What do you value in fiction?

[Twilight-Stasis]

I looked around for a while but couldn't find anything like this.

I'm writing a fiction story, but I can't really figure out what everyone likes because I'm the person who likes almost any book. So I'm asking you guys, what do you value most in a fiction book? Do you like dialogue, descriptions or villians?

As I've said I pretty much like everything in a book but if I had to choose one thing that I like over all else it would be an interesting villain. I've always really liked villains, especially well written ones and have sometimes found myself rooting for them more than the actual protagonist.

[Leidarendi]

Who are you trying to market your story towards? Who is your targeted reader? Married ladies? Teens into sci fi? History buffs?

 

Otherwise, just write it for yourself. If it's a captivating story with interesting characters, who cares what everyone else likes?

[Evangeline]

Leidarendi has a good point. Figure out your demographic first!

 

I adore original stories. I don't want to be able to figure out the end before I read it. It is rather hard though. Just enjoy yourself.

 

Developed characters are lovely. Make your audience care about them.

 

GOOD GRAMMAR IS IMPORTANT. Coughs.

[blah]

Distinct characters. Nothing turns me off like plot zombies who only say what they say in order to advance the plot or narrate the obvious thing that is happening.

 

Overall I prefer character driven stories to plot driven stories.

[olympe]

Characters that are well developed, logical, have their strengths and weaknesses. (No Mary Sues, please!) Come to think of it, the same goes for basic storylines.

 

I always love humor, especially in dialogues, as well as suspense and tension. Nothing keeps me turning page after page more than these three. (Unless, of course, there're major plotholes or awful characters...)

 

Re villains: I tend to skip the chapters dealing with the villains.

[Daydreamer09]

I looked around for a while but couldn't find anything like this.

I'm writing a fiction story, but I can't really figure out what everyone likes because I'm the person who likes almost any book. So I'm asking you guys, what do you value most in a fiction book? Do you like dialogue, descriptions or villians?

As I've said I pretty much like everything in a book but if I had to choose one thing that I like over all else it would be an interesting villain. I've always really liked villains, especially well written ones and have sometimes found myself rooting for them more than the actual protagonist.

Don't worry about what other people want to read when you're writing a story.

That's one of the biggest things that they tell you. Write a story that you want to read. Put things in it that you enjoy yourself.

 

The villain aspect you mentioned sounds very intriguing and reminds me very much of Wicked, Megamind and stories that take place from the stereotyped villain's pov. I also like the idea of the protagonist being a villain. Villain protagonists tend to be more relatable, human and dimensional because they are flawed.

 

If you're having trouble picking a genre, I'd suggest finding a site that generates story prompts and just jotting down a few ideas.

 

And if you're trying to find out what you should avoid when writing your story... Look through book reviews posted online. Especially for low rated books. I personally like going through Goodreads because many of the readers there are good at picking out and pinpointing the exact reasons why they give a book a low rating with reasonable cause.

 

Back to topic:

I'm really niche-y when it comes to the books I read. Romance and high fantasy with a strong, level-headed female protagonist along with fairy tales.

 

There have been books I've read where the heroine was often described in the text as 'Strong' and 'Intelligent', but... When looking at her actions and how she tackled situations she was far from it. Many of them seem to just 'Go with the flow', which is a bad thing when writing out a character. Actions speak louder than words and should reflect all the characters and who they are.

[Pyrowings]

I love good characters myself. Especially when the story takes a darker turn and something happens-no matter how much I cry about it, it's amazing to see how the author just made you care about this person and now X happens and you got hit by a tidal wave of tears.

 

I also enjoy less black-and-white storylines, but that probably depends on how well everything is written since most complete black-and-white things I read before were mainly tailored to little kids.

 

 

Oooh, an immersive world can be amazing too, if it's a series. Just, it's not good to get too in depth about a place and not the story unless it's some sort of supplementary work.

 

Add a daub of humor into it.

 

I'm also personally a fantasy reader. Magic, yanno?

[Fuzzbucket]

Properly defined characters. There are few things more BORING than not having any idea how Jennifer might behave when she finds her daughter murdered in the basement, because all we know is that she has red hair...

 

Also no RIDICULOUS coincidences to get the writer out of trouble. And no messes that leave you at the end thinking HANG ON A BIT that cannot have happened because Peter was already dead before he is supposed to have been in the bus....

 

No gratuitous violence, and no long passages about SEX. They really are tedious unless incredibly well done, and so very few writers can do it well enough not to have readers rolling in the aisles.

 

I know they all say this, but do write about what you know. It works better.

[catstaff]

Decent pacing helps in a story, especially with romantic relationships, if you'll be including any of those.

 

Circumstances might act to speed up or slow down the process of a relationship (for example, a couple forced to share close quarters for a couple of months following a natural disaster, or the same couple is kept apart due to that natural disaster halting all travel for a couple of months) but in general people don't elope with someone they've met within the last month. At least, not without reasons that probably have nothing to do with the person they're eloping with!

[andromedae]

A well-structured storyline, emotional depth in characters, a uniquely created world/dimension/universe which includes original concepts such as abstract architecture, a unique take on the natural world and its creatures and other fantastic elements. A compelling, intriguing conflict that is both psychologically affecting its characters as well as something that impacts or endangers their world. Character development is a must, characters with real, raw flaws and plot-twists where least expected.

[gabriel]

I think the post important part is a finished work. Having the "perfect" story in your head is not as good as an "imperfect" story in print. It can be refined once written but until then it is an elusive idea.

[Ripan]

You want to know about a story that I found interesting?

It was one where the main character became a villain. Not as some sort of sacrifice for the better good, but simply that this normal, decent person slowly descended into a very dark place. You actually follow their reasoning for a good long while; saw what they did as self-defence, until eventually you realise that they've derailed completely and fallen to paranoid delusions.

 

That was a well-written story, with strongly defined characters. Very clever writing that manages to lead you on for a good long while before you catch on. This was a character you liked at the beginning, whose reasoning you understood, what they were doing made sense, until one breaking point far into the story.

Edited October 21, 2016 by Ripan

[Syiren]

You want to know about a story that I found interesting?

It was one where the main character became a villain. Not as some sort of sacrifice for the better good, but simply that this normal, decent person slowly descended into a very dark place. You actually follow their reasoning for a good long while; saw what they did as self-defence, until eventually you realise that they've derailed completely and fallen to paranoid delusions.

 

That was a story that has stuck with me for a good while.

I like psychological horror, as you might be able to tell.

I've just read a story like that and I totally agree with you.

 

The Rise of Scourge from the Warrior Cats manga series is pretty awesome. It shows how a sweet kittypet kitten turns into one of the most dangerous cats the forest has ever seen.

[Wahya]

In any story, fiction or otherwise, character development is often key to a complete reading experience.