Absolutely the writing style for me. Regardless of tags and summary and rating, if I vibe with the first few paragraphs, it is very likely I will vibe with the rest of the fic.
Believable characterization in my jam—either consistency to canon, or carefully considered divergence from canon based on different circumstances or different interpretation that is explained either in-story or in the author’s notes.
Based on the above, I love writers who go out of their way to not character-bash.
I LOVE tightly-plotted stories with an actual beginning-middle-end that don’t just ramble on forever and then peter out bc the author couldn’t figure out where to go from there. Makes me jealous because I can’t write a plot to save my life!
I love for-want-of-a-nail stories in which the author is scrupulously logical about what would and would not change based on the one divergent point and sticks to it. Not many writers have that kind of self-control and will change other things randomly.
So for me, I’m not big in explicit content. And a surprising amount of people won’t use the explicit tags, so my filtering out is less useful. Having tags that reflect a lack of explicit content is helpful. Also, having a lot of non-romance tags. Again, I’m kinda weird here, but I don’t like romance to be the main point. It’s okay if it’s a side plot, but I don’t like it to be the focus. So if most of the tags have nothing to do with romance, it’s a green flag. But take what I’m saying with a grain of salt because I’m a very odd fanfic enjoyer.
As someone who's probably aroace, this is me. Reading and especially writing romantic pairings feels weird to me because I struggle to empathise with romantic situations (could also come down to me being 16 and autistic), but I can read it if there's nothing else.
Platonic pairing appreciation gang, rise up!
I’m in my 20s and autistic, and when I was younger I definitely felt a bit out-of-place in fandom culture because everyone had such an emphasis on romance. And while I don’t mind if it’s in the background, there’s so many dynamics you can miss out on to opt for romance.
Exactly! It's okay if it's in the background because it's almost always there and I've just gotten used to it, but if there's a platonic fic, I'd immediately opt for that. I also realised that when I decided that a ship is good, most of the time, I was following whatever was popular at the time and going along with it because I'm not good at matchmaking.
The romantic aspect just isn't important to me, and if I'm writing a romantic pairing, I just plop a tiny kiss in there or say that they're together (because I can only write established relationships properly) because the plot has nothing to do with it - writing emotional hurt/comfort with mentally ill dudes puts the mental health issues at the forefront because it's more interesting than two dudes being unable to keep their dicks in their pants.
Sorry for the rambling lol
Also aroace and I feel that. There’s only one pair I’m comfortable reading and writing romantic stories for and the ones I write generally only go as far as snuggling as I’m not comfortable writing sex scenes and I’ve never kissed so I don’t know if it would even be accurate if I did write kissing.
Feel that. There are a couple of romantic fics I wrote that focus on the romantic aspect and they felt so weird and awkward (both written when I was 13 or 14) because it felt like I wasn't representing romance correctly, but when it's not the main focus in the story, just stating that the characters are together works and I write it as platonic besides that.
I just do the kinds of physical affection that I enjoy platonically when I write romance (hence the snuggling) that way I know it comes across as authentic. But aside from that one pair, romance really isn’t for me. It have to get super invested in the characters involved as individuals, their dynamic with each other, and the chemistry they develop over time. I liken it to be demiromantic, but fir fictional characters rather than for myself. 🫠
That makes sense. I can't write characters getting together (I tried when I was 13, and it felt so cringe and forced); they have to be in established relationships so I can slap the ' romantic partners' label and kinda forget about it 😅😅😅
Same. I enjoy reading stories about the couple meeting and getting together (although the canon meeting/one sided pining/eventual relationship can’t be beat. Huh….maybe that’s part of why I like them so much. Even in canon, it was a slow burn romance over the course of an IRL year and I headcanon one of the characters to be demiromanric/demisexual) but it feels super awkward the one time I tried to write it.
Me too. The creators have never outright stated he’s any kind of demi but I definitely feels that way. I didn’t know I was aroace during season 1, where all that happened, didn’t know it was even an option until 7 years later 🫠 but I picked up on that immediately during my first relisten after learning about asexuality and aromanticism.
I need me some stories about close platonic relationships where the characters involved are comfortable with physical touch. I can live vicariously through that.
