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.
Oh gosh, there’s not one specific thing. Really, if I decide I’m just not enjoying a story, or not enjoying it anymore…I stop reading it. That doesn’t mean there is anything objectively wrong with the story. It’s possible that my fixation has shifted, or that something arose that I just didn’t care for in terms of how they presented a character or situation and it struck in just such a way.
This actually happens more often with novels than it does with fanfiction, as fanfiction authors tend to be fairly forthcoming and they use a lot of tags.
As an example, I remember getting a few chapters into a novel once that portrayed (not in a way that at all endorsed) a very abusive relationship and did so in such a heart-breakingly realistic way that I couldn’t get past it.
The story itself was an absurd, fantastical, bizarre work of fiction that just so happened to portray certain very real dynamics in a way that felt jarring. If anything, that is to the author’s credit, but I noped out not terribly far into it.
Valid! Sometimes I stop reading/watching something. There might be a reason for it, one I haven’t dived into, but I’m also okay with the surface thoughts that I’m just not enjoying it. It is for fun. We don’t always have to dissect why we aren’t enjoying something.
Agreed! There’s nothing wrong with knowing exactly what put you off, or even considering it. But sometimes, I can’t quite pinpoint it and I’ve just never been someone who “has to finish” a story I started just because I started it.
There are many beautifully crafted stories out there that just don’t resonate with me, but I don’t have anything negative to say about them.
I used to be the type who always had to finish what I started. When I broke that habit I was much happier!