How to write a good story

Edit: Stickied! Thank you, mods! ^_^

Instead of posting individual critiques on every story that I could critique, I'm going to write ONE BIG NASTY CRITIQUE and link it every time I see a story whose author could benefit from the knowledge that I care to impart. On seeing how many people have responded positively to this, I'm really glad that I took the time to write it all out and I look forward to updating if/when I see anything else that needs to be addressed. Thanks for all of your help, guys!

We have alot of talented people in this forum with very creative ideas, but the way that some of them write their stories is just so darn off-putting that it's hard to understand what the people had intended to say in the first place.