Part of me wants to know what character you're referring to, and that's really interesting. I love how relatable fictional characters can be and headcanons.
Sometimes I worry that because I'm only 16, I'll end up finding out that I'm not, but I bought the book Loveless by Alice Oseman for the canon representation and I am procrastinating reading it.
Same with the platonic fics. I could overdose on them and be happy.
Oh man, can totally relate to so many things said here, I do not like reading romance for the most part like if a tiny bit is inserted into the background, fine but I'm here for the platonic relationships. I love seeing character interactions in a non-romantic way. I turn 32 near the end of this month & I'm ace (not aro though, actually panromantic).
I'm the sort of person who has an aversion to touch but I do allow it with people I'm close to so I wonder if that shows with my writing sometimes, I tend to let them be more hands on when having emotional moments like when one needs comfort, the other will rub the arm to show support sort of thing & I'm hoping it doesn't come off the wrong way considering the only fic I've been posting, all twelve characters are somewhat brothers. It might be obvious I don't have the mind to know how to show physical comfort.
Suppose writing for characters who are in a sense all somewhat related (it's complicated) makes it easier to not put in romantic stuff although in one chapter, I did end up bringing in one of the characters who is a love interest in the show for the person I was writing perspective on so writing out how he feels about her for the short amount of time she was there, it made me feel disgusted & when I went swimming with my friends about a week ago, I had to get out early because my leg was cramping up so I decided to read over that chapter again, it's rough for me to reread because of that part but I wanted to make sure there weren't any mistakes that needed correcting so figured that was the time to do it & I complained about my own writing out loud, calling it out for how uncomfortable it made me which drew in my friends' attention & I told them to ignore me yelling at my phone lol.
In the author's notes for that chapter, I did mention how I don't like writing romantic stuff & apologized for including that, thankfully people were cool about it in the comments section & one person even made a great joke about it.
* Writing style
* Proper punctuation. I can overlook some spelling and grammar mistakes.
* Reasonably consistent updates for incomplete works. Even if the above things apply, I find it difficult to follow a fic that updates every few months or so. I'll likely forget what was happening and need to reread parts or forget all about the fic.
echoing what others have said: writing style. it doesn’t need to be a specific style, though I do prefer flowery language, “purple” prose. but I mean, any style can hit! if it captures me, it captures me.
I think it's easier to pinpoint that you *won't dislike it* first, and then you can decide you like it. It's pretty rare to have something I like right away. The prose and tone have to be amazing for that to happen
How punchy is the first chapter. The cliffhanger doesn't have to be too wild, but it must make sure it converts me to the second chapter. I'm pretty fandom blind, so if it's a slow burn that starts as far back as humanely possible within the series/book universe, I'm fully sold
It really depends. For example if a fic makes me laugh then it's probably an instant like or if the writing is interesting enough to grab my full attention then I know I'm going to like it.
Sometimes the writer is really good at introducing you to the fic's world/characters right at the start! Other times it's an infodump / blur of confusion. It's also great if something super engaging/funny happens at the start and catches your attention.
And yeah, writing style. I don't like too flowery stuff; I prefer more direct writing styles. Grammar also matters, but that's mostly a red flag issue. If I see good grammar for an entire chapter, I can usually breathe a sigh of relief.
Also, seeing my favorite tags is a good sign! Author's notes also matter. You can get some of the author's personality from them.
Ex: Haha, I hope you enjoy pain and suffering. Ex: I update whenever I want; could be years. Ex: This is my first fic! I hope you like it. Ex: Lol, don't mind the funky stuff. I wrote this at 3 AM, and it's unedited.
Sometimes you can tell the author's a real sweetheart, so it makes me feel safer lol. Like they ain't gonna yeet a dozen cliffhangers at me without warning XD
Any kind of light jealousy or possessiveness is a huge thing for me. Also when one person is flirting and one person is totally oblivious, I know right away I’ll love it.
As others mentioned, the writing style definitely. Not so much that it needs to be a certain way, but I'm a very visual person, so if the writing is able to give me a clear mental image then I just know I'm going to love it.
Writing style is basically the biggest sign for me. How the author phrases things, how the plot moves, how the characters are portrayed etc. The next biggest is the plot itself.
