What makes you stop reading a story?

There are so many talented writers here who write stories you can lose yourself in and enjoy. I'm not a grammar nazi, but it distracts me when every sentence has something spelled wrong. If you have a talent for writing, learn the English language and take pride in your work. If you can't spell, get an editor who can

If the story is engrossing enough, I usually ignore grammar and spelling mistakes.
 
- Unrealistic scenarios that include things like a brother having no feelings for his sister and one day he sees her in a dress that shows a bit of cleavage and suddenly he is in love and wants to have sex with her.

So the stories of a brother and sister hating each other, but one day he notices her smoking hot rack and he just has to have it,aren't for you. That sounds like a love story around here.


- For me there also has to be a reason for the sex and the sex has to make sense. I am also not a fan of stories where the 22 year old guy is a virgin and then he has sex with one girl and a week later he is not only a completely different person but he has also fucked 5 other girls due to his amazing skills in bed and his super confident attitude. I have lost count of the number of stories i have read where the main character starts out nice and becomes a complete arsehole after he begins having sex.

So, you don’t like the realistic asshole. Got it. I’ll go out on a limb and surmise as I muse that you don’t like hook up stories.


This is also the one thing I remember most from Stephen King's "On Writing." He all but begs aspiring writers to use nothing but "said."

I’m not sure if I’ve ever made it past page twenty in a Stephen King novel. Oh, the words. They kill me. There are only a few styles of writing I dislike more. Mine tops the list, but he’s a close second right after “Shades of Something.” I tried three times to get past the third paragraph. I just don’t hate myself enough.
 
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So the stories of a brother and sister hating each other, but one day he notices her smoking hot rack and he just has to have it,aren't for you. That sounds like a love story around her.

I just don't believe a person can go from just seeing their sister as a sister one second and then through some tiny event suddenly wanting to have sex with her. Honestly i have seen stories where a guy completely changed his opinion of his sister simply because one day he saw her in a dress that showed a bit of cleavage. To me it was just no a big enough event to cause such a drastic change in attitude.
 
I just don't believe a person can go from just seeing their sister as a sister one second and then through some tiny event suddenly wanting to have sex with her. Honestly i have seen stories where a guy completely changed his opinion of his sister simply because one day he saw her in a dress that showed a bit of cleavage. To me it was just no a big enough event to cause such a drastic change in attitude.

I agree. There are a ton of those stories. Lust vs. Love. Erotica vs. Porn. Calling it love when you invade your sister’s room to steal panties and molest her in her sleep while calling her a slut is an odd thing. I can’t quite make the mental leap. Though, it is some peoples’ fantasy and they’re welcome to it. I just feed them occasionally with a story or two.
 
I'm really glad that incest is not one of my kinks. I hate unrealistic stories. It seems like incest is just a place for unreality to breed with unconventionality, and all of their freak children run around fucking and then all of the really weird mutations start to show up.
 
Calling it love when you invade your sister’s room to steal panties and molest her in her sleep while calling her a slut is an odd thing.

See and in those stories the main character almost always ends up getting what he wants and but i would rather see the little shit get thrown in prison in the story. That sort of character is not relatable and i really do not want to see a main character like that get what he wants.

My favourite types of stories (and this is just my opinion) are where the nice guy ends up getting something unexpected or gets something that he deserves. I find it much easier to root for the nice guy in a story.
 
I'm really glad that incest is not one of my kinks. I hate unrealistic stories. It seems like incest is just a place for unreality to breed with unconventionality, and all of their freak children run around fucking and then all of the really weird mutations start to show up.

If you can set aside the incest aspect, there are quite a few really moving love stories running around. I’m not into it outside fiction. My siblings are as warped and annoying as I am. I only write in the category because it seems to collect the most eyes. I’m with GingerCat. I like the good guy winning the girl and it being somewhat sweet. Though, my twisted humor does find its way in most of my stories.

See and in those stories the main character almost always ends up getting what he wants and but i would rather see the little shit get thrown in prison in the story. That sort of character is not relatable and i really do not want to see a main character like that get what he wants.


My favourite types of stories (and this is just my opinion) are where the nice guy ends up getting something unexpected or gets something that he deserves. I find it much easier to root for the nice guy in a story.

