@Wonderland90 @Wonderland90 okay I'll try to answer as best as I can... Vocabulary: I only use vocabulary that means something to the story. Using big words and being complicated for no reason is just annoying, so try to make your vocab have significance.... Characters: to me, characters are a big part of the story. There could be a story about a girl watching paint drying on the wall but as long as the girl is interesting then the story is interesting, if that makes sense. So make sure you have super well-developed characters and that you know everything about them. Then, when you write, it will come naturally. You don't have to write a chapter about her having a cat when she was young, for example, because that probably doesn't matter. But if you know her well enough, you can say somewhere randomly "it reminded me of a cat I had once." (I know I'm using silly examples). You want your readers to feel like this is a real person who has a real life... Making stories better: there really isn't advice for that, but I think that if you believe in your story and care about it a lot then there is no way it can be bad... Updating: I HATE forcing myself to write, so I just update whenever I feel like writing. If I force myself to, then it won't be as well-written as when it comes from the heart. But I've heard some people like to update at a set time each week, and maybe readers like knowing exactly when it's coming... Getting popular: you have to talk to people on here, comment on their stuff, etc. but really, I would be nowhere on here if I didn't enter contests, so try entering some and you'll at least get some more reads even if you don't win... Okay I think I'm all out of advice XD PM me if you have another question. Oh and I am also a new writer, so I don't know all the right answers. Thanks for reading my story, and I'll be sure to check out yours (sometime soon) :)