I suspect there won't be any great surprises here but each one should be a challenge to all of us to ensure we keep doing these!
- Characters I love or love to loathe. They've got to be memorable.
- Situations which are critical for the characters. They've got to strive for something important.
- A setting I would love to visit! (Anyone fancy a trip to The Shire in The Lord of the Rings? Mordor, I'd be happy to miss!).
- Great pace. Absolutely no boring bits!
- It's a story I'd be happy to re-read at any time and enjoy it all over again.
- Humour, where apt for the story and the characters. I have a very soft spot for irony.
- Tragedy, when necessary as it often is, not to be overdone. (I think tragedy has much more of an impact when it does not become melodrama).
- Snappy dialogue.
- Catchphrases I can remember - and enjoy doing so.
- The story shows me something of the human condition which I'd either not considered before or reaffirms something. Funny stories can do this surprisingly well.
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