Most important thing in a story to you?

I realized a couple days ago that the most important thing in a story to me is story flow and is the reason I hate most stories.

 

Well, the most important thing in the story for me is the story.

 

the author not being an absolute fucktard is the most important to me

 

The story it self. But again, if it's like children's story books, then it shouldn't have become a novel.

 

Enjoyment I get out of it.

 

It's whether I like the story or not. Many story screw the flow but I still read it.

 

A couple of things :
1 Consistency - The story should be consistent about the details , it can't just state of this is impossible then next we have the exact same thing happening which happens to most stories here , which I absolutely hate .
2 Characters - it's important for char to feel alive like they r real not just a figment of imagination , they make u feel , very few stories get this right
3 Plot - I find fixation with a particular plot really weird , life does not an end goal it goes on , yet most stories either give a plot and don't follow it or they have a plot but keep fucking around and not in a good way
The above points are some of the things that make up a story and I believe should be most focused on , I mean sure world building is imp. but if it ain't consistent then it's garbage same goes with other things

 

Lack of rape is nice.

 

How interesting a story can be which can make me read the novel to the end.

 

As long as that story can entertain me.

 

Plot

 

Everything about the story is important. All the elements of the story works together.

For example. Characters. If they are dull and uninteresting and one dimensional or just unappealing/unlikable. Then you might end up not caring to happens to them and thus not caring about the story.

Or Plot. If it is boring or confusing or there is just no plot at all , would anyone want to read that story?

Or the writing itself. Grammar so terrible you can only understand 10% of what you read. Every word is misspelled. Punctuation in haywire. Go torture yourself reading that!

For me, there is no most important thing. Every element of the story is the most important thing because each element does a certain job in the story. They work together to form the story. If any of the element is poorly done then you will end up not liking the story, or at least not enjoy it that much. If an element is terribly done, the story might even become unreadable.

 

It's kinda impossible for me, and I assume most people, to have a most important thing. I.e. if you had the greatest story known to man kind, but it read like it was MTL and had a bunch of spelling/punctuation errors. The good story wouldn't matter, it'd be terrible as all hell to read.

Then the opposite, if you had flawless grammar and punctuation, but the story was just mindless garbage on repeat that wasn't even significant from the first revolution, it's terrible.

I don't think there is anything that by itself makes a good story, but there are a lot of things that can make an awful one if they aren't present.

 

The feeling of cliffhanger after every chapter? Cause that means that I like the story and want more?

 

Within the story, the part of executing an important scene should atleast be STYL
ISH, FATAL or BRUTAL...it may leave a bad aftertaste if the scene is on the enemy side but very very addictive when portrayed on the protagonist side...

 

Yeah cliffhanger feels nice sometimes

 

It is called the "golden middle". When all cons and pros result in something readable and interesting.

 

Plot, pacing, consistency and ending. I can live with fillers, word repetitions (one where the author basically rephrases something he'd mentioned earlier), minor inconsistencies (ones that don't affect the main story-line or events occurring afterward). Even scenario repetitions r OK as long as they r entertaining and not tedious.

What I can't stand is slow pacing at the beginning of the novel; it has to start with a bang, or at-least, pick up pace fast. And abrupt plot/char deviations. U know where the usually sensible MC does something incredibly stupid and gets in trouble or where harem girls force MC to suddenly leave for new realms to rescue them. Forced plot developments/twists which derail the plot mean dropping it ASAP. I like it calm, steady, and logical. Unprecedented developments r OK only if they make sense, or have been foreshadowed.

I prefer closed endings. I don't wanna read 1000+ ch to be told at the finish that the journey is not over yet, just going off-record now. Even tragic ending is pref to open endings. Open endings r OK for 100 ch novels, not for novels u have invested too much time/energy in. It'd feel like it was all for naught. Just my opinion, ofc.

 

It depends on what I'm reading, while I prefer things like consistency and characters that are alive, it all depends on what the core aspect of the story is. If the story is the kind of story that makes me think, then I expect the story to be consistent and well thought out. If the story is just there to entertain me, I can tolerate some inconsistencies as long as they don't shove them in my face. Sometimes authors have this bad habit of explaining things and not realizing that it is better off not explained. This goes beyond novels, it applies to anime, movies and the like. I enjoyed watching Mirai Nikki despite all its flaws, but what ticked me off the most about it was when that bomber said "Damn, he has bomb proof armor". I watched the anime cause it is entertaining, when bombs exploded around him and he survived, I didn't put much thought into it and just enjoyed it. But the moment that line was said, I couldn't help but stop to think how ridiculous that is.

So if you ask me what is most important? I'd answer the setup and delivery. The setup has to hype things up to get value and delivery has to meet expectations of fulfillment. Aka, the fundamentals of a story. Even if the result is predictable, that is fine, a curve ball is fine too, but it has to deliver. This might sound simple, but it is extremely difficult, if you cheapen the setup, the delivery would be lackluster, but if you spend too much time on the setup, then I'd loose interest. So the setup has to be a good balance of setup and delivery. And those novels that can keep that going are the ones I enjoy most.

 

To me the most important thing is consistency. One thing I hate the most is when the author nerfs or makes the mc act retarded at certain times in the story for the sake of a specific plot development. Like, all this time the mc has been moving at speeds faster than the eye can see yet couldn't make it in time to catch an arrow flying towards a girl thirty feet away?