hehe. Actually, the best way to gain skill is to practice a lot. I for one sketch at least 3 drawings a day. The more you sketch, the better you get. I also believe it's a good idea to look at how to draw books, but only inspire yourself from the technique, because following it step by step doesn't work (it's a somewhat bad technique for beginners)
Another good way of gaining skill is to take existing drawings and copy them. It seems like a copyright violation, but it really helps a lot.