My first real post on PlanetMinecraft!
I have to say I am looking forward to this.

This is about some things you need to know when building a map. Being pretty new to making maps, I'm still learning myself- but I know my way around.

1. Make your rules sound. By sound I mean make it so that when players read your rules, they know what you mean so that they can follow them. Be sure to include things like whether to break or place blocks and what gamemode you should be in (obviously: it's a pretty nooby mistake to forget to mention those). It's important that players play your map the way you want them to. After all, it's your map.

2. Make your map's content interesting and creative! Have any cool new ideas that you want to put in, say, a parkour map? Great! Do it! Good ideas are recognized and remembered by players. Doing the same old jumps is boring. Exercise your mind! (Cheesiness alert!)

3. In adventure maps, keep the storyline flowing and the action plentiful. The idea of adventure maps is ADVENTURE! A storyline to follow and baddies to fight is always good stuff. Make sure the surroundings fit the plot.

4. Make your maps look nice! No matter what kind of map you're making, be it adventure to parkour to (especially this one) creation, make it look pleasing to the eye. That way, players will want to play the map and enjoy it. Making your maps look nice is also keeping it neat. I really should fix the explosion holes in that minimap I released...

5. Be patient.This is probably my fatal flaw. When you're making a map, think things through so you don't make mistakes. Go over the map again or test it out after you're done to check for mess-ups. Take a look. Does the storyline make sense? Are these jumps too easy? Too hard? I'm not so great at being patient, but I'm working on it. I can tell you I still don't show all of these qualities, but I'm trying.

Go for it!
~Andrei