Tell me the reasons why you drop a story.

BlackKnightX

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For me, the reasons vary, but here goes:

- Boring character: a character that’s too passive, too wimpy, too much of a loser—or a character at the other end of the spectrum; too cold, too edgy, too evil. (Just give me a decent human being with likable personality, confidence, and charm. I’ll dig it like crazy.)
- Too slow-paced. (Keep moving!)
- Too much unnecessary details. (Details are nice—that is if I give a fuck about them in the first place. Make me care first!)
- Restraint in realism. (I don’t care about realism in fiction. You can write realistically, but don’t let it restrain you. Just transport me into an alien planet full of weird things. I’ll dig that.)
- Too much angsts with no light of hope. (If you wanna be edgy, fine, but at least give me a hint of hope, and don’t make it too depressing. I just wanna have fun, for fuck’s sake!)
- Too cold: this one’s hard to explain. It’s in the language and prose, I think. (Don’t be a camera; be a storyteller. Welcome me with a warm hug and some nice words—a kiss or two is always welcome, if you’re a chick. then, tell me a story.)

That’s pretty much it for me. There are something else as well, but I wouldn’t tell you that now, would I~? *smirks*

Enough about me. What’s yours?
 
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Paul_Tromba

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What makes me want to drop a story includes:
-Poor writing quality (it doesn't have to be great but if it looks like the person has no idea what basic grammar is then it's a huge red flag)
-lazy or poor character development (if the characters develop too quickly or not at all then it doesn't feel like the author cares. Developing slowly is okay though)
-lack of hook within the first 3 chapters (I know people say that the hook needs to be in the first chapter but I like to give it the benefit of the doubt and read 3)
-too little detail (I want to know what the characters, setting, and world are like)
-unrealistic dialogue (the world can be unrealistic as it's fiction but I can't stand reading dialogue that sounds too robotic or forced)
-Forced diversity (This one is rare among webnovel a but every so often there will be a character who is only there to be a token character. I enjoy it when there are characters who represent a certain culture or group but they need proper realistic character. If they don't add anything to the story and are only there for diversities sake then it's like the author doesn't care and is just checking off a box on their consumerism diversity checklist.
 

AskRyuzaki

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I was reading a novel just now where almost all the characters constantly sigh for some reason, like over 10 times a chapter. Think about something, sigh, then say something, and sigh again. Rinse and repeat.

The dialogue also always had something like this... As if everyone was old and talked slow... Well, it bugs me but I'm not going to fully drop it until it gets worse... Of course, not every phrase or sentence ended like that.

Put those two together and it sounded like the characters were done with life and pessimistic or something. Even if they're portrayed to be a cute little boy or bratty child. (in which 2 of the characters are)

I know these are grammatical things but I have an "editor's eye" where my pet peeves are insanely repeated words, something like "This.", or other things with grammar and word choice. It's just a turn-off for me, but I try to not let it ruin my experience unless it's that bad.
 

BlackKnightX

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I was reading a novel just now where almost all the characters constantly sigh for some reason, like over 10 times a chapter. Think about something, sigh, then say something, and sigh again. Rinse and repeat.
Well, human gotta breath, right~? Lol
 
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ModernGold7ne

That fly you can't swat.
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My standards are quite tame, but I'm likely to drop a book if it has;

- Terrible presentation
- Intelligible grammar
- No transitions
- Overly repetitive plot
- Unrealistically stupid main character
- Feels slow (despite not being slice of life.)
- Flat characters
- Bad dialogue
- Too much dialogue
- No conflict
- Too much math
- Too much Science
- Treats me like a retard
 

SailusGebel

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Slow or overly fast release rate, bad translation, bad writing(grammar). Also, writing style can force me to drop a story. However, I can't explain what I mean by writing style. It's not about the complexity of the language, tags, or genres. It's not about POV or tropes either. I guess it's more about paragraphing, phrasing, dialogue structures, and sentence structuring?
 

SakeVision

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it just fails to interest me enough for me to keep going. I have a huge book backlog, huge drama backlog, huge anime backlog, huge manga backlog, and there are 400 games in my steam library I never played plus 1000 more on my wishlist.

and that's only as far as media are concerned

I must not get bogged up in less than stellar quality stuff.
 

BlackKnightX

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it just fails to interest me enough for me to keep going. I have a huge book backlog, huge drama backlog, huge anime backlog, huge manga backlog, and there are 400 games in my steam library I never played plus 1000 more on my wishlist.

and that's only as far as media are concerned

I must not get bogged up in less than stellar quality stuff.
Very relatable. I don’t know if it relates to my mood or not, but I get bored very easily.
 

ConansWitchBaby

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There is only one story that I have dropped out of spite. For a brief time another came to be close second. Everything else I'll get to eventually. The story depicted the MC as genuine in his confusion and integration into a new setting. Then it kept up his blank stupidity for 200 chapters. The author didn't even try to have him grow. It was worse than a JP lead and their type of indecisiveness.

