Now, if you read as much as I do, you know the ONE main weakness that all heroes have; love. Heroes always care too much about people to actually get the job done, they want to save other people that aren't important. They get distracted and overwhelmed. Although, there is always something that they need to save; like most knights need to save a princess trapped in a tower (that was sarcasm, girls can climb the eff down like a ninja!). That is what they need to save, and not some person who got in the way, they can save themselves or die trying.
Anyway, yes, heroes don't take the task at hand seriously enough to fix in fast enough. Here are some tips on how to get the job done but awesomely:
Step 1: Make a hero that doesn't have a love interest in one of its friends (it's for the best)
Step 2: Make them have an awesome sidekick and not a dorky-get-in-the-way kind.
Step 3: Don't make them stop what they're doing to save somebody else that is not the main goal.
Step 4: Have them be heartless, but make them have a touching reason for fighting.
Step 5: Don't make them have a pet, it's just going to die anyway (save the tears for a YA novel).
I hope you liked these tips!
Happy weakening!

Most people want the readers to hate the villains, but the villains are always my favorites; they rich and dark backstories that you never get from the heroes life. Then again, if the hero does have a dark past, the villain usually has one even more so. Having a likable villain is probably the best thing ever; or writing a book that has neither a good guy nor a bad guy. When writing a book about baddies, you must include the following:
1. A SUPER (get it?) amazing and chilling backstory.
2. Normal life (like a hero's).
3. A home that suits the villain's personality.
4. Villain friends. (Most of you are probably wondering what I mean by 'Villain friends'. Well, if heroes can have teams then I think villains can have squads too.)
Anyway, the villain must have a normal life. They can't always been trying to take over the world; that's exhausting; therefore, make them have job, a family, and a pet. It makes the story interesting. Also, don't forget that the villain is most likely depressed, a sociopath, and probably a crazy person.
Happy villain-izing!

Fear. The word just sends shivers down your spine by simply hearing it, right? This is my absolute favorite thing to write about; manly because you can do anything and everything with it. Fear can create, sadness, loneliness, anger, resentment, insanity; it's like a god of emotion itself. Writer must control the fear in their characters and stories, because fear is the wildest thing there is. Making a character scared can cause numbness and shyness in their persona. It can be the greatest power anybody can have and control. That is us, that one person; the creator, the writer, and the builder of the fear that our characters have.
To create fear, there must be a root source; and many fears can branch out from it. Falling into a pit of lava and falling into water might be caused by a fear of falling in general. Although, there are many of the basic fears that a lot of people have: The dark, spiders, heights, shame, embarrassment, clowns, and donkeys (Well... Maybe the donkey thing is just me). Anyway, there are also fears that come for no reason: Heights, the dark, people ect. Then there are fears that come from different things. THIS is what you must play with.
Having this can make your book amazing and slightly frightening itself (which is what you want). It brings the reader in and wants them to read more about it. Make sure to never give away the fear all at the beginning or all at once; that brings on a terrible plot.
Happy scaring!

We've talked about normal characters, and sad characters, and mellow characters; but what about the crazy characters? I have a talent of writing great insane characters (you would know if you read 'The Art of Death'). Being insane can come on many, many levels.
Level 1: Obsession with fire, blood, torture ect.
Level 2: Hearing voices/ seeing things.
Level 3: Burning things and/or harming people.
Level 4: Not being able to feel any emotional trauma after killing somebody.
Level 5: A emotionless serial killer that always escapes even with the highest amount of security guards there has ever been.
So, yes, many levels of insane characters. I like to play around with these in varying degrees of crazy with my characters. Remember something: Not a lot of people write books about bad guys who stay bad. Making a character go insane is a little tricky, but think about it this way. You are locked in a room that is very small and always quiet, what do you start to do? Talk to yourself and get so paranoid that you hear and see things.
Happy harming!

The MAIN character is the MAIN (get it?) thing you need to focus on before writing a book. They must be realistic (unless a sociopath or a psychopath) and have to have a personality that the reader can somewhat relate to. What I do is write parts of myself into the main character, in my book 'Life As He Knows It' I based the character (Ben Snow) off of myself; meaning he has my thoughts and feelings. But if you're a little weird (like me) and want what people call a 'normal' character, I suggest that you take some time to stalk people. DO NOT be creepy while doing this.
If you want a strong female character, I suggest that you read books and watch movies with strong female characters in them (not 'Twilight'). Examples: 'The Hunger Games', 'Paper Towns', and 'The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys'. Strong female characters don't HAVE to be main characters in other things. Stay away from classic vampire/werewolf novels.
If you are seeking a more mellow MC, I suggest that you spend some time at the beach and look at the waves. Think about how nice and calm it feels to be there, and not about writing at all. The best way to write a novel is to not think about writing a novel, just so you know. Walk through a field of flowers and think about how good the ground feels against you bare feet. It's nice to get away from loud people for an hour or two, yes?
Happy daydreaming!

