With a lot of people appearing to wanting to start their stories over, whether because of poor reception or a desire to do better, it can be a bit worrisome to think of how you may make a mistake the second time around. That in mind, I thought I would share some tidbits of writing that I've come to learn. It's all fairly obvious, and I'll do my best not to sound condescending.

Really, it's just some advice I've picked up on. It may help you, it may not.

1) Don't just have the nice guy running the show. Minor characters work great as support; perhaps some could be the source of angst. Even in a high school setting the minors and the background players offer the possibility of a springboard for your main character.

2) Make your main character interesting! Don't make him, as I said, the nice guy. Sometimes it pays to have a bit of a jerk in him.
2a) Realism is key, here, folks. And I find that sometimes the best way to figure out how to make your character seem real and alive is to study how other people act. If you're like me and go to school on a daily basis, take a moment—not during class, preferably, unless the character demands it—and observe the various people there. See how they tick, how they work, how they act.
2a1) Don't be a creep about it, though. If it's sunny and your outside, a good pair of shades, a notebook, and a bag are great as disguise props.

3) Not everything has to be done in the name of romance. As evidenced in my contribution to the PoME Group (shameless self-promotion for the win), you can have a high school story without romance. The key to this is to understand that not every day in the EQG universe will be about guy getting girl. (Interesting to note: have we any girl gets with guy stories? OC with minor character?) Sometimes they can be a day all about renewal; or acceptance; or trying something new. Other times, they're the worst of days that one can ever have. The point is, this genre is hardly limited, if you just think outside of the box.
3a) Having trouble coming up with such a situation? Write in a journal one day you had in school. You never know; you might find that it provides a good scenario for your characters.
*Key Term: Slice of Life. Not everything has to be dramatic in fanfiction stories, let alone high school pastel-colored human stories (in MLP, of course). The simple things matter, too.

4) Themes. I cannot stress this enough. Even though this is a fanfiction website and group, themes are the strongest tool in a writer's toolbox. They are the message that you wish to emphasize subtly through your writing. Effectively speaking, they are a writer's final words in his story, even if the words don't appear on the page.
4a) It can be hard to come up with themes. Often writers will not even notice them until someone else speaks up. But it is a good idea to have a theme in mind, as it will set the general tone of the story.
4b) Cliche themes are okay, I suppose, but it's good to add your own twist on them via content of the story. That is to say, you can have a theme about not judging a book by its cover, but it's more amusing to have the story literally be about not judging a book by its cover. Or go into more detail and create an extravagant plot that has that theme at its forefront.
4c) Lastly, do not be mind-numbingly blatant in thematic writing. Good writers incorporate the theme of their work in such a way that it lives alongside and parallel to the work in question. This is something that we all struggle with when it comes to themes. Trust me when I say this, though, you will find a great deal of pleasure and happiness if you manage to be subtle.

5) Don't lose sight of the group's purpose! This is a group dedicated to a shared universe. The main setting—as generalized—is a high school. The main characters are OCs. Romance can be included, but it doesn't have to be a main plot point (as stated earlier). And, while it is a bit limiting, be a bit happy in your writing. Downers are going to get downvotes, I've found.
5a) But really, if you're going to write something a bit sad, it might be best to leave that as a separate arc of the entire story. Resolution and solutions are what generate that dopamine excess in readers' brains; seeing their characters achieve their dreams, despite the struggles, is a rewarding experience.

6) Tone, style, prose, and all that structure grammar stuff do matter. While tone is perhaps the hardest to accomplish out of these, prose is what I would argue to be the setting stone for the rest. Prose consists of good grammar, at its basic level; good sentence fluency and varied sentence structure, as its intermediate levels; and a flowing movement when a reader's eyes glide across a text. Prose, after all, is the words that you are using to convey your story.
6a) And it sounds counter-intuitive, I know, but don't be afraid to break some grammar rules—if, by doing so, it adds to your style. Style is the way a piece feels based on the combinations of words. It's a bit suave, and a bit sophisticated in nature. More often, style will creep into your writing without you noticing it; it is directly tied to your voice in your work.
6b) Tone is your overall "voice" that the reader "hears." It reflects the quality of the work and the quality of the author. For example: Formal tone gives a sense of resigned extravagance and wealth; informal tone gives a more personal sense and friendly demeanor. Tone is the most subjective of these concepts, and arguably is the one most overlooked. Admittedly, most writers won't worry about tone, as their natural writing "voice" fills that knowledge gap considerably. Tone is important, however, because it attracts and keeps your reader attracted to your work.

