I do not mean SPAG issues or things you consider bad writing/storytelling. What is something which is not actually a problem that you just don’t enjoy to the point where you would drop a fic you were enjoying?
I was considering this, because if a premise interested me in the first place, the biggest reasons I could think to ever drop it would be too many grammar issues or characters suddenly feeling OOC (in my opinion).
Outside of those or untagged triggers though… I considered how I might actually stop reading a story that goes by too fast and doesn’t let the reader explore characters’ reactions to things. Even if the characters still act like you would expect them too afterward. I like diving into characters’ feelings and motivations too much.
Sometimes I just get bored with a fic. Usually if it takes too long to update, and by the time the next chapter rolls around I’ve lost interest in the fandom and/or forgotten everything that happened in the fic. I generally don’t like slow pacing either, so if I’m itching for something interesting to happen and the story kinda stalls for a while, I’ll probably drop it. (Though if it’s completed, I can skip ahead through the “filler” if I’m generally into the story otherwise)
Or it had an interesting premise/tags/summary but doesn’t really deliver. Either the characters veer into OOC, or worldbuilding/magic/fantasy things integral to the story aren’t explained so the reader understands what’s going on and why. Though I guess those are more “bad writing/storytelling reasons.”
Outside of that, untagged tropes/squicks. For some of them, a brief mention is fine, but generally if the story starts heading in that direction or focuses mostly on those things, I’m out.
Yeah, I have stories I want to get back to. But they have taken too long to update and I would have to start from the top. Which means, in the end, I will likely end up waiting until it is completed and see if I’m still interested in the story then.