I'm not exactly the greatest expert and I think that even the most talented at writing is always learning. Although there are a few things that help greatly in the pursuit of good writing.
1. Read, a lot! Nothing helps your ability as a writer than to read books and lots of them. It gives your brain many styles to study as well as expand your vocabulary, which is necessary for good writing. No you don't have to use huge words that most people have to grab the dictionary for, but it would be nice for variety and sometimes some words that seem like they mean the same thing actually don't. Subtle differences can make a huge impact on what you want to say. It can come out completely right or terribly wrong if you won't use the right words and understand the true definitions of them instead of what most people think a work means.
2. Write a lot. Obviously. You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs just like you can't write a great story without writing a whole lot of bad ones. I've been writing since I was in the first grade (oh my god, so long ago) and looking back on a lot of my writing, even some that I did in high school that I thought was top notch -- really wasn't. I just laugh though and that's all you can do. There's no need to berate yourself and go "I was so stupid" or tell yourself that you can't write. If you can't write that well, get better. If you really want to write that is. If you have a passion do it and don't let anyone ever try to stop you. Writing is something that is both an inborn talent (some people just can do it without effort) and a learned one (because some people have a love for it but suck at the beginning).
3. Don't write for money. Money is great. Money pays bills and changes the litter in the litter box but it doesn't feed your heart. If the only reason you want to write is because you think it will make some quick money please don't. It diminishes those of us that work our asses off for what we have and love every minute of every word we pen (or type). If you're looking for a job that pays money go be a doctor or lawyer and free up some space for the writers that actually deserve attention.
4. Pay attention in English/Grammar class. For the love of God if you want to write please learn how to do it properly. I don't know how many people I meet that are like "i R gunna b writerzz lol." Uhm, no, you are going to look like a big fool, no matter how many people say they love your 20 chapter story. Each chapter I might note being only a few paragraphs long and having no merit or plot whatsoever. Of course there are writers like this that write 15 page long chapters that are equally wrought with errors and make my eyes (and probably others, too) bleed.
5. When a new person speaks: NEW PARAGRAPH. Never, and I mean never, have two people talking in one paragraph. There is not an exception to this rule. The ONLY time I can see it being acceptable is when its not exactly speech and more when multiple people are talking at the same time. Like "Holy crap!"/"Damn" They said at the same time. I still get annoyed with this. It just depends upon the way the scene is written if it can fit in and look okay. This is an automatic rejection for me. I don't care how good your story is in plot, if you can't do this and you force people to read huge blocks of writing you need to go back to elementary school English class.
6. Learn your tenses. I hate reading something like this: He grabs her hand and pulled her away. It should be: He grabbed her hand and pulled her away. Or: He grabs her hand and pulls her away. Maintain consistent tense.
7. Same goes for POV. There are many kinds. 1st person is where you speak from an I point of view. "I ran away." Then there is second person which is "You ran away." Third person is "She ran away." So on, etc. The most popular one seen is the Third Person POV.
8. Punctuation. Yeah, I know punctuation is hard. All those .... and then the ,,,, with the ; and the : oh and the -text- and the (text). Its hard to tell what goes where. Later I may write a little treatis on punctuation but to be honest even I have trouble with it. But if you learn the basics it goes a long way. No one will hold it against you if you don't know some of the more complicated rules but you could at least learn how to use commas and periods right. (Oh, and I don't care who those people are that say that they changed how many spaces go after a period, its still 2 to me. That's the way I was taught.)
9. Research your topic. Even science fiction and fantasy can be based in fact. Things aren't magically the way they are just because you want them to be. If you are writing a story about biologists make sure you study biologists. If you are writing a story about the government learn about politics and the way the system works. It makes the story more enjoyable, realistic, and easier to read. Being a writer is like any other job, its work! But it can be fun work if you really love it.
10. Love your topic. Write about things you know or things you want to learn. Love the kind of content you write. For instance, if you like zombies don't write about romance, unless of course you like zombie romance. Whatever floats your boat. You will find that the more you have fun with your work the better it will become, the happier you will be. Many times a reader can sense how miserable a writer is by how they write a story. Or at least I can. So yes, Love is the number one ingredient for a good story!
Erm, I think that's all for now. At a later date I may go through and clean this up and edit it, but I think this is good. I hope this helps.
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