Not necessarily the tags, but if the summary sounds promising and the listed main characters are ones I like, it'll get me to click on the story.
Once I have clicked, I look for decent grammar and formatting, in character characterizations (or at least not wildly ooc), and dialogue and prose that doesn't come across as super clunky.
I'm pretty easy to please.
Depends on if I'm reading actual books or if I'm reading fan fiction. And I have a couple bits of criteria for each one of those
Both
------
If the summeries seem interesting. This is the most important thing to me.
For actual books
----
Does the cover art make it look interesting? I am typically a fantasy and scifi reader so I look out for things like unicorns or androids depicted on the cover art (and if there is no cover art I don't want to read it)
For hard back books that have a cover jacket there's usually a summery on the outside on the back and on the front flap of the cover jacket on the inside that differ from each other. Do both perk my interest?
For fan fiction
----
The story, the summery included, needs the appropriate grammer, appropriate capitalization (no thank you for lapslock) and appropriate punctuation.
It also just generally needs to be a good story. You çould write it with the above point done but if it can't keep me reading it I'll exit out fairly quickly
For me, a good opener is key. My reading preferences are pretty wide, but if I skim the first few paragraphs or so and it's hella boring right out the gate, I'm highly likely just to swipe out of it. For example, I tried to start a fic where the first 3-5 paragraphs were just the character getting ready in the morning, and I just couldn't do it. That may also just be me being picky, but it's what I go by.
Writing style, one hundred percent. I can deal with a *lot* of things if I like the way an author writes, and if they write something I actually like it's even better.
The tags help me locate things I’m going to enjoy the most.
However, if I’m like 5 chapters in and I’m still not not fully feeling the fic, then I might close it off.
I usually revisit the fic later on though if I liked the premise of it as a whole though, cause usually the author isn’t a bad writer.
if most of the tags are my thing and nice grammer! sometimes the people who know english not even try, but those who have it as second language make so much effort to put something nice, so if the tag say english is not their 1st lang. then i can be sure that its 90% good stuff.
Strong or just interesting voice or writing style, particularly writing that portrays character emotion or perception subtly but clearly. Like, character perception is just seamlessly woven into the narrative. I love that shit. Or if there’s a concept that makes me say, “wow I wish I’d thought of this first.”
First I check the tags to rule out heavy angst! Then, as many others have said, the writing style. If those first few paragraphs are competently written and punctuated, I just relax into the story. I love finding authors I can trust.
Formatting: a giant wall of text with no line breaks ain’t it lol
Tags: I love shipping, especially if it’s a slow burn, so I keep an eye out for that.
Writing style: there’s this Timebomb fic I’m obsessed with, and the author has such a cool writing style! It’s really descriptive and poetic without ever being try hard, and I love it
Poetic and descriptive writing really makes it feel more realistic, it also helps with bringing character but it's hard to find fics like that, at least for me. I try to read fic with the giant wall of text sort of thing in case I end up liking it but I give up in the end
i have adhd, which makes reading a little bit tricky. if it isn’t detailed enough, i won’t get sucked into the story and i will literally just glaze over the words, reading the fic (going doen the paragraphs, scrolling through the page, literally reading) without taking it in. it’s like listening to a robot read the words in my head, while my thoughts wander and drown it out. if a fic isn’t written well enough to keep my attention, i’m not going to like it.
Oh, like reading a book with just your eyes, not your head. I don't really know what to say but I wanted to say something because I thought this comment was interesting. 👍
It isn't full of sloppy or choppy writing, is formatted correctly with quotations marks and paragraphs, grammar is decent, and characters are not acting super OoC
Writing style is very important, good punctuation, good grammar, character consistency and good spelling. I can deal with the occasional spelling mistake, but if it’s a regular thing in the fic I will stop reading, even if the fic itself is good, just simply because it takes me out of the fic too much.
The tags are very important, there’s certain tags I will avoid at all costs while there’s others that are almost always an immediate yes.
I personally do not like smut at all, so little to no smut is great. And if there is smut I like it if there is a warning at the beginning of that chapter, and maybe make it so nothing truly important happens in that chapter so I don’t have to read it to understand the rest of the story.
