What do you wish you could find to read?

[starlite_gone]

I'm feeling annoyingly depressed again lately. It really irritates me when I start to feel down, which of course helps nothing because then I just hate on myself more.

Anyway, whatever, who cares. To the point of the entry--

This is a question to everyone:

What do you wish you saw more (or less) of in stories? What are things you can never seem

Comments

[elyndys]

This only really applies to fic, but I love what-if stories. What-if someone quit the band, what if someone retired from the sport, what if two members really did have a thing once and it went pear-shaped... (Do Americans say pear-shaped? Idek XD) I love thinking about things like that! But I guess they're also very personal takes on things, so even if you write them, other people might not agree XD

[starlite_gone]

I love what-ifs too! That's one of my favorite things about fics, actually. It could be interesting to try that in an original story too if a person established the things they needed to first.

lol I don't think we say "went pear-shaped" but idk, I've heard it before at least once because I recognized what you mean. So either I've heard it from friends in other countries or it's just something I haven't personally heard said much.

[lisa_thecat]

I'd like to see complex characters - unidimensional ones are so third grade! I'd like to see compelling plots, not made-up drama. I'd like to see less violence for the sake of violence - some authors put their character through hell just for kicks. I would just like higher quality fics. I have tried like 15 gay fiction published books (not self published) and only one was relatively OK. Several were so bad, they were unreadable. Most were just made following mechanically a template recipe that just didn't work in the end.

[_profiterole_]

I hear you about gay romance. I mostly read mainstream these days, because the stories are good, but there is not an infinity of mainstream novels with m/m or f/f in them.

[lisa_thecat]

The best MM romance that I've read online was the free type. One would expect more professionalism from professional writers!

[starlite_gone]

I've been striking out on a lot of published m/m I've tried reading lately, too. I haven't been satisfied with almost any of it. And even the ones I liked, there are usually large portions of it I didn't love but I ignored just because I don't have a lot of options and I liked the other pieces enough to gloss over it

[_profiterole_]

More telepathy (in a slashy context). I find a lot in fanfics with Star Trek, X-Men and Pacific Rim, but I would love to find it in mainstream heroic fantasy and urban fantasy as well.

What would you like to read?

[starlite_gone]

Telepathy! That sounds like fun! HMM. Maybe I should add some telepathy to my next slash story to help add at least one more option for you to read :)

I think for what I would like to read, I just want more characters that are faceted and have depth, more relationships that actually make sense why it's specifically these two together and they aren't with other people, fewer horrific or one-dimensional women in slash, and more complicated plots. I don't like it when I start a story and know pretty much immediately how the "mystery" will end. But overall I think I just want more things that work for me, and that's harder to categorize because I'm realizing there are a lot of things that other people love that don't do it for me. Ultimately, for me, by far the most important thing is the characters -- do I understand them whether or not I agree with their choices, do I believe them as people, do I like them? And so on. If something doesn't do the characters justice then I just can't get into the story at all no matter how well it's

[manueladb]

Lately I'm mostly reading m/m stories. What I would love to read about but I can hardly find, are stories that start with a couple already established. I guess it goes against what romance usually is, two people meeting and falling in love and finding their happy ending, but I find it very interesting and engaging when a story is about an already established couple who encounters some problems, either from inside their relationship or an outside force. It's a different dynamic and I like it. But as I said, I hardly find stories like that.

[starlite_gone]

You're right, that's really hard to find now that I think about it. I also really enjoy reading a relationship be put to the test and see how people deal with the things that rock the boat. Most of the time if you find that, you have to first read their entire relationship form, and then if you're lucky the author will stick around enough to show it be tested.

HMM. Now you have me thinking. It might be fun to write something where it starts out with the relationship already in place and then get in how it happened and show them dealing with new things as the story progresses.

[potatoe1988]

Well balanced H/C. I don't really want fluff, but I don't want a comforter who's truly abusive. Just kind of an asshole in the role of comforter who isn't terrible.

[starlite_gone]

I agree! I really like H/C but I don't like it when it's actualfax abuse going on. It seems like there's been a trend of H/C being a cover for abuse at times, and that makes me uncomfortable.