Too Much Light

I worked on several variation of studies from one photo. Each one, I changed slightly. Larger mountain, smaller mountain, and no mountain. I asked an instructor what the problem was with them in general. The answer was obvious... too much light. Everything in the photo was in the light and not enough dark.
Makes sense. I hear it all the time to ensure I have at least 60 percent in dark and yet, I have made the mistake, again.
On the bright side, it gave me some practice.