What do readers want?

First off, I'm not claiming to know the answer to that question, and honestly, who does? It's all speculation, opinion... maybe a little bit of research thrown in here and there. 

I only know what I, as a enthusiastic fiction reader wants. 

So this is what I want...

Image by  Bonnybbx - Pixabay

• I want action.
• I want to be surprised.
• I want something different.
• I want fire.
• I want hope.
• I want anticipation.
• I want love
• I want hate
• I want to cry. I rarely cry, and I want to ball like a baby.
• I want a little bit of drama, but not too much.
• I want a little bit of romance, but not too much.
• I want to be drawn in soo deep, that I flick the channels on the television, trying to find the right station, only to realize it was a vivid vision created by an unbelievably talented author.
• I want explosions. Not bomb blast explosions, although they're good too, but oh my god, I can't believe he just did that explosion, or, No! No! No! You can't.... you just... you can't do that! 
• I want you to rock my foundation, leaving me completely stunned, unable to think of anything else. I want to be furious, I want to be lost, I want to feel like I've been on a never ending roller coaster that has drained me of every last bit of energy.
• I want magic! 
• Build a world for me.

Image by Alexas_Fotas at Pixabay

And now here's what I don't want:

I don't want to know how the story's going to end. I really, really don't.

I don't want to know what's coming next. I don't know if it's because I try to think like an author, I don't know if it's because I'm a know it all pain in the ass, but I know what's going to happen, I can see it, everything leads up to it. I can usually guess the ending, or the next step. And no, I don't want that. 

Shock me!

That's one of the greatest things about Game of Thrones. Nobody and nothing is off limits. If you're in the story, you can die, hell if you're not directly part of the story, you can still die. Nothing is predictable, nothing is feel good fluff. 

It's like a punch in the face, leaving you angry, broken... the time you invested, the emotion you invested, only to have it ripped away, smashed into tiny pieces and ground down into the dirt. 

That is what I want. A great story, told by a creative word weaver, their blood, sweat, tears... their soul shared with the world. 

And that is what I want to do as an Author, give my everything and create some magic...

Image by Bykst - pixabay