Things You Love in Stories

Light hearted and realistic banter between two people.

Tough characters who are also vulnerable at realistic moments.

Characters who are genuinely funny and make me laugh, ones that don't rely on insulting other people to be witty.

Side characters that actually play a huge part on the plot.

I love stories that feature non-romantic/sexual love. Strong love between friends and family.

- Nice layouts that match the mood of the story.
- Originality.
- Realistic conversations.
- Comic relief.
- ANYTHING THAT EVOKES MY EMOTIONS.

story that has a love interest who is a big tough guy without being abusive.

This is a fan fiction thing mostly, but I absolutely love when writers can take a character and put them through any sort of situation and still keep them wonderfully in character. All the better if they can manage to do this with all the characters in the story.

Oh and also this:

swell:

Light hearted and realistic banter between two people.

Audrey T:

I love stories that feature non-romantic/sexual love. Strong love between friends and family.

Definitely this one. I really love when characters have a strong connection with their family.

Sarcastic characters! I don't know why. Probably because I can relate to them easily.

Good relationships with siblings.

I love to see embarrassing father figure or big brothers or just males in the family being protective over the girls.

For example, a father who's acting all protective (but embarrassing) when her daughter is going on a date/prom for the first time. Or a brother who spies on his sister (as per his father instructions) on the date and then got caught. Like... not something extreme and creepy but something to be add on as a comic relief in the story. I find that somehow very realistic because we all have that one embarrassing family member that thought that they're doing us a favor but when really, we just wanna be alone.

I love stories where characters are really sweet to each other. Even if it's not in grandiose ways.

I love when stories have a description and a first sentence/paragraph that isn't super telling about what's going to be happening but just grabs me in and forces me to read more, like I can't physically stop myself from it.

I'm also a sucker for stories about beautiful and imperfect boys.

- Comedy. I'm a sucker for a good comedy, and good dialogue.

- I love the cocky 'I'm more superior than you,' characters.

- Action that isn't overwhelming.

- Sweet romances. I love them.

Diversity. I particularly love MOGAI and mixed race characters.

Sibling relationships, poc main characters, healthy platonic relationships

Those fantastic one-line hooks at the very beginning of some stories. You know, that one sentence that starts everything off and drags you straight into the story. I adore those.

I second the one line hook thing. I also really adore when an author leaves chapters at miniature cliffhangers. These kinds of endings always make me so excited to read the next chapter but unfortunately, there is not a whole lot of these kinds of things.

Strong friendship groups. Or strong friendships between two people that is completely platonic.

I like stories that deal with those with disabilities. Like, in a first person point of view. Not in the view of the person who's caring for that person (ex. a parent or other relative). There also isn't very many stories that follow these things. Not many people really dare to write these stories unless they experience the disabilities themselves. :c

- Platonic bonds!! Familial bonds and friend bonds!!
- Characters who have this 'tough' exterior but are actually vulnerable
- Diverse casts of characters
- Fleshed out side characters