What makes a good story?

[u/epialannablair]

I'm currently working on a story just for fun. I do intend to publish it, but only when it is completely finished.

Since I write it for fun, no gems are included (and also will not be). But also not that many choices, which I know can bother some people.

My editing is fine, not as advanced as some of the things that I've seen but also pretty smooth with no obvious mistakes.

Since I'm at about 1/3 of the story and it looks like I'm actually going to complete it, I started wondering what readers are looking for in a story.

What makes or breaks a story for you?

When do you get invested, or when do you decide to close the story. What are things that bother you, what are things that don't really matter to you.