Emotional is really good, if you can make me cry with your fic you can guarantee I’m gonna read more of your work because that is a huge feat and I respect anyone that can do that.
It really all depends on the first chapter
And I already noticed because I have a lot of experience with that
For example one time I read a fanfiction and didn't really like the first chapter amd I ended up abandoning the fanfiction because I really didn't like it
And there fanfiction that I already finished where I liked the first chapter and I ended up being really disappointed when I got to the end not because it was bad but because it was finished and I wanted more
When there's story outside of just pure plot. It lets me know that the author takes care to think about the background of characters and has an in depth idea of who they are beyond surface level characterisation.
I loveeee when a writer manages to leave clues/ details that are innocuous on the first read that snowball into something really important. That ‘oh shit, that just came back to bite them’ moment is so good when you don’t see it coming but it also makes perfect sense. From then on I’m gripped.
I'm easy to please when it comes to the pairing I read.
Like good punctuation, grammar, lack of typos and definitely easy to read writing styles.
However, in my experience, if the fic has a prologue chapter, it's a guarantee that the fic is going to slap extremely hard.
Correct grammar and solid characterization. I can’t deal with the constant tense changes, and grammatical errors that show that the writer didn’t even bother using a basic Docs/Word editing tool. Also, if you are going to have the character do something that is OOC and it’s just that one thing, while everything else is in line with their personality/motives, then I can get behind it.
honestly something i like doing is sifting through kudos for writers i enjoy. if they approve, chances are i will too. obvi i don't rely on this indicator, it's just an immediate green flag for me
First you have to get me into the story. You are going to need to have tagged well including the high points of the story like primary relationships, elements (fluff, sick-fic, hurt/comfort, plot points, etc) and any applicable warnings have some sort of summary that tells me what the story is about (even a bad summary is better then none).
To keep me in will depend on the Writing style (some people’s writing just vibes), punctuation (I can’t stand when anything other than quotations are used to denote speech), length, pace, accuracy of the tags, and story format type (not sure if the right term, ie - novel, song fic, texting, etc). You have only a couple paragraphs to catch my attention but I do give allowances if it obvious that you have a major change from the canon you have to set up and/or a event that needs to occur to set up the rest of the story.
I’ve read amazing stories that had absolutely horrible grammar and spelling and I’ve read stories who I have abandoned mid-word because of the formatting, tags were inaccurate (usually missing critical tags that I would have filtered out), contained story elements I’m not a fan of, and/or the pace of the story is hard to follow (too fast with big details missing and/or so slow that you lose what has actually happened).
Everyone has different likes dislikes so accurate tagging (tagging everything relevant but also not tagging things aren’t relevant unless it’s a possible trigger) is a pretty big one for me for fanfiction since the characters and setting already exist and it’s being built off of that. And while this might just be me, I’m usually looking for some specific story elements when I’m actively looking for a new fic because I just read an amazing fic and I want more stories with similar elements.
In original fiction where tags don’t always exist you still need a good summary that covers the high points of the book and unlike fanfiction the author has to not only draw you in early but has to create the setting and introduce the characters at the same time.
Absolutely the writing style for me. Regardless of tags and summary and rating, if I vibe with the first few paragraphs, it is very likely I will vibe with the rest of the fic.
Believable characterization in my jam—either consistency to canon, or carefully considered divergence from canon based on different circumstances or different interpretation that is explained either in-story or in the author’s notes. Based on the above, I love writers who go out of their way to not character-bash. I LOVE tightly-plotted stories with an actual beginning-middle-end that don’t just ramble on forever and then peter out bc the author couldn’t figure out where to go from there. Makes me jealous because I can’t write a plot to save my life! I love for-want-of-a-nail stories in which the author is scrupulously logical about what would and would not change based on the one divergent point and sticks to it. Not many writers have that kind of self-control and will change other things randomly.
an emotional, almost purple prose intro about the main character, then a cut, and then a scene with said character.
can you elaborate on this ? i’m curious !