7) Go over your story once it's done. Twice. Three times. Four times. Five. Six. As many times as you think it warrants. Then have someone else go over it. If you can, have another person. And another person. Multiple perspectives will lead you to a general consensus regarding your writing, and if all those people share a common discontent, then it probably is an obvious issue.
7a) Seriously. Having a "team" of sorts is the best thing that fanfiction can offer us. (Well, besides the stories, of course.)

8) Keep pacing in mind. Don't rush through plot points. Build up the action and suspense. Slow things down, then speed things up. Stop, stall, as your character reach a dead end. Be sudden so as to provide a sense of sufficient and appropriate suddenness that reflects the character's situation.
8a) But don't be highly cringey or loose in usage. Have a bit of common sense when it comes to pacing. I would recommend that you have some editors judge the pacing of your work.

9) Learn from past mistakes. Use past criticism to your advantage. If you have other work published and you have people commenting on them, try to see what they like from that story that would work in this one. If your tone and style are consistent, chances are you can use the critiques in one story as the basis of improvement in one other.

10) Lastly, have fun. Writing is an art, and, when you analyze it, it is one of the most complicated forms of communication ever created. Even in the realm of fanfiction, it is a daunting task of using canon characters and adding your own original situations. Be confident that you can succeed! A positive attitude reinforces positive work, which allows positive growth, and positive improvement.

Of course, this is all just for fanfiction, which I do get is written purely for fun. Heck, I'd be lying if I didn't occasionally indulge in some fun-fest with writing. As such, there's a good chance that none of this will ever be used.

But I thought I'd at least share some of what I think makes or breaks a good fanfiction. If that sounds too cocky or too serious, feel free to ignore everything I just said and do what you wish. Really, these are only suggestions; thus, they need not be followed to the letter.

5197306 Now this, I gotta pin.

This is actually pretty well thought out, although most of them most of us have already learned through experience. It's still helpful to those that struggle.

5197354 yeeeeaaaahhh I'm gonna have to side with Celtic on this one, I was just trying to be nice.

5197354 I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I only meant to share what I had found as a common means of writing well. Certainly, the stories here are fun to read; but does that mean we cannot do better?

Nonetheless, since it appears that my advice has offended you, I do deeply apologise for doing so. Would you at least grace me with what I have overstepped, so that I may take special precaution not to do so again?

5197376 I accept your apology, but I too have some explaining to do. you see the reason I said what I said was not because I don't appreciate your advice, its because behind the scenes in this group, there has been large amounts of turmoil going on and therefore it wasn't so much a case of context as it was timing. you do seem to have a good head on your shoulders but things are rather shaky right now, granted it would have been rather hard for you to know that. for right now I would hold off on more posts like these (offering advice on how to write and manage the group), just until things get back onto more solid ground. i'll be more than glad to let you know when that it is, it should be soon considering things seem to be turning around. hopefully we can find some mutual ground in all this.

5197306 I think that these are some very good points of advice that one can take into account when writing. Nice work Jarvy, I agree with a lot of what you have to say. Even if Swift breaks the second suggestion. XD

5197354 Aren't you also overstepping your boundaries by saying that?

I'm not sure why you think you are so entitled to say something like that.

He's giving good advice. This whole group was made to have fun and help others mostly.

5197683 you're right I am. It does me no good to try wheel and deal it just makes me look bad. I'll be the first to admit I still have a lot to learn and that I often screw up on things. It's no excuse for certain things I've done. If I come off as feeling superior to everyone, I apologize in advance.

5197306 I like the advice a lot, It even motivated me a little to get back into writing a little. I'm most definitely getting these memorized, good on you my man and thanks a bunch!

Hi Everyone

5198414 Hello! I see you've stumbled into my trap thread!

5197652 As I said, these are only suggestions. By the second one, I basically mean not to have nicety (is that a word?) as the only attribute. Simply put, it's good to add some spice to a mix.

5197700 Twas an honor to have served you well.