What makes you keep reading?

[emmagrant01]

A few days ago I asked what your fic-reading back buttons offenses are, and the response was kind of overwhelming. And they say LJ is dead, really?

But I felt bad about it because it kind of turned into a bit of a snark-fest of negativity, and that wasn't my intention at all. So now I want to try to ask another question. I'm very curious to see if this one will get a similarly enthusiastic response. :-P

What about a fic makes you want to keep reading? What are the things you see in those first few paragraphs that suck you in and make you think, "Oh, this is going to be good!"?

For me, it's a strong opening with good action or perfectly IC dialogue, where the author is showing (rather than telling) something happening that I haven't seen before and simply can't look away from. A really good fic throws me in the middle of an interesting situation from the get-go and gets me invested in the plot and in the characters immediately.

What about you?

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.

Comments

[darth-kittius.livejournal.com]

I guess we just need a few good questions to keep us talking!! I still check in daily, I just feel like there's less to say and less conversations to be had.

The single easiest thing to keep me reading is to have realistic, IC voices. No matter what fandom I'm reading in, it's an IC voice that will keep me reading even through a squick or non-preferred plot point.