I wish I knew the answer to this question! I switched jobs in September of 2021 and just started writing the next month. I got the idea to write a dystopian novel about a virtual reality customized to the user. I've since written three revisions, all of which are pretty bad. I started writing on this sub last fall because I felt like I needed to be a better writer in order to even self-publish a novel. Since then I've written a bunch of stuff here, a few short stories, and have started the prequel to my original novel (which is turning out better already).

I feel like I'm getting better by writing more, and also by reading the top-rated responses here. There are a lot of insanely good writers on this sub. It's all run spectacularly - a huge shoutout to the mods and everyone that makes it click.