Reading is a personal experience. And I can't read all genres. Haha. Although I watch NCIS, CSI and real crime stories in channel 26, I don't read crime mystery novels and sci-fi. Haha. I have encountered some, but it is mainly the plot that draws me in. As much as possible, I don't like to read anything that starts and revolves around a murder. Lol.

The protagonists should also be proactive and show empathy. This is the reason why I stay away from first person pov. I can't stand whiny voices, even if it is a character flaw. I don't like loud voices either that I can't hear past their thoughts or monologues. Too soft is also not my thing. Haha. But there are a few authors who write first in a voice I like.

Antagonists should be beyond evil or crazy. There should be a reason why they do the things they do. They should have a concrete goal.

As I read, I realize things I like or don't like in a story. I read my own afterwards. And then I learn where I went went wrong. Haha!

It's a learning process. A personal one.

A lot of writers have written books or blogs telling the dos and donts in writing or simply, how to write. I read them. But I make it work for me. Our thinking processes are different from each other, so it follows that our writing processes are unique too. Like my creative writer of a sister told me once, "It doesn't matter (it = her manuals which we are throwing away). In the end, it is us who will decide what to write and how to write it."

It's a matter of taste and preference. It is about creativity.

And it's personal.

-Keeper