What I've found to be VERY helpul is "Uncle Orson's Writing Class." You'll find it in a link above. OSC has such great practical advice. It's answered a lot of questions of mine. I'd suggest reading all of them. They're fun and interesting reads...at least to writers!

I also like his two books on writing. How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy and Character and Viewpoint. I'm sure there are other good books out there on the topic and help sites.. but those are my favorites.

Start with a single sentence. Make it the best darn sentence you've ever written: Powerful, evocative, and beautiful. Work extra hard to make it that way. Take as long as you need. Make that sentence fly, sing, and tell its own story all by itself.

Then, do a second sentence just like the first -- it doesn't have to be related to the former, but it wouldn't hurt to make it so.

Once you've got a few dozen sentences out of the way, focus on writing the best darn paragraph in the world!

After that, do a whole whole scene. Don't make it huge, just 4 or 5 paragraphs, with every sentence just lovely and perfect and how it is supposed to be in the grand order of the universe.

What you're aiming for is to find the best words to use for the maximum effect. You're also trying acheive using the least amount of words to say the most.

Don't worry about a whole story at first. This isn't your goal. Your goal is to maximize your potential at writing powerful sentences -- sort of like a first or second grader learning to write their first simple sentences. [My wife says everything starts with an onion. She's referring to cooking, of course. But in your case, your "onion" is the sentence.]

When you're comfortable at writing some really good one-liners and paragraphs, then you'll notice that you're no longer stilted and your sentences flow like an ocean current, strong and swift.

A second thing to try is to copy another author. Write their sentences out just as they did. Find out what makes it work. Then, rewrite their sentences using your own words.

Keep in mind, all of this is just like practicing scales on a piano. It's boring and tedious, but you will learn a lot from it and you'll get really, really good in the process.

One more thing...

From this point on, every author you read becomes your teacher. From this point on, you will pay close attention to what it is about published works that got them published. From this point on, you will pay closer attention to the language that makes those works successful.

Write compulsively. Writing skills are like muscles, you have to work them if you want them to grow.

Read compulsively. Don't just read one thing (sci-fi, philosophy, biographies, contemporary fiction, whatever it may be). Read EVERYTHING, and pay attention to how it's written. Reading "How to Write" books can't hurt, but in my opinion it's much more helpful to read other well-written books and study them.

And be patient. Those writing muscles don't grow overnight. It may feel like your not improving at all from one day to the next, but then you look at a story you wrote a year ago and think, "Oh man, that sucks. I can't believe I used to suck so bad." That's a happy thought, because it means you're getting better.

I posted a response to Siena on the "Making a Living" thread which should have some helpful hints for you.

Read and write. A lot. Others have said it, but it bears repeating until you realize that most of the books and advice you get will be telling you the same thing.

It doesn't matter if what you write is not good to you. Yet. Write what you can, revise, and then get someone to look at it (or several someones on the F&F forum). Other views will help you focus on what your needs are as a writer.

There are many books on how to write in general, and how to write in our genre (sf/f). OSC's have been mentioned - I too have them. There are also many sites with info, such as the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America site, in their section on writing as a craft:

http://www.sfwa.org/writing/

and Holly Lisle's site has a wealth of articles and workshops and help listed on the right of the following page:

http://www.hollylisle.com/fm/Articles/index.html

and you can find a lot more with a simple Google search. These two might be good places to start.

I am taking my 6th creative writing class on-line (started my first one a year ago), and know my writing has improved.

You really do know a lot about writing if you've done a lot of reading. The trick is to figure it out consciously, then at some point hopefully it will become unconscious - a habit of mind and fingers.

Good luck!

I have to say that the folks on this board are the most helpful and opinionated bunch I know, and I like 'em that way! They're not afraid to argue at the drop of a word, to give praise when it is due, or to puncture your balloon wih a well-sharpened quip.

Good on 'em, and good on you for finding your way here! It's a great place to be a newbie.

The best advice, of course, has been repeated a thousand times, not just here, but in every good book on writing out there. Write a lot. Read a lot. Those are really the two most important things you can do.

I've been writing just over a year, and I now cringe at anything I wrote last summer [though, sadly, I thought it was brilliant at the time], and I suppose I'll feel the same way next summer looking back on what I wrote today. But I know I'm improving rapidly.

Two books I would also strongly suggest reading (with, I'm sure, the support of most everyone else here): Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card, and On Writing by Stephen King.

EDIT: I just realized that post above was a second post by you, and you have already read On Writing. Good for you

Listen: all the above advice is good. But the fact is that I don't think your writing is awkward and stilted at all. If you think your stories suffer from those defects, then either the problem lies in your storytelling, or else you're trying to write in a writerly manner that differs from the way you write when you post on this thread. If the latter is the case, then just cut it out. Write simply, and it'll flow better.

If it's the storytelling, on the other hand, then just stick around, read these posts, participate over on Fragments & Feedback. You'll pick up a lot.

Jeraliey, why don't you post 13 lines from something you've written and let the wonderful folk here take a look and give you some pointers? Let us help you with ways to improve your writing.

It need not necessarily be the first 13 lines of a piece. In this case, you would not be asking us to judge your opening hook, but rather to look at your writing style overall. If it isn't the first 13, let us know that, and what you want us to critique (writing style), and post it on the Fragments and Feedback (F&F) board.

Just make sure you tell me how I can put it back together

Besides reading and writing a lot, be sure to take opportunities to critique. When it comes to improving your writing, it truly is better to give than to receive.

When you receive feedback on a story, you are only receiving help on that particular story, though you may be able to carry what you receive over to other things you write.

When you give feedback on a story, you are giving yourself the opportunity to actually use the things you've learned in your writing and reading, and by using them, you begin to better understand them and are better able to apply them to your own work.

Giving feedback, because it allows you to apply hands-on the things you've only been reading about in the how-to-write books, can be the most useful thing you can get out of a writing workshop.