Second story has from the start an expansive setting with an air of mystery that is shown that would be slowly revealed. Then it goes on massive inner monologue tangents about the same things over and over again for almost 8 chapters straight. Yes, he has guilt about being a murderer. As a reader I would like for it to move on especially when the rest of the chapter is moving along with the setting. The setting being, the MC confined and incapable of doing much anyway, while actual plot and progression is being made. Love/hated this.

Then there were the moments where the inner turmoil on making decisions was done but, in an authorial dictated indecisive way. Not by character, no, but by the author. Not by the character but as in the narrative.
Not by MC but because of choice to make it insufferable

And then it gets good again.
 

BlackKnightX

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There is only one story that I have dropped out of spite. For a brief time another came to be close second. Everything else I'll get to eventually. The story depicted the MC as genuine in his confusion and integration into a new setting. Then it kept up his blank stupidity for 200 chapters. The author didn't even try to have him grow. It was worse than a JP lead and their type of indecisiveness.

Second story has from the start an expansive setting with an air of mystery that is shown that would be slowly revealed. Then it goes on massive inner monologue tangents about the same things over and over again for almost 8 chapters straight. Yes, he has guilt about being a murderer. As a reader I would like for it to move on especially when the rest of the chapter is moving along with the setting. The setting being, the MC confined and incapable of doing much anyway, while actual plot and progression is being made. Love/hated this.

Then there were the moments where the inner turmoil on making decisions was done but, in an authorial dictated indecisive way. Not by character, no, but by the author. Not by the character but as in the narrative.
Not by MC but because of choice to make it insufferable

And then it gets good again.
That sounds like a painful read. Internal monologue is fun if you give a fuck about it in the first place. Like, if the mc meets new people, the opinion he has about that person in the internal monologue can be quite fun to read—especially if he has an attitude and fun personality.
 

ConansWitchBaby

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That sounds like a painful read. Internal monologue is fun if you give a fuck about it in the first place. Like, if the mc meets new people, the opinion he has about that person in the internal monologue can be quite fun to read—especially if he has an attitude and fun personality.
Eventually the author went the more traditional 3rd person view with only internal monologues in the types of situations where it is genuinely needed. The plot kept going at its usual pace while being the main selling point.

I have no idea if I would recommend it. The annoying beginning sprinkles in a fair amount of how his powers works so it can't be skipped. Unfortunately, the power is a bit unique and complicated enough that the explanation is sandwiched between his lapses in confidence. The roots of his later relationship is also mixed in with his inability to see himself as "worthy" of having happiness. Which is fine and a great way to show his inner struggles to reintegrate into society and shit... Having the story go back into 5+ chapters of the same drivel, not so much.
 

NotaNuffian

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Overly fast power ups to me is not much of a problem, the problem will come when the world they are in is unable to keep up with the BS and the entire work just becomes "chill and relax with OPness".

At the other end of the spectrum, MC is still a weakass after EVERYONE ELSE have had their protein shake.

Overly cautious and slow MCs are also a dud to me, I dropped a xianxia because of the plot moving at a snail's pace and MC being a (totally justified) scaredy cat who is still somehow not a cultivator even after I crawled my way up to C75 (by the time I dropped the work, it had 360+ chapters and the author was writing "don't like don't read" as his standard reply, kudos man 😀)

Also, if the plot isn't moving, ie MC is still an imba shit, no growth recorded and the political climate is as stagnated as ours, it is a drop.
 

BlackKnightX

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Overly fast power ups to me is not much of a problem, the problem will come when the world they are in is unable to keep up with the BS and the entire work just becomes "chill and relax with OPness".

At the other end of the spectrum, MC is still a weakass after EVERYONE ELSE have had their protein shake.

Overly cautious and slow MCs are also a dud to me, I dropped a xianxia because of the plot moving at a snail's pace and MC being a (totally justified) scaredy cat who is still somehow not a cultivator even after I crawled my way up to C75 (by the time I dropped the work, it had 360+ chapters and the author was writing "don't like don't read" as his standard reply, kudos man 😀)

Also, if the plot isn't moving, ie MC is still an imba shit, no growth recorded and the political climate is as stagnated as ours, it is a drop.
I can certainly relate to this. I freakin love OP mc with cool personality and confidence beyond GOD—not arrogance, mind you.

But if the OP mc’s just loitering around, enjoying scenery, reminiscing about his past, it’s gonna get boring fast. There’s no point in giving character powers if he’s not gonna use it.

(Let there be a fight. Obliterate them all!—now, that’s better~)
 

Kilolo

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there's lots of webnovels I read from chapter 1 and then i stop reading it after hundreds chapter or so.

and they're mostly for the same reason, which is the stories isn't the same as what the author initially start anymore. it just felt different and I don't see any reason to continue reading it.

that, or sometimes the other reason is because the MC become hook up with the worst girl in the series.
 