If you are like me you write poetry, but when writing a book you want that same flow with your words. You want your book to almost seem magical just by the way it is worded. Each sentence should be it's own song lyric and have a certain rhythm to it. For example (this is from my book, so credit is all mine): It was around midnight, and the sky was like black ink covered in sparkles. It was like looking at a fairy tale, but not really know what it was about. The thing about this wording, is that I did not think about it; it simply came out of my head and onto the page.
Good wording isn't something you have to think about, it pours out of you like a river of ink onto a field of paper. Most people don't understand that, and they think too hard on their wording. The reader can tell if you are trying too hard to write something good. Trust me, good writing only comes when you are extremely bored, emotional, tried, or sick.
It is also a good thing to have meaning behind your words, make them unique and deep. Think of it as the ocean, wide, blue, and mysterious.
Happy singing! 

This is one of the most common things you can find in a book, but it's realistic (unless your MC is a sociopath) and that's great. Relationships are found everywhere, if it's with animals or humans, there are always some nearby. One of the most common mistakes that a writer can make when they create a relationship is that they make things rushed between the characters. Okay, let make that clearer. Raise your hand if you would openly talk and flirt with you crush? I don't think many people raised their hands.
People are very awkward and embarrassed when they are around people that make their hormones do backflips. I for one, don't have a crush but I have had one, it was very awkward to be around that person.
Okay, so next is when you have a relationship between characters. They are slightly more comfortable and getting more as the days go by. Your characters are still shy but not as much as they used to be. When you get to the part in their relationship where they kiss (if they do/want to)you will have to make it expected for the reader. DO NOT BRING IT OUT OF THE BLUE! I have never kissed somebody without talking to them about it five seconds before we kiss. So have many people.
I think you get the picture of how you shouldn't rush it. A relationship is a very fragile thing in characters.
Happy kissing!

The title might throw you off, but yes, there are times when swearing can be great for your book. For example, if a character shows an extreme amount of any emotion I would pop up a swear word there. Of course, if you are writing a kids book (ages 9-12) I would keep the cussing to a minimum. Although, if you are writing a YA novel (ages 13+) then I would suggest to up your language.
In my book, there are certain points in the book where characters are extremely sad or angry, and I used cuss words in these moments to make the scenes more realistic.
This does not mean that you should put in the F-Word in every single sentence, because most people hate people who talk like that. It's horrible! Any who, I would definitely use it to your advantage in YA novels, but keep it so the reader does not feel overwhelmed. Example: "Fuck it! I'm jumping off that cliff."
This is a very appropriate sentence(s) to use that word in; it gives the reader a clear image of what the character is feeling. Of course, if you want it a little more PG "Screw it!" might be a little more your style.
Happy swearing!

This is more along the lines of a fantasy, action, or thriller story.
If you are anything like me, you love to write and read about gore. If you want to write something that has some blood in it, make sure you write it good or it'll seem gross and boring. People will most likely skip over it while reading, but if you give a nice and clean description, you're book will be great. 
If you need me to paint the picture for you more (preferably in the blood of my enemies) here is a description of a scene for you: His blood spilled from his lower torso like a crimson waterfall. It left a haunting yet beautiful imprint in my mind when I tried to fall asleep that night.
I know, I'm really good at writing gory scenes; it comes naturally I guess. Anyway, try to make the gory parts sound beautiful and enchanting, it leaves the reader in an odd sense of bliss and harmony with the book.  Now, I have a challenge for you. Whoever leaves the best description of a gory and bloody scene in the comments gets to see two endings that I took out of my novel 'Life As He Knows It'.
Happy gilding!
(Gild means lightly covered in blood, but gilded means lightly covered in gold. I think that's beautiful and confusing.)

This is more along the lines of fantasy or dystopian writing.
If you are creating a world, make it (or part of it) ugly, dirty, and creepy. Think of a big city, you know that one spot that everybody hates to go to? That is a great place to write and create, because you can do whatever you want to do with it. If you write about a place clean and posh, then you have a certain lifestyle to write about; dirty places can be very diverse.
If you want a place that has a lot of murder, make it either a really big city or a very small town. If you want a place with a lot of poverty, I would suggest a city. A small town or a city are both great for writing about drugs and criminals (hence my book series 'Helena'). These are all very dirty places to write about, and to create.
Make it ugly, but keep it clean. The most common thing in fantasy or dystopian is rebellion, therefore put a character that doesn't fit into that dirty society into that place. Make them wreck havoc, but then make them feel the consciences of it later on. It came make a great plot.
Happy un-beautifying!