stop pretending like attraction and physical chemistry are the same things as love or an actual relationship. It’s not, and it’s ridiculous to read.
Deal Breakers
Romanticizing Organized Crime - I get Mafia is a popular genre. And if this were a mature rated app I’d have absolutely no problem with it. But since we’re constantly being told this is a 13+ app designed for children, (and constantly being forced to alter our stories to accommodate that designation) having it drowning in stories romanticizing child murders, terrorists, and organizations that traffic in weapons of war, drugs, and humans is unforgivable to me. They’re not misunderstood bad boys who didn’t catch a break. They’re profiteers of human suffering and destruction.
Narration - This is a visual storytelling app. Though you do read, the medium is more akin to silent films. You never want to have narration in a film unless it’s absolutely necessary or is a story telling device itself like in old school detective noir films (case in point, the original cut of Blade Runner. There’s a reason Harrison Ford sabotaged the narration when the studio forced him to do it). And since most narration I’ve seen on the app is unmitigated purple prose describing “encounters” between the MC and LI, I’m out pretty much as soon as I see more than 5 lines of narration in a chapter.
Inconsistent Internal Logic - I can accept quite a bit if there’s consistent internal logic. What to do: Rey is able to pilot the Millenium Falcon because we see her with a flight training simulator, she’s a great mechanic because we see her scavenging massive capital ships, and she’s able to hold her own against Kylo Ren in the first movie because he’s massively wounded at the time, we’ve seen she’s good in a fight (likely from having to defend herself from others over the years on Jakuu) and she’s been innately using the force most of her life without realizing it. What not to do - We see Rey heal Kylo and a worm by giving up a small bit of her life force. We then see a barely hurt Kylo sacrifice his entire life to essentially give the same amount of healing to Rey. Though, he lives long enough for them to kiss, because that was needed for…reasons. These are specific examples, but the general idea is things need to make sense. Don’t present a problem or situation that is just illogical from the get go without any explanation as to why it’s not. Other examples I’ve seen that fall into this category are stories focused on high schoolers who appear to have no parents and are independently wealthy (somehow), a character landing a sweetheart job right out of college with no experience, and (the one I hate the most) the female MC who walks into a dark alley at night just so she can be attacked (NO WOMAN DOES THIS EVER!!!) to move the plot along.
The Toxic Love Interest - Having a complex and troubled love interest is fine. Making that love interest abusive, horribly toxic, and/or controlling then pretending like that’s the same thing is a dangerous idea to be perpetuating. This is how young people get it into their heads that this type of behavior is “romantic” or “normal” and the moment I see it in a story, I’m done.
I’m sure I’ve got more, but this is all I could think of for now. 
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As a proud anti-R*ylo, I loved the middle bit of your post.
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I reject everything that happened in Ep IX. As far as I’m concerned, Rey had no parents because she’s a female clone created from Luke’s severed hand. Meaning she and Kylo/Ben are aunt/nephew or possibly cousins if the Luke’s DNA was mixed with someone else to create a child, say… Palpatine’s personal assassin, Mara Jade? 
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I never got into Legends, but there is a Clone Wars theory about her parentage that I’d love to discuss in a private chat if you’re interested. 
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