What I like in a good story

One piece of advice I've received in my writing is to make two lists before you begin writing--what you do like in a good story and what you don't.

The reasoning is if you know what you like, you will enjoy writing the story more, and you will not put in what you don't like.

That said, here is some of what I like in a story:

--An epic quest to save the world (that may or may not include the gathering of shiny things)

--The hero/ine discovering powers that s/he never knew s/he had before

--A group of friends that stick together even through the worst of circumstances

--Happy endings

--Plenty of adventure

--Magic powers/creatures

--Bad guys that you love to hate

--True love (when written well)

--A well built world that feels if it could be a real place