Welcome to Week 'C' in the Authors Tips: A to Z of Writing series. And my post is about How to Improve Your Craft. Fiction writing, like many other creative pursuits, is an artistic enterprise that involves a combination of art and craft. Talent alone can help you come up with a great concept or idea for a story. But to translate a brilliant premise into a compelling story, a writer needs to understand the mechanics of storytelling. Or, in other words, become a master of the craft. In fiction parlance, craft generally refers to the use of techniques that aid storytelling -- plot points, subtext, a great hook, raising of stakes, building tension, exposition. Many of these can be learnt by reading extensively in the genre that you want to write. This will help you to identify the conventions of the genre and understand how different authors play around with the essential elements of telling a story. However no amount of reading can help you improve your craft....