listen to the 6th-sage here. this guy has a lot of good pointers. and i have some of my own. a good thing to keep in mind is that not everyone knows what you are thinking, so when you hint at something you have to make it subtle, yet obvious enough for people who have never seen your work can get it.
another thing to keep in mind too, is to kinda veer away from the predictable like 6th-sage said. when the green shy-guy got kissed, i called it that he was gonna like the protagonist.
besides that, i can tell that you will keep getting better and better. no one starts being super awesome and perfect, is a process that requires practice. and you already have a lot of good points going for ya.