Things You Love in Stories

Believable Southern characters. I guess its a local thing but...

Also Texans. Not sure why. Especially ones who are big on the whole "Don't mess with Texas." thing.

I am a total sucker for characters with true grit. Someone who goes through hard times and doesn't just roll over and give up makes me the happiest reader in the world. On the other hand, when that same character finally reaches their limit, and they need a bit of help, and they admit it, that's almost better.
I also really love when little things are repeated in a story. Like if someone mentions how much they love the book A Great and Terrible Beauty, and then their significant other goes out and buys it for them for their birthday or something, chapters later. I like when little things connect.

Accents/dialect that is done well. :]

+ Original fictions
+ Characters with some humor (even if it's a depressing story, I like some humor)
+ Plots with twists
+ Dark fantasy
+ If the story involves music, it's done in a clever way. I also like music stories that have the history of genres.
+ Romance that is weaved into the story and I don't quite realize it right away.
+ Characters that have different accents than others/characters that are origianally from another place.
+ Stories that don't take place in the States. If they do, not in Jersey.
+ Stories where the character is older than 16.

Original fiction with adorable characters.
Romantic slash, where it's not all just sex, sex, and more sex.
Unusual slash. I don't know why, but I love to see stuff like William Beckett/Jared Leto or something just as random as that.

story titles that don't start with "And"

+ Original vampires story..not a copy of twilight

I love stories that leave an open ending. Stories that never really end, so that the ultimate fate of the characters can live on inside your own mind.
I absolutely ♥ those endings. They make everything seem that much more realistic, and that much more lasting.

Stories with really good, believable relationships between two adults. Not the, I love you within two days, let's have wild sex now relationships, but where you can see the growth of trust, certain roles within, a really even relationship with give and take and everything real relationships have.

genius plot lines and good story titles

romance that develops not the 'let's have sex now" kind of relationshp

I absolutely love humor in stories. A story that makes me laugh is always worth my time, and almost always guaranteed a comment.

Ones that can summon a good cry out of me. Doesn't have to be death.

I reaaaallly have to agree with the last two posts. And I'd like to add. I like good humor. Not random chicken jumping out the window before turning into an exploding jellybean type of humor. Actual funny stuff. And same for tears. If you can make me cry, its worth my time. Not cheap tear-jerkers, but actual human emotion. Any emotion.

I think if approached in the right way, and written well then first person stories can be very real and humorous.
You know what I mean?
I do so love a bit of humor, sarcasm even, because when used in the right way it can really bring a smile to your face.
I love realism, things are defiantly not all sunshine and lollipops in real life so why would they be in an a story supposedly about real life?
It's a challenge to bring a tear to my eye but It has happened before and I must applaud anyone who can achieve that.

[/rambles]

i love plots with twists where you think you know what's going on and then BAM! it's not what you thought it was to be

I also like a good villain who is careless and heartless but within saying that I also love villains that have soft spots

CGrotesque:

I also like a good villain who is careless and heartless but within saying that I also love villains that have soft spots

I'm with you on that one. I love villains. They're great fun to write, and I like the sense of terror that they bring to the story.

And to add on to that, I love cliffhangers. If a writer is able to leave me on the edge of my seat, threatening to pull my hair out, they have my vote.

In Fantasies, well written battle scenes.

Stories that, no matter what genre, are funny at times.

I love characters so realistic I can imagine walking into them in the hallway. If I can imagine that person outside of the story, that's just amazing.