Quote: "pretty much the only way I could get better is studying other peoples scripts/programs"
I have to disagree, it is not the only way to get better. You can learn from books, tutorials, language references, reading advice given to others on the forum, etc. - and most importantly, by practice. Even solutions in another program are much more understandable if you have previously tried to do the same thing yourself.
Experiment, try to "suffer together" something and then ask if there would have been a better way to do it. No problem with asking questions, but at least make an attempt first.
One good way to develop your skills would be to actually participate in these coding challenges that Krisacz pointed to. It doesn't matter if you won't be the winner, what matters is that you think about the problem, write something that works, and then afterwards you can compare it with other people's solutions. If you think your code is not worth showing, then don't submit it on the forum, but still do it for yourself at home. I believe you can learn more by doing than by watching.
