Wow ive never been asked that before. I essentially listened to a bunch of classical music over the years, then decided to apply the ideas I heard to make my own stuff. Since it was mainly through listening though, I didn't know how to read sheet music (only within the past year have I started to) and currently know very little theory.

I spent the first years of my account experimenting with a lot of harmonies (and still do) after catching onto habits of composers (going through my account, you'd be able to see Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Scriabin, and Rachmaninov influences). At the moment, I'm still searching for harmonies such as from the French Symbolists but also trying to focus on forms & structure. This piece, for instance, is my try at motivic development, which I recognized after listening to Medtner's concertos many times over.