I'm working through some writing exercises and my brain is mush (you know when you brainstorm and yell at yourself/contradict yourself? Yeah).

Anyway. I ended up thinking about what makes stories matter to individual readers. Some folks love explosions and intrigue. Some are in it for the romance. I really love messed up characters finding solace in something, and snarky dialogue, and breathtaking descriptions of the play of light on objects (shh I know it's weird), and smart but socially-inept characters, and complex and well-developed systems of magic, and stories about siblings or friends, and those moments where a situation gets so intense that even The Inveterate Stoic fails to remain unfazed, and gritty and horrifying concepts presented in a no-nonsense way that makes me feel hollow and speechless, and found family stories, and—

I think the things that make a story sing are different for everyone. Writing out a list of mine a long while back helped me understand what I valued in writing and helped shape my writing a bit. (I wrote out the list to prep for my first NaNo, crafted a whole book around what made me happy, and wrote the whole thing start to finish with little to no prep and no big bumps in the road. I loved every aspect, so it came easy. (This year's Prep is proving a bit more challenging, which might be an indication that I should make another list.)

If anyone has a spare moment to share the elements of fiction or character that bring them joy, that would be cool!