Why I stopped reading your story

It’s not you, it’s me, but maybe it’s a little bit you too

Photo by THABANG MADNSELA on Unsplash

Ever wonder why people click away from your story mid-read?

I can’t speak for anyone but myself but here are the reasons I click away after having gone to all the effort of clicking on a story.

1. It is written entirely in one-sentence paragraphs. Seriously, I get that smaller chunks are easier to read on a phone but I do my reading on a large desktop monitor or an iPad. I think short paragraphs, even one sentence ones are very effective when interspersed with longer ones. But if that is all you use, the story feels too choppy for me to enjoy. Too many one-sentence paragraphs and I’m outta there.
2. Too many errors. I was an English major. My standards have been gradually beaten down by the drip-drip of texting and email training everyone for speed rather than accuracy. Still, I can only be pushed so far. The exception is if I sense that English isn’t your first language. I’m in awe of people who learn another language well enough to publish in it even if they do make mistakes.
3. The story doesn’t match the promise of the title. I’ll give you a couple of paragraphs to bring it around but if I’m sensing a bait and switch I’m leaving. Don’t toy with me.
4. You meander too much. Don’t get me wrong. I find it…