What makes you keep reading a story?

Hello people! Currently, I am working on my very first story!! The only problem is that I keep restarting because I don’t really know what you people like in Episode stories… I have studied the guides so I am pretty good at the directing, but I just feel like my story needs something else… ya know? So, please just let me know what you like when you are reading stories and what makes you to continue to read it… For me, I am very picky on what I read, and I REALLY judge a story based on it’s first chapter. So, what do you look for in stories and what do you think I should include in my story to make it it’s best?

3 Likes

I try to stick around for three episodes even if the first one isn’t that interesting. The exception is if it’s objectively awful (so many errors it’s almost unreadable), blatantly racist, homophobic, ableist, etc., or basically just soft porn.
That being said, I’m more likely to be into a story and read past the first three episodes if it has:

  • interesting characters with complex personalities and motivations
  • some underlying sense of mystery
  • in-depth worldbuilding
  • good directing also helps, but basic directing really doesn’t bother me
  • believable, or at least witty, dialogue
  • either likable, avoidable, or no love interests
  • a deeper meaning to everything that’s going on
  • a plot I haven’t seen a million times already
  • a main character who’s more than just a blank slate
  • some solid, well-written diversity by authors who have done their research and know what they’re doing

Overall, I guess I’m a big fan of originality and detail.

6 Likes

I hate overly cliché plot lines. Such as: bad boys, teacher/student relationships, pregnancy stories, step-family romance stories, “nerd”/player live stories.

Things that I hate about first episodes:

  • Author Input: A message saying “this is my first story so it might not be very good.” or “I am not good at writing stories” will put me off the story. If an author themselves does not have faith in what they are writing, I won’t either.
    If you’re going to use a cliché plot line, please put your own twist on it and make it original!

  • Short Episodes: If an episode is short, (less than 8 minutes) I will stop reading. I once read the first episode of a story and it was 4 minutes long! I didn’t read past the first ep.

  • Full customisation: If the first ep is just customisation, I won’t read further.

1 Like

Yes, I completely understand you! That is basically how I judge whether or not I will continue reading the story! Also, thank you so much for your input! This has given me a lot to think about! :grinning:

1 Like

You are completely right! I hate cliché stories! My story is kind of about a “bad boy” but TRUST ME he isn’t like all of those cliché bad boys lol. Also, I fully agree with you about how if authors don’t have faith in themselves, I won’t have faith in them either. Thank you so much for your input! Again, this has given me a lot to think about… :blush:

1 Like

Anytime! Feel free to let me know when your story is published :grin:

1 Like

Keeps me reading?

-Something that makes your MC stand out from the rest.

-Building blocks to a cliffhanger.

-Understandable, but meaningful content.

-A story itself that…

USES
GRAMMAR!

1 Like

Yes! I agree with you on all of those (especially the cliffhanger part)! Thank you for your input, I really appreciate it! :slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like

No prob!

Keep going on that story…

I’ll find it and read it soon enough…

:kissing_heart:

1 Like

Things that tend to enhance a story for me:

  • Love interests that aren’t obvious. Have their relationship develop naturally, I hate when the MC goes on about how hot a guy is right from the bat. I don’t really experience this kind of attraction personally so it’s just alienating and boring to me.

  • MCs that are actually characters. Blank Slates can be done well in some cases, but usually I get bored following a character with no real personality traits.

  • A story that doesn’t immediately put all the cards on the table. I prefer when characters allude to things that come back later in the story. Clever foreshadowing is the best!

  • Interesting plots with clever set ups. Theres so many “new girl in school”/“kidnapped by a gang”/“pregnant by a rich billionaire who is also a bad boy and probably a werewolf” …its so uninspired, lol.

3 Likes

Oh good luck!

For me I like when there is some meaning that’s in the story
I hate cliche romance stories or bad boys who bully you the you fall in love with them
Be original and creative
And I usually like to read stories where there is a little bit of drama :tea:

This is just my opinion but i think the most important thing is that you like your story. :slightly_smiling_face:

3 Likes

I like when it ends on a cliff hanger… because duh! You want to read more… but then I have no more passes left :sob: I love RomComs and Mystery stories that have extra stuff that’s happening.

1 Like

Yes, that’s all great lmao!

Just start it off with a BANG because I tend to stop reading in the middle of chapter 1 if I get bored.

1 Like

Ya know? I never really thought about these things… Thank you so much because this has given me a lot to consider…

I totally agree! If I think right in the beginning that it will be a cliché story, I stop reading! The main love interest in my story isn’t really what most people consider the cliché type “bad boy”… Actually, with what everyone has been saying on here, I have a lot of new ideas on how I am going to have the MC and him interact with each other! So, thank you so much!

No problem if you need help with directing or coding just PM me and I’ll gladly help you

1 Like

That has given me a lot to think about and I think I know a way to have it start off with a BANG lol… Thanks for your input!