I thought this article by Omar over at Oateck pretty accurately described how some of the ways I was able to get into coding and should help others as well. The short story is:

Tip 1. Methodize… don’t memorize
Tip 2. Create your own Resource library
Tip 3. Learn WHAT not HOW
Tip 4. Comment to match your style
Tip 5. Master one…Learn another… but keep your eye on the next thing

I think for beginners I would suggest tip 2 and 3 the most. Having a library of sample files, or even text documents with code in them that I keep forgetting, was the most helpful to me when I was starting (and still to this day), and it relieves the pressure of having to memorize the syntax of everything.

Tip 3 is important mainly because I am always telling people to read the code like a sentence. “If the box is 200% in size then make it disappear”. That is must more friendly than looking at:

if(box._xscale >=200) { box._visible = false };

The post is definitely a good read so check it out.