put all ur feelings on yo words

write two versions of the same thing then COMBINE!!! first draft(s) doesn't have to perfect they are for YOU

if you have an idea for a story but dont know how to start it, write the middle/end first, then work with what you have to create a start!! it works for me X3

To me, one of the best tips for characters more than anything is to base them off of real people you know. Not in a blatant way youre copy and pasting their personalities and whole sense of self, but more in a reference way.

For example, if i want to make a very bubbly character, id look at the people with bubbly attitudes around me and analyze how they work, and in turn use that analysis to make my characters feel more real.

Its what has worked for me, but everyone has their own ways!

Something that has helped me a lot is to not commit to writing chronologically. Sometimes if I get stuck, it helps to just write whatever scenes I'm most excited about or interested in, and then connect them later. I keep an outline of some kind, usually just a bullet list of important scenes or events, to help keep on track and I'll end up jumping all over my doc, tweaking things, fleshing things out, and adding the "connective tissue" scenes. It's wayyyy better than sitting in front of a screen for hours trying to figure out how I want to get from point A to point B in the plot, and most of the time while I'm writing I end up figuring out whatever it was I was stuck on, too.

have a general idea of the plot. And when I say general I mean like rather vague, add detail as you go on. It works trust me, also helps with dialogue as you don't know whats going on either lol

This is from Charles Bukowski's Love is a Dog from Hell

I'd tell them to have an unhappy love
affair, hemorrhoids, bad teeth
and to drink cheap wine,
avoid opera and golf and chess,
to keep switching the head of their
bed from wall to wall
and then I'd tell them to have
another unhappy love affair
and never to use a silk typewriter
ribbon,
avoid family picnics
or being photographed in a rose
garden;
read Hemingway only once,
skip Faulkner
ignore Gogol
stare at photographs of Gertrude Stein
and read Sherwood Anderson in bed
while eating Ritz crackers,
realize that people who keep
talking about sexual liberation
are more frightened than you are.
listen to E. Power Biggs work the
organ on your radio while you're
rolling Bull Durham in the dark
in a strange town
with one day left on the rent
after having given up
friends, relatives, and jobs.
never consider yourself superior and /
or fair
and never try to be.
have another unhappy love affair.
watch a fly on a summer curtain
never try to succeed.
don't shoot pool.
be righteously angry when you
find your car has a flat tire.
take vitamins but don't lift weights or jog.

then after all this
reverse the procedure.
have a good love affair.
and the thing
you might learn
is that nobody knows anything --
not the State, nor the mice
the garden hose or the North Star.
and if you ever catch me
teaching a creative writing class
and you read this back to me
I'll give you a straight A
right up the pickle
barrel.

i'm much more of a poet than a story writer

i find that my short stories felt so intense when i imagined them, but feel kind of underclimactic upon re-reading them.

my best poetry is inspired by misery, so ummm make of that what you will. but i've been told my imagery is good and my intent is far from lost. along with writing poems and songs for most of my short life, i took two university classes on poetry- that does NOT AT ALL make me an expert, but i guess if you're going to be trusting what i tell you, you should know the relevant part of my background. i'm also francophone and lazy so if i make mistakes with grammar or whatever pls overlook it.

the advice i can give? show, don't say. example: you could say: "anita took a bite of a sandwich and didn't like it so she spit out her bite." maybe it is that simple. but maybe she expected it to be delicious- her friend marcia made it after all- but then she tasted the godawful amount of mustard there was between the ham and the lettuce! she thinks it would've been okay if there had been less, or maybe if it had been honey mustard. and there was a crunch? was that supposed to happen? anita put her sandwich back down in the square tupperware and ran to the sink. - you could also use the sandwich as an allegory for something else, like idk, a job you were excited to get but that ended up disappointing you

there are also plenty of ways to practice writing, like i remember buying a book/journal with 100 writing prompts at one point which might be good- and fun!- for someone like me who learns by doing

What i personally do to write is create a playlist for the mood I'm going for in my works so that i can properly connect with my words. Might just be autistic though

Comparing writing will get you nowhere, write whatevers on your mind and understand different vocabulary words, do what makes you happy. Dont compare your writing

Always strive to learn more(And never stop!):

- Read books on writing(I personally like the Writing Great Fiction series)

- Revise your own writing(Where does it excel? Where does it lack?)

- Read stories you like(I recommend Steven King)

- Read stories you dislike(And learn what to not do)

- Listen to feedback(I elaborate further on this in my group's topic)

Some random quotes in the back of my mind:

- As a perfectionist, perfection isn't possible, but if you strive for it, you may achieve excellence.

- Edit to let the fire show through the smoke.

- Rewriting seperates real pros from wannabes.

- Never use two words when one will do

- You have to step back and look at the forest

Other tips: 

- Change up the place where you write every once in a while

- Sometimes you just need to take a break and come back to it later

- Get crazy with your ideas, just make sure you justify them well enough

- If you feel stuck, you should try to research how to get yourself out of it(see 1st paragraph)

I have more advice too in my writing group.

Your first draft doesn't have to be polished. Just get your story out there and then you can make your edits later. 

take your time and don't rush! You don't have to rush your first story in a week, trust me it burns you out FAST. Don't freak out abt the outline of the story, sometimes you can write a summary and character list! (Writing a bunch of that kinda ruins it 4 me but if u enjoy it go 4 it!) If you r writing a story, u don't have 2 make it super long. Make it however much you can and go with a sequel! My friend usually writes only 12 pages of his short story and makes a continuation, bc writing a full 50,000 word novel is time consuming! That's all I got, hope it helps!

Know your mind.