Your greatest likes and dislikes while reading.

[epialesofaergia]

I have a few simple rules: don't describe sex or what it's like to be on drugs (for aesthetic reasons), don't have dialogue that doesn't either progress the understanding/emotional growth of a character or advance the plot (for flow), and finally, the most important rule, do not explain why your story is important or most of the relevant issues your story may address within the story itself. The final reason destroys the value in reading a story. For me, the who, what, where, when, and how can be addressed explicitly and, if done right, the why should be apparent and is the most effective way to connect with a character. I've rage-quit reading a few times when books make that mistake.

I've always felt that good writing can be achieved as a response to bad writing if you have a clear handle on what makes it bad.

I'm not quite a chef, but I do cook for a living and I, too, have unfulfilled literary aspirations. I wish you look in your writing.

 

[Gregg Lonsdale]

I like strong characters, unique and unusual. My favourite book is still the girl with the dragon tattoo for pretty much that reason.

 

[tehfeen83]

I'm a writer myself, though I mainly write horror/comedy and I write for the screen. You mention that you mainly write high fantasy, so are you looking for what character development/themes/arcs I enjoy or don't in that genre, or just in general?

Just in general, really. Not everyone likes the genre I mostly focus on; it's a matter of curiousity dealing with whatever genre the poster is most familiar with.

Most themes in writing carry across genres, though.

One thing I would say is try to focus as much time and development on your villain as you do your hero. I've found that a hero is only as interesting as the villain he's facing.

Also, some unexpected black humor always goes a long way in keeping me interested in finishing a story.

Lastly, in a lot of fantasy novels I've read, the author spends a lot of time describing the clothing worn by the characters. Maybe some people are interested in what colour a doublet is, but I'm not. They were all very general and I suspect, things you already knew, but hey, I haven't even eaten breakfast yet

 

[rmb1983]

One thing I would say is try to focus as much time and development on your villain as you do your hero. I've found that a hero is only as interesting as the villain he's facing.

Also, some unexpected black humor always goes a long way in keeping me interested in finishing a story.

Lastly, in a lot of fantasy novels I've read, the author spends a lot of time describing the clothing worn by the characters. Maybe some people are interested in what colour a doublet is, but I'm not. They were all very general and I suspect, things you already knew, but hey, I haven't even eaten breakfast yet

Neither have I. Granted, I haven't even gone to bed, yet.

I do love me a show-stealing villain, though. Or, you know...more than one.

 

[J-dog42]

I hate ones that use long words when they just aren't needed. As well as too many people with very similar names, especially in fantasy because I forget who is who. Finally, having too much downtime. I know you don't want constant action but there is no need for too much boring stuff.

 

[wfpdk]

all that stuff is really up to you, those who don't like what you write wont, those that do will. i'd rather read what YOU had in mind anyways. you've been thinking about it for 20 years and i just heard about it, what could i possibly say that you havn't thought of?
but if i had to say something i like ingenuity and creativiy with both the hero and the villian. i hate it when one acts out of caracter to keep the plot going.(why not just put a bullet in james bonds' head?) yeah it works somtimes but it just seems lazy.

 

[Xerosch]

Like
Not everything is allright in the end. If the main character achieved something, he has to sacrifice. Not in the always over the top Blizzard-games kind of way, but so that you know it's not a Saturday morning cartoon where everything is the same in the end.

Trying to fix things but it gets worse. I've read it too often that a main character fucks up and redeems himself at the next possible moment. That's boring, I'd find it more interesting if I.e. The character kills someone by accident, has the guts to face the dead one's partner and apologises, has to do a favour for the mourning one who demands more and more and more.


Dislike
An Actionpacked sequence for the finale. Leave that for movies, the best books I've read feature a battle of whits for the climax. Once there was a book with many explosions and gunfights in the end. Didn't work, got boring.

 

[Vault101]

describing and going into detail about shit that isnt important (look tolkein I dont give a fuck about the dwarves and their coats..just please get on with the story?) ..or boring me (that one is very subjective however)

cliche's arnt bad..if done well which is that hard part (best examples can be bioware's storys..)

