Don’t get yourself in a rut.
Always seek to make progress.
Get more work out there, not less.
It pays to cast your net wide. It gets you writing more (the more you do, the better you become as you’re exercising your imagination more) and you have something always out there, hopefully in the fray for publication or a prize. By seeking out where you can send your stories, you’re researching the market. You can then tailor your work to fit specific requirements. And it all helps you develop.
What do you think you most like to write?
Dialogue, narrative, all with bite.
Every story needs its balance right.
Plots suffer if either seems too light.
And that is true before you even work out what your plot is, what your genre is, what your theme is! The most brilliant comedy or thriller will not ring true if the balances are not right. Your characters need to speak. They also need to think. They also need to act. They also need to make mistakes and take the consequences of that. Humour must spring out of the characters’ attitudes and actions or it will seem forced.