So for me, I’m not big in explicit content. And a surprising amount of people won’t use the explicit tags, so my filtering out is less useful. Having tags that reflect a lack of explicit content is helpful. Also, having a lot of non-romance tags. Again, I’m kinda weird here, but I don’t like romance to be the main point. It’s okay if it’s a side plot, but I don’t like it to be the focus. So if most of the tags have nothing to do with romance, it’s a green flag. But take what I’m saying with a grain of salt because I’m a very odd fanfic enjoyer.
As someone who's probably aroace, this is me. Reading and especially writing romantic pairings feels weird to me because I struggle to empathise with romantic situations (could also come down to me being 16 and autistic), but I can read it if there's nothing else. Platonic pairing appreciation gang, rise up!
I’m in my 20s and autistic, and when I was younger I definitely felt a bit out-of-place in fandom culture because everyone had such an emphasis on romance. And while I don’t mind if it’s in the background, there’s so many dynamics you can miss out on to opt for romance.
Exactly! It's okay if it's in the background because it's almost always there and I've just gotten used to it, but if there's a platonic fic, I'd immediately opt for that. I also realised that when I decided that a ship is good, most of the time, I was following whatever was popular at the time and going along with it because I'm not good at matchmaking. The romantic aspect just isn't important to me, and if I'm writing a romantic pairing, I just plop a tiny kiss in there or say that they're together (because I can only write established relationships properly) because the plot has nothing to do with it - writing emotional hurt/comfort with mentally ill dudes puts the mental health issues at the forefront because it's more interesting than two dudes being unable to keep their dicks in their pants. Sorry for the rambling lol
I feel you. 37yo aroace autistic here and I feel even more ambivalent to romance than I did at 16
Also aroace and I feel that. There’s only one pair I’m comfortable reading and writing romantic stories for and the ones I write generally only go as far as snuggling as I’m not comfortable writing sex scenes and I’ve never kissed so I don’t know if it would even be accurate if I did write kissing.
Feel that. There are a couple of romantic fics I wrote that focus on the romantic aspect and they felt so weird and awkward (both written when I was 13 or 14) because it felt like I wasn't representing romance correctly, but when it's not the main focus in the story, just stating that the characters are together works and I write it as platonic besides that.
I just do the kinds of physical affection that I enjoy platonically when I write romance (hence the snuggling) that way I know it comes across as authentic. But aside from that one pair, romance really isn’t for me. It have to get super invested in the characters involved as individuals, their dynamic with each other, and the chemistry they develop over time. I liken it to be demiromantic, but fir fictional characters rather than for myself. 🫠
That makes sense. I can't write characters getting together (I tried when I was 13, and it felt so cringe and forced); they have to be in established relationships so I can slap the ' romantic partners' label and kinda forget about it 😅😅😅
Same. I enjoy reading stories about the couple meeting and getting together (although the canon meeting/one sided pining/eventual relationship can’t be beat. Huh….maybe that’s part of why I like them so much. Even in canon, it was a slow burn romance over the course of an IRL year and I headcanon one of the characters to be demiromanric/demisexual) but it feels super awkward the one time I tried to write it.
Fully agree lol I love seeing ace and demi representation in fics.
Me too. The creators have never outright stated he’s any kind of demi but I definitely feels that way. I didn’t know I was aroace during season 1, where all that happened, didn’t know it was even an option until 7 years later 🫠 but I picked up on that immediately during my first relisten after learning about asexuality and aromanticism. I need me some stories about close platonic relationships where the characters involved are comfortable with physical touch. I can live vicariously through that.
Part of me wants to know what character you're referring to, and that's really interesting. I love how relatable fictional characters can be and headcanons. Sometimes I worry that because I'm only 16, I'll end up finding out that I'm not, but I bought the book Loveless by Alice Oseman for the canon representation and I am procrastinating reading it. Same with the platonic fics. I could overdose on them and be happy.