I cant stand storys that focus on "MAN IS EVIL" Im sick of it, oh its even worse when you have a race in the story that seems there to constantly remind us how much we suck (AVATAR being the main example)

or an xmen example where its all about super people being opressed by normal people, I mean you think people would just be..hold on guys..mabye we should work this out.. same thing with "the chosen one storys" assuming its all played stright of coarse

I like it when the charachters are more or less normal..they have to EARN their awsome through sheer force of will as opoased to just "having" it (neo from the matrix, harry potter, however harry potter was done well)

people acting like dicks for no reason..idiot plots or plots that rely on stupid misunderstandings or people being idiots


yeah, keep in mind thats just me personally

I am a chef by trade.

I am also a writer. One might call it still a "hobby" at this point in my life, but it is something I plan on crafting into a successful endeavour. I do expand into a variety of topics and genres, but my writing mainly revolves around high fantasy. I plan on one day sharing a story that's been rattling around in my head for the better part of two decades.
As such, I'm looking for feedback. What sort of character development do you most enjoy? Hate?
Story themes, structure, even general clichés.

 

[Bobbity]

A couple of plot twists are good, even the odd good guy death, but endlessly torturing the reader with death after death after death of the characters that you've come to care about is just freakin' evil.

I'm looking at you, Wilbur Smith.

 

[careful]

when the behavior, feelings and thoughts of the characters are reminiscent of what real humans do and are given good sincere elaboration, avoiding trite or juvenile depictions, then they are characters i enjoy. i like when the protagonist seems to be an observer of the world around him/her putting him/her in a position to construct some really interesting commentary and interpretations, you know the way we exuberant humans do every moment of our conscious existence. when i write i try to avoid metaphors, idioms, personifications, and all that other crap that comes from the literary toolbox of boring writers. i prefer an unambiguous concise description of the world, i dont try to be objective, i just think our world is very conceptually rich and not giving it amble description is kind of a boring over simplification. my steadfast rule in writing is to resolve as much ambiguity as possible and hopefully by doing so giving a meaningful depiction.

 

[Xrysthos]

I don't like the standard fantasy by-the-book approach where a disaster leads a young protagonist with a good heart out in the world, where he more often than not finds an old man and discovers that he or she has some ancient power, and needs to set out on a quest to save a black and white world. You know what I'm talking about. It can be done very well, as in J. V. Jones' Sword of Shadows series, but if your debut isn't aimed at a younger audience, this style of writing and character progression will likely miss its mark. Some variety of this approach in inevitable in a single-hero fantasy, which is why I much prefer series like A Song of Ice and Fire, where you view a story or event from the viewpoints of multiple people, and loved characters can be killed of for dramatic effect and plot propogation.

Lore and depth are good things, but I prefer the Malazan Book of the Fallen and the Prince of Nothing approach to this - i.e. not spoonfeeding the reader. Give hints and clues, and let them piece together the grand scheme of how a specific piece of lore/history fits into the current story. I also really like when the world is not portrayed as good versus evil, and everything is black and white. This doesn't really compute with the real world situation. Destroying or enslaving the world for no apparent reasons make for poor villains - if you need any villains at all. As has been mentioned before, the Reapers in Mass Effect are a good example of this. And if you plan to implement magic, make the system arround how it works unique and interesting (big points to the Malazan Book of the Fallen, The Wheel of Time and Peter V. Brett's The Painted Man on that note).

 

[OceanBlue]

Dislike: When the main protagonist is being incredibly stupid.
Like everything is leading up to a major event that you - the reader - see a mile ahead and he just. Doesn't. Get. It!

 

[FC Groningen]

Forgot to note: I don't like macho protagonists as well. There are just too many that just try to talk with their fists, even if its not needed.

 

[floppylobster]

Hate - Long descriptions. Give me the vague idea and get to the point. Unless you can make it really interesting and relevant to the story. Which most writers can't.

Hate - When writers love their characters and forget that we, the reader, don't always. Build your characters very carefully, be careful not to 'break' them for the sake of drama or an idea you have. Introduce them slowly, and if you ever find you're forcing them, pull them back, using another character or plot point to humble them. Let them be themselves, you can find other ways to achieve what you want from your plot, so always keep the characters real. Don't forget just because you think you've established a character we may still dislike them, so always keep them at arms length. If I sense you love your character more than me then it makes me hate them.

