What Readers Want

Yesterday on stltoday.com I read a post from John Dalton on Writers Tips.

Dalton is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and teaches at the University of Missouri MFA writing program. Here's his bio from his website if you want to read more.

I wholeheartedly agree with Dalton's statement in the stltoday post that "even in expertly crafted literary novels, stuff has to happen." I've read novels and short stories with lovely writing and intriguing characters, but when nothing happens, I wonder--so what?

In Dalton's post he lists five tips on what readers of literary fiction value and five things they don't want. Click here to read Dalton's list of basic writing tips.

From his list, I agree with his number one picks--Value #1 Truth and Dislike #1 Philisopical Meditations. Under Dislikes, descriptions of weather don't bother me--unless they are drawn out and have nothing to do with the story.

As a reader, in addition to the five likes and dislikes listed by Dalton, here are a few of my values and dislikes:

Value: clarity, brevity and wisdom

Dislike: political opinions, stilted dialogue and repetition

How about you, what do you value and dislike when you are reading fiction?