[NancyBrooke]

I was mostly wondering if reviews influence whether you read a story.

I think the summary and the characters are what I use to make a decision. I guess, if I'm luke warm about it, and a story has gotten low ratings I give it a miss. Reviews almost never determine whether I'll read a story, but I sure want to have 'em when I post one!!

How 'bout y'all?

[BittenBuggy]

I have to say reviews. That is the first thing I check, which is why I consiter it VERY IMPORTANT, even rude if reviews aren't left and the reader thought it worthy.

The things other readers say point out stuff I would have otherwise missed and also help me to look for certain things before I read...

Anyhoo, thats just me.

[Thuriniel]

First thing I check? If there are elves involved. Second? Rating and reviews. They usually give you a good idea of the quality of the fic.

[queenoftheshire]

I said Main Characters...

I don't really pay attention to summaries or titles. If the characters have substance and have been introduced, etc, well, that's what most important to me.

I have to say reviews are important too, but I don't let it influence really if I read a fic. I usually have a different opinion than the majority of people in many different regards, so I can't really rely on reviews that much. Same goes for the star rating system (or whatever it's called... )

Also...if it has Eowyn, Merry, Pippin or Faramir involved, that's what catches my eye. We need more Faramir/Eowyn fics around here!

[sindohte]

I do pay attention to reviews if they are written by a reviewer whose opinion I have grown to trust over time. But I also like branching out on my own and reading a story if it looks interesting. As for the other factors, here is my little checklist -

Main character in order of personal preference - Elves, Men, Hobbits and I have begun to like Dwarves as well thanks to PoweroftheBook. But even among the Elves, I have my favorites. I have grown to love pre-Legolas Thranduil stories. However I have not found any of the het variety, just slash. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but I would love to see some early Thranduil action featuring an OFC (hint, hint!!!)

Number of stars - As a general rule I read stories with 3 stars and above, but I have read some stories with only 2 stars that I think have gotten penalized because of lack of interest in the subject matter.

Author - There are certain authors that I can rely on to produce quality work and I am grateful every time they update. But I also like trying out new authors as well.

Summary - It doesn't have to be something well written grab you by the seat of the pants, but it should give me a general idea of what is going to take place.

[BittenBuggy]

[queenoftheshire]

Oooooh! ^-^ Tell me! Tell me!

My friend and I are actually co-writing a fic with the children of Arwen, Aragorn, Faramir and Eowyn. It's very interesting so far.

Oh! And about Authors...I DO favor some authors and watch for new fics coming from them, just because I like their style or writing, plots, etc. That does influence me alot, because you usually can trust that they're going to write stories that you will like.

[BittenBuggy]

Its just a ficlet I could write in an afternoon.

The story is set in a dream of Faramir's when both he and Eowyn are 'elderly.' Faramir dreams of he is a youth again and a beautiful woman is offering herself to him. He accepts but during the midst of it, he notices there are things missing; such as the lines on the woman's face from years of laughter, the scars of love on her stomach from bearing his children and so forth. Blah blah blah... he awakens and then reflects upon the love he has for her while gazing upon his sleeping wifey.

Stupid little fluffy piece, but its gnawing at me.

[GypsieRose]

I'd say my decision-making goes in this order:

1. Main characters. There's so little Stewardfic around that I'll at least glance at almost anything featuring Faramir, Boromir, or Denethor. I read stories about other characters too, though, based on whether I'm in the mood for whoever it is today.

2. Summary. Once I've decided I want to read about whoever it is, let's see what situation the author is putting him/her into.

3. Author. Is this someone whose work I've read and enjoyed before? Or someone whose work I've looked at and decided to stay away from?

Star ratings and number of reviews don't really come into it for me. I will occasionally open a story based on an interesting title, though.

--Rose

[SilverMoonLady]

I've got to admit that the summary is going to be my first in. I have favorite characters and races that I enjoy reading about, but I will literally read anything that catches my eye, and the summary is my first hook, though a really intriguing title will snag me too.
Then comes characters; followed finally by reviews and other ratings.
I do 'follow' specific authors that I know I enjoy, and there have been one or two I have avoided the same way, but it takes a whole lot of bad writing to make me do that.

Once I decide to try a story however, the first few paragraphs had better carry me away; I need a special reason to keep going if it doesn't grab me, or the writing quality is poor.

[Viv]

The results of this poll so far are intriguing; they sort of support a suspicion I've had for a long time. I always wondered why my legomance, which is poorly written and overly angsty, gets so much more attention than some other pieces. Now I know: folks read Legolas. Or Eomer, or Boromir, or whoever has captured their fancy. Nothing wrong with that, of course.

I just need to swat the muse who wants to write Feanor or Gimli. Nobody is gonna read that stuff.

[SilverMoonLady]

I'll read good dwarf fun:) *punts the bunnies in your direction*

I'll even read good elves! *shudder* or bad elves as the case may be:) Just make it *interesting*!

[miriel361]

Let me see, characters, rating (if I'm in the mood for smut) and sometimes a certain person's recommendation list.

[Ania]

I look at the summary first, although sometimes I look at the characters and I'm trying to get out of the habit of checking reviews because I have found (in the past) several fics that were really good that simply got overlooked by others in the swarm of fics that pass through the archive.

By the way, how does a fic acquire stars? Have been curious about this for a while and just wondering...

[Haleth]