Love - When the plot is working in parallel with the issues in the story. Highlighting them and putting them in a new light that makes me think about it from another angle (like the middle of Crime and Punishment).

Love - Brevity and simplicity.

Hate - Having to stop and look up a word. By all means use an obscure word you love, but use it in a context that makes me understand the word without having to look up what it meant.

Love - Characters with a strong point of view. Characters with a strength and a weakness. Characters with differing and valid points of view.

Other advice - Always keep your audience in mind. But never play to them. Entertain them, reach out to them, communicate something to them. If you're not going to do that then why are you writing?

But leave some gaps for me to fill in. Trust that I will and I can. Even if it's not obvious I will sense something bigger is going on and I may re-read a passage. But at the same time don't be afraid to sum it up for me, and make it easy to follow. There's no harm in reminding a reader where we're up to in the story as long as you're not forcing it every few pages. Remember that some people read books over the course of a year or two, so don't expect us to follow an intricate plot without some repetition of important point. We use repetition every day in life so it's not unnatural. And it doesn't even have to be a repetition, but if something is important, even if it's simple, make it stand out, and make it memorable through its honesty.

Listen to your critics - but only to motivate you to go back and make them understand what you really meant. Don't change your work to suit other's tastes, change it so they can better understand yours.

 

[derbt]

People here have pretty well summed up things I dislike when reading a book, so I won't add too much. I will say, however, that I despise it when authors tell me things, without showing me, especially in regards to characters. They say that so-and-so is extremely witty, and can make a whole room of people laugh. Oh, really? I hate it when they just describe - prove it!

 

[Spineyguy]

First, make sure you write good villains, don't make your villains just plain old evil, give them a purpose, some endeavour. Villains work best when they are more like heroes than the heroes are.

Give your plot some proper thought, plan it out first, don't do what I did for the first few tales I wrote and just make it up as you go along.

Draft and redraft again and again and again and again and again until you are happy with a piece of work, don't just get to the end and assume it's done.

Don't treat your readers like idiots, no-one likes having every intricacy of a story explained to them through arduous amounts of dialogue or big walls of text, let your audience infer events outside of the main story from what is said within it.

Don't get too bogged down in descriptions. People will form their own notions of what a character looks like, you don't have to do it for them.

Don't take yourself too seriously, especially when writing fantasy. A fantasy which is too serious just becomes conceited. Make the odd joke, have some comic relief. Real life isn't all serious, why should your story be?

Never, ever, EVER, make your protagonist perfect. I cannot stand it when main characters effortlessly overcome every object in their path. everyone has their weaknesses, remember that.

Equally, don't make your protagonist too weak. No-one has sympathy for a hopelessly useless character, they just despise them. Witness whatever her name is from Twilight. *shudder*

The problem with High fantasy is that you always end up copying Tolkien in some way. You will note that a great many of the things I have warned you against here, J.R.R. Tolkien is guilty of. Aragorn is perfect, Frodo is helpless and weak, he takes himself too seriously, his villain has no real goal and his stuff gets boring. (Summary of The Return of the King: Sam and Frodo walk, Sam and Frodo walk, Sam and Frodo walk, Sam and Frodo walk some more, there's a big battle, Sam and Frodo walk, Sauron dies, everything's better.) Do try and be original.

Finally, if a story isn't fun to write, then it won't be fun to read. Don't write stuff you don't like writing about because otherwise you become bored and your story will follow suit.

 

[rmb1983]

I typically find myself with those very same opinions, while reading.

Also, your username is fantastic.
If nothing else, this can serve as incredible advice to any and all aspiring writers reading this thread. Particularly...

Give your plot some proper thought, plan it out first, don't do what I did for the first few tales I wrote and just make it up as you go along.

Draft and redraft again and again and again and again and again until you are happy with a piece of work, don't just get to the end and assume it's done.

...that. In fact, it reminded me of the track "No Mistakes" by Classified. Thank you for helping me make up my mind on what to listen to when I board on over to GameStop later.

 

[octafish]

Edit, edit, edit, edit, then edit, and edit some more. I like tight pithy writing. No fucking about unnecessarily. Hemmingway and Bukowski had what it takes. Peter Temple has it too and the benefit of being alive.

Hemmingway had great advice for all creative people. Kill your darlings.