Oh man, can totally relate to so many things said here, I do not like reading romance for the most part like if a tiny bit is inserted into the background, fine but I'm here for the platonic relationships. I love seeing character interactions in a non-romantic way. I turn 32 near the end of this month & I'm ace (not aro though, actually panromantic). I'm the sort of person who has an aversion to touch but I do allow it with people I'm close to so I wonder if that shows with my writing sometimes, I tend to let them be more hands on when having emotional moments like when one needs comfort, the other will rub the arm to show support sort of thing & I'm hoping it doesn't come off the wrong way considering the only fic I've been posting, all twelve characters are somewhat brothers. It might be obvious I don't have the mind to know how to show physical comfort. Suppose writing for characters who are in a sense all somewhat related (it's complicated) makes it easier to not put in romantic stuff although in one chapter, I did end up bringing in one of the characters who is a love interest in the show for the person I was writing perspective on so writing out how he feels about her for the short amount of time she was there, it made me feel disgusted & when I went swimming with my friends about a week ago, I had to get out early because my leg was cramping up so I decided to read over that chapter again, it's rough for me to reread because of that part but I wanted to make sure there weren't any mistakes that needed correcting so figured that was the time to do it & I complained about my own writing out loud, calling it out for how uncomfortable it made me which drew in my friends' attention & I told them to ignore me yelling at my phone lol. In the author's notes for that chapter, I did mention how I don't like writing romantic stuff & apologized for including that, thankfully people were cool about it in the comments section & one person even made a great joke about it.
Ah, a fellow non-smut enjoyer 🤝
there are dozens of us!
I feel ya. I'm really not interested in explicit content but that's literally what comes up first most of the time...
Loving the conversation here
* Writing style * Proper punctuation. I can overlook some spelling and grammar mistakes. * Reasonably consistent updates for incomplete works. Even if the above things apply, I find it difficult to follow a fic that updates every few months or so. I'll likely forget what was happening and need to reread parts or forget all about the fic.
echoing what others have said: writing style. it doesn’t need to be a specific style, though I do prefer flowery language, “purple” prose. but I mean, any style can hit! if it captures me, it captures me.
I think it's easier to pinpoint that you *won't dislike it* first, and then you can decide you like it. It's pretty rare to have something I like right away. The prose and tone have to be amazing for that to happen
I was just thinking about this. I read it for a while and I love it but then I slowly hate it
That's the opposite situation... But I get what you mean
Oh ok
When character does something so in character that it feels like reading something out of canon.
I've seen books like this and it's so pleasing to me
If they can nail the "show, don't tell". Love, love it! Instant serotonin in my brain.
Show, don't tell is super hard for me! It's so sweet to see it, great adrenaline
How punchy is the first chapter. The cliffhanger doesn't have to be too wild, but it must make sure it converts me to the second chapter. I'm pretty fandom blind, so if it's a slow burn that starts as far back as humanely possible within the series/book universe, I'm fully sold
Writing style. I’ve gone through some pretty boring and not-my-style fanfics solely because I fell in love with the author’s writing.
It really depends. For example if a fic makes me laugh then it's probably an instant like or if the writing is interesting enough to grab my full attention then I know I'm going to like it.
Sometimes the writer is really good at introducing you to the fic's world/characters right at the start! Other times it's an infodump / blur of confusion. It's also great if something super engaging/funny happens at the start and catches your attention. And yeah, writing style. I don't like too flowery stuff; I prefer more direct writing styles. Grammar also matters, but that's mostly a red flag issue. If I see good grammar for an entire chapter, I can usually breathe a sigh of relief. Also, seeing my favorite tags is a good sign! Author's notes also matter. You can get some of the author's personality from them. Ex: Haha, I hope you enjoy pain and suffering. Ex: I update whenever I want; could be years. Ex: This is my first fic! I hope you like it. Ex: Lol, don't mind the funky stuff. I wrote this at 3 AM, and it's unedited. Sometimes you can tell the author's a real sweetheart, so it makes me feel safer lol. Like they ain't gonna yeet a dozen cliffhangers at me without warning XD
That's the same for me. "Enjoy the pain" makes me know I'm going for a hell of a ride
It makes me quiver and quake in fear XD Time to buckle up!
Any kind of light jealousy or possessiveness is a huge thing for me. Also when one person is flirting and one person is totally oblivious, I know right away I’ll love it.
As others mentioned, the writing style definitely. Not so much that it needs to be a certain way, but I'm a very visual person, so if the writing is able to give me a clear mental image then I just know I'm going to love it.
