Let's see if anyone has an answer. (I've written some seventy fics and hardly anyone read any.)

[fpb]

Swunked from wemyss:

If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach. —Alfred Hitchcock

When I write a story, what do readers immediately look for?

Comments

Properly contextualised characters.

[wemyss.livejournal.com]

With views and lives. None of that Shavian, didactic windbaggery in yr work: it's not bloodless. Thank God.

Re: Properly contextualised characters.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

This is a very high compliment. Thank you, especially since I know you would not flatter to save your life.

[elegant-bonfire.livejournal.com]

Good in-character depictions, frequently with a nice plot twist. (Though I haven't read all 70 of the fics, mind :D)