To add a shameless plug, you might like my Valentines story in the First Time category. “A friend for Life.” The good guy wins and the bad guy gets what he deserves.
 
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I just don't believe a person can go from just seeing their sister as a sister one second and then through some tiny event suddenly wanting to have sex with her. Honestly i have seen stories where a guy completely changed his opinion of his sister simply because one day he saw her in a dress that showed a bit of cleavage. To me it was just no a big enough event to cause such a drastic change in attitude.

I remember we had quite an interesting discussion about cliches in incest stories in this thread. Probably a bit before your time.
 
The thing that makes me stop reading is when I've gone through a few paragraphs and there's still no tension, no plot. I hate stories that start with background on a character or physical descriptions or casual sex with nothing at risk. A story should have tension from the first sentence, and all the best grammar and punctuation in the world can't save a story that lacks tension.
 
One thing I forgot (I think) -- stories set in the current day, that are not sf/f, and that are oblivious of current technology and its uses. I'm not saying every call has to be on a cell phone, but sometimes authors miss things and it makes the characters seem dumb.

I was recently reading a book I got from Amazon called "Candy Store," about a woman who owns said store, is on the brink of losing it, and calls in a consultant to help turn things around (naturally they fall in love, but that's besides the point). One of the things the guy does is up her advertising, including creating a website. And the woman said, "I never thought of that."

The story is copyright 2011 -- she never thought of that !?!?! Isn't that almost the first thing people think of now? Or maybe the second, how the internet can be used to further knowledge of their venture? I can understand if she'd said she'd wanted to but didn't have the time or knowledge, but just to not think about it at all? No way.

I also have to admit that I'm reading a story now ("Love by Design, by Liz Matis, also on Kindle) that hits a bunch of buttons I don't like -- 10" cock on the guy, smart business woman who can't control her urges around him (or he around her, so I guess that's fair) -- but there's something so over-the-top about it I'm still reading.
 
I also have to admit that I'm reading a story now ("Love by Design, by Liz Matis, also on Kindle) that hits a bunch of buttons I don't like -- 10" cock on the guy, smart business woman who can't control her urges around him (or he around her, so I guess that's fair) -- but there's something so over-the-top about it I'm still reading.

What’s not to love about partial paralysis? LOL.
 
Thanks for this thread. Brilliant!

I can't read another story about someone who is blackmailed by incriminating photos taken while they are drugged and/or being threatened. I just want to scream, "Go to the cops and get the asshole arrested. Don't let them blackmail you, you stupid fool."

I can't read stories that amount to rape.

I also quit stories if the author can't keep their characters' names straight. Some typos and errors I can deal with, but if your characters aren't real enough to you that you can remember their names, it's not going to be a good story.
 
I can't read stories that amount to rape.

Sometimes consensual non-consent can be a delicate balance in both real life play and in fantasy. Sure stories can push limits much further than reality, but I agree that a story is a big turn off if the receiver is not described as sharing in the pleasure.
 
Thanks for this thread. Brilliant!

I can't read another story about someone who is blackmailed by incriminating photos taken while they are drugged and/or being threatened. I just want to scream, "Go to the cops and get the asshole arrested. Don't let them blackmail you, you stupid fool."

I can't read stories that amount to rape.

I also quit stories if the author can't keep their characters' names straight. Some typos and errors I can deal with, but if your characters aren't real enough to you that you can remember their names, it's not going to be a good story.

You are most welcome. It’s my gift to you.

I guess I shouldn’t confess this, but I have a blackmail story pending in the Reluctance Category. I decided to stretch out from the nice guy mold to a real asshat. Though, the “victim” isn’t exactly an innocent. I like Karma. She’s sometimes pretty. I would occasionally like to see rapist meet Daddy in a story.

The name thing can often times be from writing too many stories at once. That’s my excuse when it happens. That and try keeping all the names and body parts straight in an orgy.
 
One thing I forgot (I think) -- stories set in the current day, that are not sf/f, and that are oblivious of current technology and its uses. I'm not saying every call has to be on a cell phone, but sometimes authors miss things and it makes the characters seem dumb.

I was recently reading a book I got from Amazon called "Candy Store," about a woman who owns said store, is on the brink of losing it, and calls in a consultant to help turn things around (naturally they fall in love, but that's besides the point). One of the things the guy does is up her advertising, including creating a website. And the woman said, "I never thought of that."