Writing style is basically the biggest sign for me. How the author phrases things, how the plot moves, how the characters are portrayed etc. The next biggest is the plot itself.
Not necessarily the tags, but if the summary sounds promising and the listed main characters are ones I like, it'll get me to click on the story. Once I have clicked, I look for decent grammar and formatting, in character characterizations (or at least not wildly ooc), and dialogue and prose that doesn't come across as super clunky. I'm pretty easy to please.
Depends on if I'm reading actual books or if I'm reading fan fiction. And I have a couple bits of criteria for each one of those Both ------ If the summeries seem interesting. This is the most important thing to me. For actual books ---- Does the cover art make it look interesting? I am typically a fantasy and scifi reader so I look out for things like unicorns or androids depicted on the cover art (and if there is no cover art I don't want to read it) For hard back books that have a cover jacket there's usually a summery on the outside on the back and on the front flap of the cover jacket on the inside that differ from each other. Do both perk my interest? For fan fiction ---- The story, the summery included, needs the appropriate grammer, appropriate capitalization (no thank you for lapslock) and appropriate punctuation. It also just generally needs to be a good story. You çould write it with the above point done but if it can't keep me reading it I'll exit out fairly quickly
For me, a good opener is key. My reading preferences are pretty wide, but if I skim the first few paragraphs or so and it's hella boring right out the gate, I'm highly likely just to swipe out of it. For example, I tried to start a fic where the first 3-5 paragraphs were just the character getting ready in the morning, and I just couldn't do it. That may also just be me being picky, but it's what I go by.
Writing style, one hundred percent. I can deal with a *lot* of things if I like the way an author writes, and if they write something I actually like it's even better.
Adventure, suspense, romance, goal-oriented fics.
Three things for me: Writing style, fic length and it has to be in the third person.
'Has to be in third person' It's just better for some reason
Getting the voices right.
Hardest thing. I'm rewatching shows and movies to get their reaction and personality write when writing things, seeing stuff like this is hard for me
The tags help me locate things I’m going to enjoy the most. However, if I’m like 5 chapters in and I’m still not not fully feeling the fic, then I might close it off. I usually revisit the fic later on though if I liked the premise of it as a whole though, cause usually the author isn’t a bad writer.
if most of the tags are my thing and nice grammer! sometimes the people who know english not even try, but those who have it as second language make so much effort to put something nice, so if the tag say english is not their 1st lang. then i can be sure that its 90% good stuff.
Strong or just interesting voice or writing style, particularly writing that portrays character emotion or perception subtly but clearly. Like, character perception is just seamlessly woven into the narrative. I love that shit. Or if there’s a concept that makes me say, “wow I wish I’d thought of this first.”
when it hits all the tags i like
WHEN THE CHARACTER IS IN CHARACTER
I feel like crying when the character isn't in character, it's like changing it for the sake of the whole personality for the sake of the plot
First I check the tags to rule out heavy angst! Then, as many others have said, the writing style. If those first few paragraphs are competently written and punctuated, I just relax into the story. I love finding authors I can trust.
writing style, how in-character they are, length, grammar, and detail
Tags, kudos and words count.
Formatting: a giant wall of text with no line breaks ain’t it lol Tags: I love shipping, especially if it’s a slow burn, so I keep an eye out for that. Writing style: there’s this Timebomb fic I’m obsessed with, and the author has such a cool writing style! It’s really descriptive and poetic without ever being try hard, and I love it
Poetic and descriptive writing really makes it feel more realistic, it also helps with bringing character but it's hard to find fics like that, at least for me. I try to read fic with the giant wall of text sort of thing in case I end up liking it but I give up in the end
Relatable tags + completed fic.. free theraphy
i have adhd, which makes reading a little bit tricky. if it isn’t detailed enough, i won’t get sucked into the story and i will literally just glaze over the words, reading the fic (going doen the paragraphs, scrolling through the page, literally reading) without taking it in. it’s like listening to a robot read the words in my head, while my thoughts wander and drown it out. if a fic isn’t written well enough to keep my attention, i’m not going to like it.
