Writing.Com General Discussion

I often read and am encouraged by others to: keep writing. My question is how important is it to learn the basics and more of how to write a great story or poem? In response to a kind review I asked this question. I shared my experience of playing golf. I started at 18, winging it, whatever I thought would work. This produced some very bad habits that I still have today(I'm 65). Are you a "winger" or someone who has spent time improving your writing skills? Since I know how to wing it, I'm interested in how your writing has improved and what helped you the most.