Focus on a strong plot. A plot involves having a well-planned story that has one point to meet and this is the theme of the story. Want a strong story then everything happening in the entire story needs to reflect the theme.
Give your characters strong values, strong goals, and strong desires. Every scene should carry the strength of their desires pushing the story forward. Have a purpose for everything that is happening. If your characters are just running idle doing random things that make no sense or are not related to the story then those are wasted words. Every action should have a purpose in meeting the story plot and goals of the characters. Characters should not be turned loose without a leash. Ha. Now that being said...I am a panster. I love to let my characters lead and make things happen, but you have to keep them focused on the goal and staying true to the plot. Action is the name of the game. If your characters are rambling on talking and not much is happening....Fix it. Characters should be doing more than talking...showing the story is best with action. The dialogue just helps move the story and highlights what is happening. Readers want the dialogue but more than that they want the action and what is motivating the character. And the internal dialogue is one of the best ways to get the motivations across to readers. Internal character thoughts can go a long way. Be careful about story subplots. Any subplot should support the main plot. I mean if you have some really different subplot going on to the left of what should be happening in your main story...why? You better take a long look at what is happening. That can be confusing and a total turn-off to readers. Every subplot should have a purpose of being there in support of the main plot. Otherwise, cut it. Or find a better way to do it. A word about backstory. Use it sparingly. I know I am guilty of too much backstory at times. Sometimes it is needed to fill gaps in why a character is doing what he is doing. But as a rule of thumb if I write a paragraph on backstory I try to narrow it to 3 sentences or less in one area. I should mention again on character's Point of View. Not every character should have a POV but it depends on the Genre. Too many POVs can confuse the reader. If everyone has a thought then the impact of the POV of the hero/heroine can be lost. Most stories have POVs for the hero and heroine and possibly the antagonist or bad guy but rarely any others. Check those filter words again. I know we have mentioned that too. Filter words knock the reader right out of the story and chances are they don't keep reading. He felt She realized He saw She thought Often times those word above can be removed leaving a sentence that will work. NO MORE "SAID". Add action tags....people are mostly moving and doing as they speak. Remove Adverbs where you can. We have already talked about passive writing. But as a reminder do a search and take them out. You don't need them. So these are just some hints and if one, in particular, is hard for you then study up on it more. We should all always be learning more. All this research I am doing to make these Thursday Posts is truly remaining me of the areas where ai need to brush up on things. We all have things to work on. So let's get to it. Time to Write.