Many authors give great writing tips, but oftentimes, they may give so much good advice at once that you don't remember them all. So, below I've highlighted five writing tips that I personally find most useful. I have heard these tips multiple times--and for good reason. You should know them, too.
Here they are in no particular order:
1. Write active rather than passive sentences (i.e., "An ion cannon beam struck the spaceship" rather than: "The spaceship was struck by an ion cannon beam").
2. Use words such as "said" or "replied" rather than "commented," "exclaimed," etc. The quotes and characters' actions should say it all.
3. Show, don't tell. Instead of saying a character had a bad day, try showing what happened to the character that made it a bad day.
4. Know your characters, such as their likes, dislikes, goals, problems, hobbies, etc. The better you know them, the easier and more fleshed-out they become when you write about them.
5. Stay focused on the plot. Every scene should enhance the story. If you can take out a chunk of a story without it affecting the plot, than it's not important to the story.