BlackKnightX

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that, or sometimes the other reason is because the MC become hook up with the worst girl in the series.
Relatable~
there's lots of webnovels I read from chapter 1 and then i stop reading it after hundreds chapter or so.

and they're mostly for the same reason, which is the stories isn't the same as what the author initially start anymore. it just felt different and I don't see any reason to continue reading it.
You should check out some books on Amazon. There are a lot of books with similar concept to web novels—OP mc, harem, wish-fulfillment, and all that—but they’re better written and better structured.
 
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aattss

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When the MC is offered a choice between some power now and even more power later. Like, that isn't even a choice. Everyone knows what the MC is going to pick. It's especially dumb when everyone else gets the same choice and we're expected to believe they're all dumb and lazy in a setting where power is everything.

The trope where people underestimate the MC is overused as fuck and leads to a peanut gallery that won't shut the fuck up at every point. So, if the setting is going to do a thing where everyone's talent is measured and it just so happens that the MC's number is low, or everyone has a class and people just so happen to think the MC's class is weak or whatever, or the MC for some reason thinks that hiding their power level is in general a good idea, then I'm just going to drop it because people there's always going to be one reason or another for the author to write paragraphs upon paragraphs of people saying meaningless shit.

As for something less specific, imo there's ideally a balance between the MC's agency and the world's agency. The MC shouldn't succeed at everything they try, but also should have their own goals and do actions/make plans in service of said goals that sometimes bring them closer to accomplishing them. If the MC just gets jerked around and all the goals and plot stuff come from outside forces, then I can end up losing interest.
 

BlackKnightX

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When the MC is offered a choice between some power now and even more power later. Like, that isn't even a choice. Everyone knows what the MC is going to pick. It's especially dumb when everyone else gets the same choice and we're expected to believe they're all dumb and lazy in a setting where power is everything.

The trope where people underestimate the MC is overused as fuck and leads to a peanut gallery that won't shut the fuck up at every point. So, if the setting is going to do a thing where everyone's talent is measured and it just so happens that the MC's number is low, or everyone has a class and people just so happen to think the MC's class is weak or whatever, or the MC for some reason thinks that hiding their power level is in general a good idea, then I'm just going to drop it because people there's always going to be one reason or another for the author to write paragraphs upon paragraphs of people saying meaningless shit.

As for something less specific, imo there's ideally a balance between the MC's agency and the world's agency. The MC shouldn't succeed at everything they try, but also should have their own goals and do actions/make plans in service of said goals that sometimes bring them closer to accomplishing them. If the MC just gets jerked around and all the goals and plot stuff come from outside forces, then I can end up losing interest.
Totally relate to this. I hate it when the OP mc hides his power. I prefer more of an overlord type of mc, I think. The mc who emanates a powerful aura wherever he goes, gaining respect and fear from those around him.
 

Ellen_Dunkel

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For me, the reasons vary, but here goes:

- Boring character: a character that’s too passive, too wimpy, too much of a loser—or a character at the other end of the spectrum; too cold, too edgy, too evil. (Just give me a decent human being with likable personality, confidence, and charm. I’ll dig it like crazy.)
- Too slow-paced. (Keep moving!)
- Too much unnecessary details. (Details are nice—that is if I give a fuck about them in the first place. Make me care first!)
- Restraint in realism. (I don’t care about realism in fiction. You can write realistically, but don’t let it restrain you. Just transport me into an alien planet full of weird things. I’ll dig that.)
- Too much angsts with no light of hope. (If you wanna be edgy, fine, but at least give me a hint of hope, and don’t make it too depressing. I just wanna have fun, for fuck’s sake!)
- Too cold: this one’s hard to explain. It’s in the language and prose, I think. (Don’t be a camera; be a storyteller. Welcome me with a warm hug and some nice words—a kiss or two is always welcome, if you’re a chick. then, tell me a story.)

That’s pretty much it for me. There are something else as well, but I wouldn’t tell you that now, would I~? *smirks*

Enough about me. What’s yours?
Clumsy writing style. Repetition, dashes to indicate dialogue, references to b-list celebrities, etc.

Main characters that are kind of shitty people. I can handle villain protagonists as long as they're fun, I enjoy flawed characters as long as they're interesting, but a character that's just an asshole? Nope

Pedophilia. Doesn't really need any elaboration

Lack of joy/hope. A lot of stories including stories that aren't really all that edgy are a constant series of tragedies and barely averted disasters

Author with a short attention span. It's not all that common but some stories keep switching direction and tone. I once read a story where the author did a "rocks fall everybody dies" in order to switch from a reincarnated monster litrpg to a mmorpg vr story with a human protagonist

Stories that treat a nonhuman race as inhuman monsters that need to be killed on sight/genocided even though they're clearly people. I used to read a lot of them but they seem kind of racist and pro-genocide

I struggle to keep track of what's going on. Not necessarily the fault of the story but if I don't know what's going on anymore I generally just drop the it unless it's great enough to be worth re-reading
 
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