What is the best way to improve? There are a few. I'll start with the smallest.

WRITE BADLY
This seems like a no-brainer, but it's not. Often, authors try to make a PERFECT draft. Polishing and editing as they go. That's fine if you know how to, but if you don't and you're just starting out, write.

Love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching? Well, write like nobody's reading.

THROW AWAY THAT BAD WRITING
Now you've written it. It's time to let it go or rife through this AWFUL draft's pockets for loose change. You can probably pick one or two good bits out of the story but don't be afraid to cannibalize your 200k manuscript of it's 10k valuable parts. (I wish I was kidding about that ratio)

DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR CHARACTERS
When you love the characters, you can't hurt them, and if you can't hurt them, they've got no conflict. Instead, they are wandering around having a typical BORING day, doing NOTHING of actual consequence. They also tend to be 'perfect' in every way. Perfectly perfect, or perfectly tragic. Unrealistic.

READ
This one is the hardest for many.

"But I don't want to contaminate my own writing!" you wail.

Well, fine, but would you trust a dentist with bad teeth?
A tailor with torn clothes?
A hairdresser with messy hair?
A chef who doesn't taste the food of others?

How are you going to trust an author who doesn't read?

You can avoid it for a while but eventually you will have to. And yes, you will encounter a story better than yours and burn with jealousy but getting control of your emotions is also part of the process. And don't worry about 'getting influenced' by another person's work. The only true way to stay original is to see what's out there now so you can do yours DIFFERENTLY.