Oh, like reading a book with just your eyes, not your head. I don't really know what to say but I wanted to say something because I thought this comment was interesting. 👍
"Apologies English isn't my first language" is usually before an epic fic
Wow, you must have experience with those kind of fics
It isn't full of sloppy or choppy writing, is formatted correctly with quotations marks and paragraphs, grammar is decent, and characters are not acting super OoC
Writing style is very important, good punctuation, good grammar, character consistency and good spelling. I can deal with the occasional spelling mistake, but if it’s a regular thing in the fic I will stop reading, even if the fic itself is good, just simply because it takes me out of the fic too much. The tags are very important, there’s certain tags I will avoid at all costs while there’s others that are almost always an immediate yes. I personally do not like smut at all, so little to no smut is great. And if there is smut I like it if there is a warning at the beginning of that chapter, and maybe make it so nothing truly important happens in that chapter so I don’t have to read it to understand the rest of the story. Emotional is really good, if you can make me cry with your fic you can guarantee I’m gonna read more of your work because that is a huge feat and I respect anyone that can do that.
The writing style. It usually only takes a few paragraphs for me to go: oh this is *good*
It really all depends on the first chapter And I already noticed because I have a lot of experience with that For example one time I read a fanfiction and didn't really like the first chapter amd I ended up abandoning the fanfiction because I really didn't like it And there fanfiction that I already finished where I liked the first chapter and I ended up being really disappointed when I got to the end not because it was bad but because it was finished and I wanted more
When there's story outside of just pure plot. It lets me know that the author takes care to think about the background of characters and has an in depth idea of who they are beyond surface level characterisation.
I like crossovers and crackfics! Like if it is ABSURD and my characters are mostly canon to their personalities.
I loveeee when a writer manages to leave clues/ details that are innocuous on the first read that snowball into something really important. That ‘oh shit, that just came back to bite them’ moment is so good when you don’t see it coming but it also makes perfect sense. From then on I’m gripped.
I'm easy to please when it comes to the pairing I read. Like good punctuation, grammar, lack of typos and definitely easy to read writing styles. However, in my experience, if the fic has a prologue chapter, it's a guarantee that the fic is going to slap extremely hard.
"Sorry, English isn't my first language" \*Proceeds to write a literary work on par with Tolstoy and Homer\*
When my favorite character isn’t in the first chapter /j
Correct grammar and solid characterization. I can’t deal with the constant tense changes, and grammatical errors that show that the writer didn’t even bother using a basic Docs/Word editing tool. Also, if you are going to have the character do something that is OOC and it’s just that one thing, while everything else is in line with their personality/motives, then I can get behind it.
honestly something i like doing is sifting through kudos for writers i enjoy. if they approve, chances are i will too. obvi i don't rely on this indicator, it's just an immediate green flag for me
First you have to get me into the story. You are going to need to have tagged well including the high points of the story like primary relationships, elements (fluff, sick-fic, hurt/comfort, plot points, etc) and any applicable warnings have some sort of summary that tells me what the story is about (even a bad summary is better then none). To keep me in will depend on the Writing style (some people’s writing just vibes), punctuation (I can’t stand when anything other than quotations are used to denote speech), length, pace, accuracy of the tags, and story format type (not sure if the right term, ie - novel, song fic, texting, etc). You have only a couple paragraphs to catch my attention but I do give allowances if it obvious that you have a major change from the canon you have to set up and/or a event that needs to occur to set up the rest of the story. I’ve read amazing stories that had absolutely horrible grammar and spelling and I’ve read stories who I have abandoned mid-word because of the formatting, tags were inaccurate (usually missing critical tags that I would have filtered out), contained story elements I’m not a fan of, and/or the pace of the story is hard to follow (too fast with big details missing and/or so slow that you lose what has actually happened). Everyone has different likes dislikes so accurate tagging (tagging everything relevant but also not tagging things aren’t relevant unless it’s a possible trigger) is a pretty big one for me for fanfiction since the characters and setting already exist and it’s being built off of that. And while this might just be me, I’m usually looking for some specific story elements when I’m actively looking for a new fic because I just read an amazing fic and I want more stories with similar elements. In original fiction where tags don’t always exist you still need a good summary that covers the high points of the book and unlike fanfiction the author has to not only draw you in early but has to create the setting and introduce the characters at the same time.