The story is copyright 2011 -- she never thought of that !?!?! Isn't that almost the first thing people think of now? Or maybe the second, how the internet can be used to further knowledge of their venture? I can understand if she'd said she'd wanted to but didn't have the time or knowledge, but just to not think about it at all? No way.

I also have to admit that I'm reading a story now ("Love by Design, by Liz Matis, also on Kindle) that hits a bunch of buttons I don't like -- 10" cock on the guy, smart business woman who can't control her urges around him (or he around her, so I guess that's fair) -- but there's something so over-the-top about it I'm still reading.

I do the opposite... I tried to set a story in the seventies, and apparently, Darryl was a time traveller, because he got ahold of viagra. :D
 
I also quit stories if the author can't keep their characters' names straight. Some typos and errors I can deal with, but if your characters aren't real enough to you that you can remember their names, it's not going to be a good story.

Oops. Guilty. In one of my stories I changed a character's last name while doing the final edit. Unfortunately, my starting point was about one-third of the way into the story. So far, no one has called me out on it.

In the story I am currently writing there are references to a character who never actually appears in the story. I referred to him by four different names in the initial draft. My beta reader was thoroughly confused.
 
Oops. Guilty.

Yep, I've done that too (missed a name change.) That's actually very hard to catch--for either the author or the editor--especially if the names have a similar look. Names are something you read right through once they are established in a work, and there's no "find/replace" function you can go through to catch them--unless you've already caught one. Then search on that name to make sure it isn't in there again (or misspelled the same way). If you are doing a spell check and a name unaccountably pops up a second time (or even if you get that impression it does--it will pop up again with a plural or a possessive ending anyway)--look for possible misspellings.
 
Yep, I've done that too (missed a name change.) That's actually very hard to catch--for either the author or the editor--especially if the names have a similar look. Names are something you read right through once they are established in a work, and there's no "find/replace" function you can go through to catch them--unless you've already caught one. Then search on that name to make sure it isn't in there again (or misspelled the same way). If you are doing a spell check and a name unaccountably pops up a second time (or even if you get that impression it does--it will pop up again with a plural or a possessive ending anyway)--look for possible misspellings.

And if you do S&R to change a name, don't hit "accept all".

Unless you want to tell a story about a Lucyitor who falls in love with the lady who runs a Steveato stall, takes her to a Jonathonescence concert on a date, and then Howards her after coffee.
 
I certainly do not want someone perfect either but i think likable is different than perfect. For instance the guy that blackmails his younger sister into having sex with him is not likable, nor is the guy who claims to be in love with a girl and he spies on her in the shower when she doesn't know he is there.

Basically when reading a story i want to like the main character, i want the main character to be happy or at least turn out to be happy. If i would rather see the main character have the crap kicked out of him or for him to be thrown in prison then in my opinion it is not a good story (especially when the arsehole main character is portrayed like the hero and the person the author wants you to root for but in reality he is a horrible person).

Does that make sense?

It does, and mostly I prefer sympathetic characters. Especially when the author writes a creepy character because the author doesn't understand that certain things are creepy, that turns me off PDQ.

But a good writer can tell an interesting story about a bad guy. "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (film version) is a favourite of mine.
 
I do the opposite... I tried to set a story in the seventies, and apparently, Darryl was a time traveller, because he got ahold of viagra. :D

Never mind. Shakespeare included a striking clock in Julius Caesar.
 
Yep, I've done that too (missed a name change.) That's actually very hard to catch--for either the author or the editor--especially if the names have a similar look.

Me three. I didn't. They do. My bad. The readers brought me up short on that one quick enough. Quel embarrassing. :eek:
 
I'm really glad that incest is not one of my kinks. I hate unrealistic stories. It seems like incest is just a place for unreality to breed with unconventionality, and all of their freak children run around fucking and then all of the really weird mutations start to show up.

Now now let's not generalize. many incest authors avoid the pregnancy thing and some of us so shoot for some realism in the forbidden attraction.

Like the one I mentioned earlier where I had the mother actually send her kid to therapy when she found out he wanted her.

For someone who rights about Gay Demons I would think you would be a little open to unreality:D
 
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