I read a lot. I think a lot. I read the books on editing and story structure. But, above all, I need to be in love with my story or it wouldn't work.
For me, the biggest art in writing is getting the tension--that's the ingredient that makes people want to turn the next page. Without it, nothing else matters, not the diction, not the solid prose, not the originality of the plot.
Something that I found helped was to find a book with a style of writing I liked and read it very carefully. Not for entertainment but looking at the specific sentence structure the author used. Don't pass a single sentence until you've understood the exact words and punctuation the author is using and have an idea of why they did. It takes a long time to read this way, but I found it instructive.
Read. Read a lot. Reread books that you love; read fluff; read "serious" literature; read things both outside and inside of your usual genres. Your subconscious will get the hang of things in a way that your frontbrain can't. The more you read, the better you'll get. Obviously it takes work as well, but I really believe that the best way to improve at writing is to feed your brain with books.
Good as always 
I think having someone who takes their time helping out is a good place to start - Having some fresh and foreign eyes might show things you don´t see.
In my case, I think this person might have his work cut out because I have the problem that my brain always shows me what I wanted to write, but what I put down might be something a little bit differently 
Thanks 
Thanks for your input
TBH, I only started because I once created characters I just love
So, I know exactly what you mean - Bad characters can destroy even the best theme and idea, but great characters you will watch even if they just sit in a room doing their taxes.
Oh, I think every writer will fall into the cliches trap at some point ^^ But that makes actually sense what you say.
Yeah "Experience" 
I sometimes feel like if you don´t have at least a little bit, you really never should start writing - something a lot of writers told me the past two years - and they even told me to never write again, because my stuff is so bad, it not even deserves to exist as an idea.
I love my stories, as bad as they are, but I just feel at some point that doesn´t really help
I think it doesn´t matter getting ideas from a "Non-Professional" because I believe every little bit helps to decide where to go
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I am still thinking about it tbh. Not because I don´t want to, but I just fear after the past two years, my "work" is just not "good" enough to be read by people. But I agree that you have to start somewhere
Reading a lot is so true 
THe past few years I read so many stories, and I believe it had part why I wanted to try it myself ^^
"Love" and "Practice" are everywhere plastered on my monitor
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Mmhh, I am not sure, but isn´t it very difficult at the beginning to stay consistent? I mean if you slowly try to find your style there might be a lot of changes - or do I misunderstand you here?
Yeah, rereading is something that I found out at an early stage because it helps a lot of finding errors.
But that thing with taking brakes is one I have to keep in mind because if I start something I have seen, that I might keep going.
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That is good to know - so I know I am not alone out there ^^
"Just doing it," you say - I always feel that brings me in more problems My first stories I actually did this way, just sitting down and writing, but they were all absolute rubbish Then I wrote after some "manuals" and that was even worse - I still have to find my style ^^
You remind me of someone I know who just started his next story - he has the same distractions and uses them in some way
Yeah, having an editor is helpful, but I sadly can´t afford one and I have no friend who can help me here ^^
For the moment I am happy to have the free version of Grammarly
Thanks for your input
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Yeah, you are right, there are so many aspects - and I am honest, I never really thought about it 
For me, I always thought to begin with the basics and find out what I could change and where to go. But I think, for that, I need someone taking their time reading my stories and give some advice from there
Thanks
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It's a good suggestion, but sadly my brain can´t work with learning through books
I am more a hands-on guy - I learn through doing and failing - but yes, I already realized, writing isn´t the best thing for me in this case
I have to agree, but wouldn't also good characters keep someone going?
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That is actually a good idea, thanks
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Thanks for the advice, but I feel my brain isn´t really open for this
I read a lot, something that might be one of the reasons that brought me to start writing, but seeing my stories, they get worse from page to page
What I mean by staying consistent, is making sure that story elements you implement in your story remain logical and present in that story.
For example, if your story is about gunslingers in the wild west, it would be rather weird and inconsistent if they suddenly encountered tanks or jetplanes out of the blue.
I only have one tip because it's something I see a lot, but it's really simple. To tell a good story, your characters have to do something. A lot of writers get too caught up in describing settings or having long and unnecessary conversations between characters that could be cropped out. I used to do a lot of critiques where I'd read the first 3-5 chapters of someone's work, and it would frustrate me if they had all these really good descriptions but no plot. For example, someone had 5 chapters of dialogue that went in circles instead of the characters going anywhere or exploring the new world they were in. So, have your characters do something, whether it be exploring, completing a side task that aids the overall plot, or anything along those lines.
Best of luck to you! 
Ah, sorry, I misunderstood you. Yeah, that makes more sense.
TBH this is something I actually feared might happen at some point and to try to avoid it, I put a very rough script down, so I don´t lose my ideas and thoughts.
But I have to admit, my story at the moment gives me a little room because I use some themes like magic and science that I can work a little bit, I just have to be careful to not contradict the world's laws.
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Hey, that is now very interesting, because everyone who has told me I am doing everything wrong, actually told me I concentrated too much on what my characters are doing, instead of telling how the world looks. I always thought that the reader should follow the characters and their adventures. When we need to explain the world, then we should do it through the eyes of the characters and not as page-long interludes.
But I have to say, I might be much in love with the idea to tell the world through my characters on their journey, I just love the idea of road stories ^^
But seeing how people react on them, I sometimes believe that it is just me who thinks this way
Thanks
Yeah, I agree...I think a paragraph or two is enough for describing surroundings, but definitely not an entire page.
well, can you think of a genre book with amazing characters, but the happenings not holding your attention? In visual media, okay, maybe you can draw someone so hot that people would contentedly watch them read a train schedule. Literary fiction, if you are into this, can give you the character exploration story, but it will still have tension. You will still be looking for what the character feels or thinks next.
