What makes a novel stand out for you?

Non harem
Smart Mc
No family drama
Lone wolf MC

 

You sound more like a greedy reader lol.
There are limits to fast-food.
You can't compare it to a Michelin star restaurant especially when it's free.
Cheers!

 

What? Those are the qualities that make a novel stand out for 'me'. It's not necessary for a novel to have 'all' of them combined to "stand out". I've read plenty of 'free' novels and I'm writing, based on experience, qualities I've found in them that have made me stick around and finish reading till the end. And not all novels are 'free', unless you only read whatever you can find on NU.
I'm also not going around harassing or 'demanding' anything from any translator/author (free or paid), so I fail to understand how I could be called "greedy".

Maybe talking "lengthly" about what I find interesting in novels offended you for whatever reason. Let me TL;DR for you.
Either good storytelling, dialogue, comedy or characters make a novel stand out for me. Was that IDK "modest" enough to "ask for? But I really recommend you start searching for better novels if you can't find at least one of the qualities I mentioned.
Cheers!

 

I am not offended, you did not say anything offensive.
I just felt that you asked for too much
A summary is always nice.
Personally, an emotional connection to the character(s) is more important than anything else in my opinion.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Cheers!

 

Good choices! I agree with all of these.

It's not that hard; I look for the same kind of material and I've been able to find books that satisfy all of the above. It's not super common mind you, but they are out there.

 

Exactly, I doubt such stories are easy to translate too.
Personally, I believe some of these supposed bad novels simply suffer from bad to too literal translations as you pointed out in that " too lazy to care" thread

 

Definitely agree on "lone wolf MC" since power creeps tend to be insane.

 

A well written and engaging story. I don't like when the author breaks the "rules of his own world" unless it is well justified.

I don't mind cliches at all, so long that they are interesting and well written.

EDIT: I, too, like lone wolf mcs. Specially, in cultivation novels since, most of the time, when authors keep weak side characters by the mc's side, they can weirdly keep up with mc (for instance, when the mc is considered a genius or has some sort of cheat). I also hate it when the mc shares his resources for no reason at all. If other people contributed, sure, it's only fair.

 

Worldbuilding, relevant side characters, good character development, good pacing, and no loose ends. Also, I love when the author shows us what happened to other characters after the end of the novel.

I don't mind plotholes too much, but I hate it when:
- The author spends a ridiculous amount of time on one fight, be it the fight itself or building up to it.
- The translators constantly change the characters' names, be it because of a new translator or just too lazy to edit the name translated by the MTL.
- The author spends time, or an entire arc developing a side character, just to be forever forgotten.
- Harems with a betacuck, dense and indecisive main character. Gotta chose someone (or everyone for all I care), just don't leave it in the open.

 

romance, comedy.

 

When the novel's world moves with or without the mc. I have become tired of worlds where everything and everyone revolves around the mc.

I fall in love with stories where I never know what to expect. Most stories, I can predict the general flow of what will happen, and that can be nice sometimes (like when wanting to read only fluff), but all the time is incredibly boring.

I love sci fi done well. Not hard sci fi, but soft or regular that is incorporated into the story's world in a realistic way, not just as an add-on to make the mc look good (those kinda disgust me). I am sad there is so little sci fi on nu.....

I like mc's that have truly worked to earn their place at least slightly, having everything given to them on a silver platter, I don't like.

Most importantly, same as someone else already said, I want the character to feel like themself, not just a sock puppet of the author, but someone with their own thoughts, motivations, emotions, values, and reasons for doing what they do. And with their own quirks, or ways of talking.

If possible, I want this for all the characters. At the least, I want them to have their own values and thoughts.

What else.... I guess I also like seeing stories where the mc has suffered (for reasonable semi-unavoidable reasons, not the stupid 'I'll crush you just because, lol' stuff from Chinese novels) and has come through that suffering and grows as a character because if it.

I like mc's that realize that people besides themselves matter, and exist just like they do. I don't like when they treat everyone else like dolls or objects, theirs to play with or destroy however they like. As someone who believes strongly in individual free will, and tends to imagine that each character has their own story (even if it's unnamed villager #567), it really ruffles my feathers and makes me hate the mc.

 

Got to go with good story.

 

1. INTERESTING PLOT
2. World building
3. The MC is not stupid (it's okay if she/he is stubborn, but I don't like a MC who can't keep her/his promise to her/himself), and have a real personality
4. All the important characters have enough personality
5. If the novel can include a light drama then that would be better. But if it is an overbearing drama, I'll drop the novel

 

When even side-characters are well developed.

 

Lots of face slapping