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Well, I would start learning harmony. Soyar´s advice is excellent. By harmonizing simple, short known pieces, you will get the hang of it. At the same time, I recommend you to learn the theory, in order to understand why things work or do not work I also suggest that you should invest in a keyboard, and hook it up to a computer with a notation program (e.g.Musescore). This setup could be the easiest way for a practical study of harmony using different chords. You can store, compare and playback your work any time. Moreover, you can always see the score of your work. It is important to obtain a skill in notation and reading scores. At the same time, you can start writing (play) some VERY simple, short melodies. Then, continue with harmonizing your melody. Start with chords, and when you are satisfied, you can go for variations (for example make arpeggio´s of the chords, add a bassline etc. This is the way I started. In principle, you can do all this by yourself. There are on-line courses in composition, but mostly, I find them of limited value. Instead, I would recommend you to find a teacher.

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"Be Honest"

I have several: Music theory matters and learning everything about it should be one of your top priorities Just because a few people out there have different tastes/opinions doesn't mean it's all "subjective" Get it right at the source; "mixing" can't do anything about bad pieces and crap timbres It's better to be great at one genre of music than middling in many Don't forget about woodwinds Avoiding "parallel harmony" in melodic lines to mentally appease the spirit of Bach, who is dead, will hold your orchestrations back from their full potential Work with live musicians as much as possible Compose something every day A 2 minute piece people want to play on repeat is better than a 5-minute epic they'll only listen to occasionally Improvisation has its place, but you should use it sparingly; every note should have real thought behind it. Friends don't let friends imitate Schoenberg A recording/mockup should be seen as inseparable from composition rather an interpretation of it and should therefore be as polished and the very best presentation of your piece as possible; "raw" or "live sound" is usually a cope.

Did I miss something?