Jiraku
avearia
And remember: A story is never worth reading unless it has a happy ending!
((ha! This thread is Awesome! *subscribes*))
Or a Downer Ending right the ******** outta nowhere. However, both variants have to look like you pulled them out of your a**. Even if they do, it wasn't really an a** Pull. Your audience will see your true genius emerge!
((Glad you like it, madame.
...Now I wanna make an Anti-Guide Host Club...Or some other kind of Anti-Guide Harem.))
((I rather think it would be more of an 'Anti-Guide Self-Help Group', though... XD
anyway...))
Plot twists are a must. I'm not talking about one or two--that's not good enough. All stories have to have a plot twist or two, (or ten,) every chapter. The more the merrier. No, your readers won't get confused, and if they do... they'll just love you all the more for it, bowing to your epicness of plot twists.
Bad habits are a no-no. Losing things, picking noses or scabs, being a penny-pincher or shopaholic, obsessive compulsive disorder... no one wants to hear about those things, and they don't add to your character at all. They make the good guy look bad, and they make villains look pathetic. If you simply must give your character a bad habit, make sure it's something that can be misconstrued as cool; such as smoking, drinking, or sleeping around.
Remember: don't make the villains TOO scary. People don't care about how bad the villain is, or WHY the hero has to stop said villain; they just want to see the hero do cool things like fight with samurai swords or shoot magic beams from their hands. Make your villain generic, so it doesn't scare your readers, and let the hero have room to work.