What makes a character appealing outside the events they participate in? That they are alive? Do you follow the lives of people around you with much interest, unless some drama is happening?
No don't worry! This thread is great! I feel like a lot of people are affraid to ask for tips.
I always appreciate reading a lot, because it allows you to compare what you like about your writing and what not. Try to make a good balance between long and short sentences as well to keep the flow not choppy or dreadfully long and, grammar correcters like grammarly are lifesavers! Especially if you're native language is not English like for me.
For characters, try writing down their main motivation and use that main motivation to fuel their actions.
I in the same boat as you, so I use my power on my plot and worldbuilding. Then I write on my bad English, then my co-writer make it readable
I learn from my co-writer and the time we have work together I have grow from English 1 to 3 of 10
And we had not done, I will keep fighting.
If you can found someone to work with you will it be great. But you have to believe in your story and keep going for that.
I have to be honest, I actually just saw a story where the two main characters do nothing than talk about their life in one room and one of them trying to comfort the other one to relax and pamper him from all the stress he has.
And my all-time favorite story is actually a story about two characters just traveling through a middle eval like Europe and trade. But most of the drama is between the characters and not about the world.
But maybe I am just too strange
Or maybe I am just misunderstanding you and we might talk about the same but I am not quite getting what you mean, if that is the case sorry
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That is good to know
And I can understand that - sadly a lot of writer forums are very hostile places for beginners
What I had to listen too, actually put me off writing for quite some time, and I only tried it now again, but I am still not sure, and every day I fear I find under my posted story the same feedback under it when I check it out.
Reading is something a lot of people say is important, so it might be good that reading brought me to this point to even try
I think that is something I have covered. My main characters from my first story (the one I haven´t posted) actually came from an old P&P RPG, and over time evolved, but I still am thinking about how to tell their stories. The character I am writing about now came from an idea I had for a while and concentrate full on her. I would tell you to try reading it, but I don´t want to encourage good writers to read what I put down
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You lucky person
Sadly I have no one - most people I know are not interested in stories or don´t know English, or just don´t like the theme of my stories ^^ So I have to get it done on my own
@NiWo21k in fact it took me long time to find. I try people I know, people on Tapas and no one came. But than I join a lot of chat-rooms/FBgroups/ins. And so on. Now working with one I never have seen before. So there is people out there that will help just look around.
It could be slice of life which is sort of like a modern makeover on literary fiction, or it could be that you are following a drama, so it does have tension that makes you want to read. Tension is what urges you to turn to the next page. I by no means critisized your tastes.
I am on the opposite making a point that the main and only measure of the writer’s talent is that ability to create the urge to read the next page in a maximum number of people. The rest is the toolset.
At different times, different genres were considered ‘low’, be they mystery stories, pulp fiction or formula romances. But as long as people read them, en masse, those who write them are the no nonsense masters.
Maybe I will try that one day, but for the moment I keep away from asking people I don´t know
There are a few reasons for that. But mostly I should try myself to get my stuff at least readable before asking people again to check it out ^^
But thanks for your input
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Looks like I actually misunderstood you
I thought you meant the world and its surroundings should be what keeps you going.
I have to agree, even the stories I love there is something that keeps it going - in these cases, it is the interaction between the characters - that what you call tension
And I have to agree, a good writer keeps the reader on its toes with different tricks, so they want to know more and continue reading.
You are right. But tbh, I never gave anything on how the standing of genres are - I always read what sounded interesting to me or what, as we said above, gripped me in a way so I wanted to continue reading
Good ideas on how to improve overall from this thread. I'll add a couple things that haven't been said yet.
Watch movies, Tv shows, or play video games with story in it. If you're into any of those, perhaps you can think about them from a writer's perspective as to why they're good and why they may not be. I would say reading comics from this website could also help you as well.
Educate yourself. Goes without saying that one way to improve is to learn more about writing. There are books out there that can teach you about this. The internet is also your friend on this too. There are websites with various advise out there and youtubers that make videos on writing or story aspects that you can use to improve yourself.
If you like anime, one person I suggest checking out is Totally Not Mark. He's a youtuber who analyzes and breaks down anime characters and arcs. He also reviews them and talks about what went well, what went wrong, and why. He approaches it from a story driven stand point and honestly I've found his videos to be very good.
Maybe I should collect all the important points and bundle them in the first post tomorrow.
Actually, yeah, some books I have read actually played a part in me starting writing. My first story came from an RPG and the story I write at the moment actually is actually based on the world of a comic, just that I only use that world (with the knowledge of the creator, she is a personal friend of mine).
So true, but while it works for many people out there, I am sadly not able to learn from books
I am a more hands-on person - I learn through creating and doing it (and maybe get put my face onto the problems and errors) to learn how to do it better.
I think I heard of this one. but not sure. Maybe I check him out.
That brings me back memories of the times I created videos where I talked about webcomic - these were good times 
One thing you should do is imagine your dialogue being said aloud. If it feels weird than change it.
TBH, I tried, but it never felt any different.
But I heard the same about reading it loud to someone else, because it is easier for someone else to spot the problems, especially when they have to listen to them. If that is true or not, I can´t say.
If someone has tried it I would be interested to know
Because I gave up on writing, I have no way to test it ^^
