So ... um, we already have a topic about what annoys you in a story, but I wanted to here what people really enjoy in a story. I mean, for some people a good ending will do it, for others a moral dilemma does it, but for me personally I really just like to read something that I know I never could have thought of, you know, something original.

So basically what I want to hear in this topic is what other people like to read and what will make a story one of their favorites. Because I think that it'd be cool to hear what all you people want!

That's really a question I never really thought about much before. I admit I'm a sucker for romance but so much of it is just the same stuff over and over again.

What I think makes a really great story (but not of course the only way) is to take a classic theme, or story and add a twist.

I mean take starwars, like the biggest hit ever, and what was it? It had the classic hearoic prince, the classic princess, the classic rouge, fighting the clasic fight. But then they add the twist and wha-la. It's the cherished story that everyone loves with the added zing that stopped it from being too predictable.

-Zwi

That's a good point, and that's kinda what I was talking about with being original. I mean, some people (like movie critics and whatnot) can see the beginning of a movie and know exactly how it will end, but with something like Star Wars there is really no way that you can see the ending coming! So yeah, I have to agree with you that a well thought out plot twist can be the difference between a good storyline and a classic!

THANX ZWIDON!

Pen.Dragon

I forgot to add another thought! ... So I guess I'll say something that's best for Humor stories or stores that you don't want to come of as serious and dramatic. Um ... lately I've been writing a trilogy that I don't want to be depressing even though a bunch of serious stuff is happening in it, and I've also been watching a little bit of Doctor Who (awesome show). Now the thing that I'm saying is basically put in a bunch of small jokes (which are great for quotes!) to cut all the serious stuff and make the story better. Like I like Doctor Who because the Doctor is always spouting off these random funny lines that make the show so great, but without these little lines the story would be so serious it would be depressing. I hope that that makes sense!

Write on!

Pen.Dragon

I think what makes a good story is a good mix of everything in it, with one or two of the mixes, (a.k.a. fantasy, humor, romance, mystery, etc.), mostly in it. For instance, the popular series Harry Potter is mostly fantasy, while the other leading series of today, (Twilight), has mostly suspense and romance. Both of those series are really well written because they have some humor, mystery, adventure, and a little bit of science fiction mixed in with the plot. That's what I think makes a good story. Also, stopping points that end in exciting or interesting scenes keep the reader reading. I, myself, love the Series of Unfortunate Events books, and hardly any of those books end happily. They have exciting stopping points at the end of the books and have tons of mystery, science fiction, and rather sarcastic humor involved in them. Readers just like interesting, original stories, I guess, because that's what draws them to stories: Plots that anyone could have thought of that always seem interesting, even when re-read.

--Cinnia--

I totally know what your saying! Like in the musical Oliver Twist (don't know if anyone's seen it) the story is like SOOOOOOOOO depressing, but all the songs (well most of them) are really upbeat and happy. Without the songs the whole thing would be so sad no one would read it.

Are you kidding! Of course I've seen the movie! That's a classic! But that kinda touches on the note I brought up earlier about how a serious, depressing story can be cheered up by something else, only I hadn't thought of music, that is a point! ... I mean, I'm not about to learn to read music and play instruments so that I can try to compose something cool, but I have used like descriptions of a serious character to funny.

And I can understand what Cinnia Aine was saying about diverse topics ... all except for the mystery. Idk, I tend to think that any good book should keep you guessing, so maybe that's something good to bring up in this topic anyway. But yeah, the only problem with that is that if a writer writes a series of books and each of them feature the same characters and a continuing plot, but some books are heavier in one genre than the others, it can kinda bore the readers. For instance, I've heard that the Harry Potter series just gets darker and darker as it progresses, now those books may attract some readers and lose some. But I guess that since the series is overall rather well written, the fans put up with the big change, but if it weren't so well written, it'd be liable to lose a lot of readers. Does that make any sense at all?

Write on!

Pen.Dragon

Quite the opposite! If you compare any number of classic books to Harry Potter you'll see that it's terribly written. One thing that did make Harry Potter so successful originally is that it had been written for children.

On another note, I may have discovered the greatest way to make good stories ever! But Double AA wont let me tell you.

Okay ... I've never read them and I'm never going to, so I'll take your word for it. I just meant that as an example, but you probably get what I meant ...

And about the greatest way to make good stories ever, way to be anti-climactic! But I'll live if I never find out what it is.

Harry Potter is brilliant!!! It is a classic!

Harry Potter isn't my scene, but alot of people like it. Anyways, funny stories have always grabbed my atention, like 13 Clocks by James Thurber, I think. I'm currently making a comedy on the site and I'm trying to make it original, with references to my favorite movies, and trying to make it clean. To me, that's what makes a story, original and clean. And sometimes the moral message. (If anyone is interested in reading my story, please review it!)

Yeah, original and clean those are two big things for me too. I won't read anything that isn't clean, and original is just ... well hard to come by!

Write on!

Pen.Dragon

Also, I read your You know your an Author and thought that it was very funny and, in some parts, true.

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

No problem, man.

Something funny, unique and unpredictable. I'd like to add dark romance inside it too -- and I love sick, twisted fictions.

Haha, I make all my stories dark, but usually never serious. I have two dark comedies and a dark Star Wars meets The Punisher-esque story..

For me, a story is broken into conflict and resolution.

the conflict in the story has to be interesting and original. The resolution has to be a satisfying end that provokes some sort of emotional reaction.

I very much enjoy witty dialogue in the story though.

btw, hiii! :)

For me, I either like a story to just be something comical to entertain me, or for it to grab me into the characters problems as they try to get though them. If the story is just goign to be a emotional story, then I want to be able to relate and care about the characters.

- Strong characters who have unique voices: I don't want every character to be written the same way.

- A well-constructed world. Even if the writer is setting their story in a real location, it's excellent to see when they've shown their work about a place. When a story's set in a fictional world, I like to see that same amount of depth in the world that the writer's built, if not more.

- If it's a humorous story, I like to see a balance between well-written narrative and dialogue. It's fine if the dialogue is astoundingly funny and the narrative is a little drab, but I've found that the best examples of comedy writing (ah, Good Omens, where would I be without you?) have dialogue and narrative that raise a laughs, at least for me.

- Comedy needs good pacing: Unless the story's supposed to be an easy going slice-of-life type of thing, comedy sounds and reads much better if it's snappy. A balance between short and longer sentences often works, especially if the setup is 'long sentence: feed line + short sentence: punch line.'

No matter what the plot is, a person has to care about the characters, or else the plot is rendered useless. Exceptions to this are rare, because the plot would have to be absolutely mind-blowing. If a person cares about the characters, then the plot can even be cliche and the story would still be enjoyed. But if an author manages to create lovable characters, and ones the reader can relate to, then it also helps to construct an original plot. I also love sensory detail, so if I can see some pretty image and be able to think of how it sounds or smells, I will be interested in the story. Unexpected twists are always good. And I'm a sucker for a happy ending, even if it's a little bittersweet. But no matter how well-done the plot is, and sometimes they're done better with a sad ending, I want to feel better after I read the story than before. Otherwise, I just regret it.

• Forums are not to be used to post stories.
• All forum posts must be suitable for teens.
• The owner and moderators of this forum are solely responsible for the content posted within this area.
• All forum abuse must be reported to the moderators.