#1: Read
If I could only give one piece of writing advice, it would be this: read. Read lots and lots of books. If you're writing in a particular genre, get a big pile of similar books from your local library and read them all. This will help give you a feel for the type of voice that's generally associated with your genre, and the word choice/sentence structure, or "flow," will seep into your brain. Just make sure your books aren't all by the same author, or you might find yourself merely parroting the style of that person.
#2: Write
The second-best thing you can do to improve your writing is simply to write. So what if your writing is crap? Once you write the story, you take it in to a writing group, or you post it on a website like this one, and other writers will give you advice on how to improve your work. Most of you are ahead of the game on this one.
#3: Thesauri and Dictionaries
Your best friend, when you're writing, is the thesaurus. There's usually one built into your word processor, or you can go to http://www.thesaurus.com for an online version. As a general rule, it's best not to use the same word more than once in a single paragraph, if you can avoid it. Exceptions to this rule include prepositions ( he, she, it, they ) and articles ( the, of, a, is ). These can be used more often. A thesaurus is the best tool to help you find different words to use, but I strongly recommend that you look up your new words in the dictionary ( http://www.dictionary.com ) before you use them. Thesauri have a nasty little tendency to list words that are only similar in meaning or connotation, rather than synonymic.
#4: Research
For a believable story, you have to do your research! I can't stress this point enough. If you're writing a story about vampires set in Victorian England, for example, you'll want to go online and look up as much information about vampires as you can, then pick and choose the traits you want your vampires to have. Since these evil creatures of the night are not real, this part of the research is not extremely important. It is, however, necessary to get accurate information about Victorian England before writing a story that takes place there. The internet is a wonderful tool, I know, but I'd recommend heading to your local library when researching anything seriously. It can be difficult to tell the difference between fact and fiction on the internet, where everyone can post whatever they want. Books tend to be slightly more accurate, as they have to go through the publication process. Ask your librarian for help if you can't find good material. Long story short, no matter what you're writing about, make sure you have a working knowledge of the subject before you start writing, or you may find that your entire story is based on an inaccuracy. At the very least, you should read a lot of fiction that is set in the same era as your story.
#5: Outlines
I used to be one of those obnoxious people who would say, "I never use outlines when I write; I don't need them." Then, I realized why I never finished anything: because I didn't know where I was going when I started. An outline might seem limiting at first, but you don't need to lay out every detail of your story. Put in all the general plot things that are going to happen, and make sure you have an ending. This gives you goals to work towards as you write each part of the story, while still leaving room for any little surprises that might pop up in the middle of things. If your plot changes dramatically, draw up a new outline to go with it. An outline can be nothing more than a simple list of events, or it can be an elaborate spreadsheet detailing exactly how the story will go from start to finish. It's up to each individual writer to decide how much support they need, but I highly recommend that you have at least the basics planned out and written down before you start writing.
#6: Titles
You don't need to know what the final title of your piece is going to be when you begin. If you must have something on the top of the page, come up with a one or two word working title and put it there. After that, forget about the title and just write your story. The title is not important until the story is complete, by which time you'll probably have thought of one that will be much better than the one you would have spent hours trying to come up with at the beginning of the writing process. If you really can't come up with quick titles, just use the main character's name. Just remember that it's not important right now.
#7: Mechanics
As you become a more advanced writer, you begin to realize that most of the rules about writing can be broken, especially when a character is speaking. Grammar and syntax go completely out the window when your character is not educated. You'll want to watch out and make sure your character's voice doesn't bleed into the rest of the text, though, unless you're writing from a first-person perspective. Another thing you'll find is that sentence fragments can be a huge asset when used well, even though grammar rules state that they are never correct. What better way to drive home a point? Also, consider making use of alternate punctuation. Colons ( : ) and parentheses ( ( ) ) are usually awkward and unfriendly to the reader, but the semi-colon ( ; ) is an oft-ignored or misused tool that has a lot of potential to improve your flow. Using too many commas in the same sentence? Instead of splitting the sentence in two, you can restructure it and use a semi-colon instead. Think of it as being halfway in between a comma and a colon, which it is; just look at the shape!
#8: Voice/Perspective
In most cases, I'd recommend using third person singular. This, for those who may not know, is when the story is told from the perspective of the main character, but the words "he" or "she" are used instead of "I" to describe the character. This is usually better than first person - where the main character is "I" - because it's more comfortable for the readers, though there are several examples of good first-person stories floating around out there. Laurell K. Hamilton's books, to cite just one set. An alternate form of third person perspective is called "third person omniscient." This is similar to third person singular, except that the author shows the story from multiple different perspectives. This is best if your story has multiple main characters. First person is best when there is a single main character who is, in effect, telling the story. Third person singular is the best, overall, in my opinion, offering versatility while still keeping the story centered on the main character. Never, ever write in second person ( where the perspective character is "you" ) unless you're writing a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book or a flash-fiction mood piece. Trust me. This is a bad perspective.
#9: NPCs
Well, obviously none of your characters are "player characters," per se; I use the term NPC ( non-player character, for you non-nerds out there ) to describe supporting characters that, while crucial to the plot, do not have a significant role in the story. These are probably the hardest characters to write. Why? Well, there more important than background characters, and thus need more development, but you don't know them nearly as well as your main characters because, despite their necessity to the plot, they are still "bit parts" in the overall story. I may write a more expansive tips thread on this topic in the future, but I wanted to be sure I mention it here. You need to know all of the characters that play any kind of significant role in your story, no matter how minor, and you need to know them well. Otherwise, you run the risk of having one or two full-fleshed mains, while the rest of your characters are two-dimensional. Flat. Boring. These characters need to have a past, just as your main character does. You need to know everything there is to know about these characters, even if your reader never sees most of this information. Bottom line: develop all of your characters to the fullest. I think you'll notice an immediate improvement.
#10: Read More
I'm serious about this one. Read a stack of books and then write a story and compare it to a story you wrote before. I bet you that your writing will improve noticeably! That's how I learned to write.
And those are all of my favorite writing tips! I'm sure I've left a few things out, but I think I've come up with some decent overall advice. Let me know if this has helped you at all, okay?
<3 Rabbit
And practice makes perfect.
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