How do you define a good story?

[McPhoenixDavid]

Mhm, what's a good story to you? Popularity or something else?

 

[Eldoria]

What was good fiction like before? If a good story was a popular story, then you simply wrote a marketable trope that was proven to quickly increase engagement. For example, writing a LitRPG progression fantasy, isekai power fantasy, isekai harem, etc.

However, if you want to create a trend or even open a new subgenre, you need to seek originality in your fiction writing. You need to explore new themes that haven't or rarely been touched on by mainstream fiction, such as dark fantasy that addresses humanitarian themes like modern slavery, injustice, the meaning of justice, atonement, and even what-if scenarios related to the world and humanity.

The result? Quiet... because the market isn't used to new patterns. Experimental fiction isn't fiction that quickly becomes popular. But it enriches fiction literacy. Ultimately, good fiction is about how you define it.

 

[Joelle]

For me, a good story is one that really connects with its readers and doesn't just write to fill up numbers.

 

[ExoticVenom_141]

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Mhm, what's a good story to you? Popularity or something else?

well i think that you have to put a great and unique cover art on your story , which can enhance your story , bc as yk cover art represents your story and mostly readers will attract towards the story

 

[CinnaSloth]

Flow.

A story can have great art, but not be able to capture a picture in words.
A story can have perfect diction, grammar, and punctuation, but read as stale as a crusted leaf in fall.
A story can have the greatest structure, but never once describe anything worth reading.
A story can have the best characters, but do nothing with them.
A story can have the best scenery, and lands, but never traverse them.
A story can have what everyone dreams of, but be unable to hold them within it's words.

When the story flows, and casts a sequence of words that capture you, and reels you in, be it quick, or at a steady pace, you continue reading.
A great story flows through the written lands, and flows through the warmth of its characters. It flows through words, and surpasses structure. It flies past diction, and grammar, and guides punctuation with it, because when it flows it soothes you; And that's where dreams settle; The moment, you know- You created art.

 

[Joelle]

well i think that you have to put a great and unique cover art on your story , which can enhance your story , bc as yk cover art represents your story and mostly readers will attract towards the story

yah, this is another factor that greatly enhances the quality of the book, but most times, some books do not have great concepts even when their cover is great. (Not condemning anyone btw)

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Popularity means nothing to what a good story is. It does help more people see how good or bad a story can be, yes, but the popular stories aren't always the best in my opinion. The best stories are the stories that speak, not just to you, but to others. It brings them together over the world, the characters, the plot, when the narrative will peak. That said, it must also be written well enough for it to be a good and enjoyable read, not just to this generation, but the next several. Does the grammar stand up well? Is it engaging for the mind in thought? Could you strip it of it's cover, minimalize the title, disregard the author, and still want to pick it up after having read a random paragraph from it? The reason why I ask is because so many books live up to my first criteria but fail miserably to live up to the latter. There is a reason why some books are classics still, but that doesn't mean that there aren't lost classics.

 

[ShrimpShady]

When I like it

I like to think that I like dense stories, where I get more out of the more I put in.

 

[EddieLee]

personally i think one of the most important things in a good story are well written and notable characters

 

[CharlesEBrown]

First keep in mind that "good," "popular" and "successful" do not correlate. Look at some of the "trendy" stories of the last decade or so (Twilight, 50 Shades of Gray, etc.).
And not all good or great literature is accessible to the masses (some is just a little to obscure in style or tone, some is only available in pricy editions, etc.)
Also, that while there are some objective qualities, "Good" is ultimately SUBJECTIVE to the individual.

So, I could define a successful story. A story I enjoyed. A story I recognized the quality of but did NOT enjoy.., but I cannot positively idenitify a universally "good" story.
BAD ones are a little easier (though sometimes they can be enjoyable despite their flaws)...