Important Question

[backupdump002]

Throwing this up here real quick while I'm thinking about it.

Internet, what is the main thing that you look for in a story? Three-dimensional characters? Intriguing plot? Breathtaking world/atmosphere? What is the one thing where, even if everything else about the story sucks, you'd keep following it anyway because your interest in that overshadows everything else? Just, you know, if you had to pick.

GO.

Comments

[keepthesquid.livejournal.com]

For me personally, an amazing world will be able to overpower pretty much anything. Compelling characters are a big plus as well. Especially non-humans, which is why I think I find stuff like Inhuman and Pyrasaur's writings so brain-eating. AWESOME WORLDS AND DEEP NON-HUMAN CHARACTERS? SIGN ME UP!!1!

Plot is... not much of an issue for me, I must admit. The plot could be completely vomitous, but if the characters or the world is really great I can overlook it. And like Icarus, a story could have everything I love and still just not interest me. Even a writing style I love could make me read something really bad.

An example would be House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. The world isn't anything I find too spectacular, the writing's pretty okay in my opinion, some of the plot was... odd, but the characters I quite enjoyed. Also cloning. DECENTLY WRITTEN CLONING WILL ALWAYS BE A HUGE DRAW FOR ME. TEAL DEER but really, it's all pretty fluid. I'm on the fence, I suppose. 8D

[doxinator.livejournal.com]

I'm actually kinda surprised that there aren't more people who think plot is most important! :O I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THE MAIN THING
Then again I guess that's kind of good for me since when I write I focus all my attention on the characters and atmosphere only to realize I have no idea what they should actually do, but

YOU KNOW COME TO THINK OF IT, I DON'T THINK I'VE READ ANY STORIES ABOUT CLONING
OR IF I DID THEN THEY WEREN'T VERY GOOD SINCE I DON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING ABOUT THEM DKGHJSD