O.o I'm not that good of a writer...oh, and you had a typo in there. Sorry. Just my writer's mind taking over again.
Hmm, true.
1. DESCRIPTION. I don't care how amazing your dialogue is, a story isn't complete without description. How am I supposed to know what Conan's basement looks like?
2. EMOTION. No emotion, no story. i hate stories without emotion. Hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'em.
3. DIALOGUE. Despite emotion and description being the most important (I think emotion is slightly more important, but I can't be sure), dialogue is often needed. So, do try to include some.
4. THE THESAURUS. The thesaurus is one of my best friends. It's the one that holds the key to treasures of the world. Like Forever said above, use it as much as you like.
5. RESEARCH. The essential part of any story. To confirm any beliefs you've stated in your story, you must have research. This is especially needed in Adventure stories. You want to make sure your info is correct. Usually, I * the points and then write a bit about them at the bottom where the Author's note is. If you were writing an angst fic or something like that, this isn't required, since angst is more about emotions, which is why research is at the bottom. Research makes your story much more realistic.
6. REPEATING YOURSELF. Gah. I hate it, absolutely hate it when someone repeats the same adjective/adverb in a sentence. I'm being slightly hypocritical, but you should strive to get rid of all errors.
7. BETA. This is important. It's at the bottom, because it's likely the last (or rather, second last) thing you'll be doing. GET A BETA. They help so much. They catch most of your errors and flaws, including spelling and grammar, not to mention plot devices. There are a few very good ones out there.
8. EDIT. CHECK. DO IT. I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH YOU HATE CHECKING YOUR TESTS, DO IT. I AM HORRIBLE WITH CHECKING MY TESTS, BUT I PAINSTAKINGLY GO OVER MY STORY AT LEAST 3 TIMES FOR CHECKING BEFORE AND AFTER I SEND IT TO MY BETA. THIS IS ESSENTIAL. IF THAT SENTENCE REQUIRES YOU TO READ OVER IT SEVERAL TIMES FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND (excluding riddles and such) THE READER WON'T GET IT EITHER.
There's probably more I could add, but first, it would mainly be for people using FF.net, and second, it would probably tire you out. So I'm just gonna give you my top 8 rules.
Oh, and good luck.