To you, what attributes do the best fiction novels have to include? What makes it a good read?
by 
Derek DuCote
ANSWERS: 2
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1) I have to care about the characters, and at least SOMEBODY has to be likeable. 2) The writer has to be in control of style. There are some very popular writers who are NOT - for instance, they combine high-falutin' language with plodding prosaic language in the same character's mouth and do not realize that the effect is ludicrous and unpersuasive. 3) The "rules" for narrative voice have to be observed. 4) The novel has to add up to something - we have to be able to infer some kind of theme from it. 5) The plot can be intricate and complex, but if we have to work hard, it has to be "worth it." Complexity for its own sake is off-putting. 6) Any messing with plausability or probability has to be "worth it." Coincidence is, oddly, something we'll put up with in life but resent in fiction. There are probably other things, but this is a good start.
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No matter how made up the story is, I have to believe in the world presented to me. If the writer can not stick to their own story, how can I believe?
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