A "primer" on soldering...

Always heat all surfaces to be soldered to the point that THEY melt the solder. A proper solder joint will be smooth and shiny (leaded solder) or smooth and dull (lead-free) NEVER pitted.
If the solder bubbles and pits, turn down the iron's temp.
If resoldering old solder joints, you can use a little flux and or add some fresh solder to rejuvenate the old solder. (preferred method: remove the old solder first).

My Dad always told me to keep my tip clean......

When soldering some connectors e.g. banana plugs and RCA plugs 
- try plugging them into an old component to wick the heat away from the wire/insulation - it also holds the plug stable.

- DO not overheat the insulation of the conductor
- always have spare soldering iron bits on hand and keep the one in use  clean - file down to the copper and re-tin after a few uses
- try to use either Eutectic solder or my preference is high content silver solder like 4% Silver WBT.

For things like spade terminals - crimp the joint first before soldering - you'll save on solder but more importantly it is a more conductive joint.

Hope that helps

Great advice everyone.  My first attempt was an emergency solder job.  A tonearm clip broke off and I had no choice but to repair it. 

It was a Hadcock TA and the leads were about as thin as hair - I got er done but it won't win any awards for beauty!  I have since gotten better with practice.

Thanks for the links and all of the posts so far.

My first experience with tonearm wire.... I was unaware about the best way mate the leads on a RCA jack to the 33ga tonearm wire. I later learned to heat the thick piece first to add solder, then heat the existing solder to add the tonearm wire. (This is correct, right?) The only way I could get it to work.