The biggest tip I try to give all my students is to make the base big enough on the bottom. If you have a soft stick and try to add weight onto it, it will topple, same with your base. Also someone mentoned having trouble piping out the lower petals, that they don't open ect. The biggest problem I see my students facing is that when you pipe a petal, your hand that holds the bag should ONLY go straight up and straight down. If you pull away from the base even 1/16th of an inch, the petal will look flat and not curled over at the edges. Just make sure you have a sturdy base, then USE the base. Pipe the icing ONTO the base. The base isn't a guide, its a base. I also always tell my students the same thing over and over that my teacher told me...it takes 200 bad roses to make one good rose.Be patient. Wilton's site has a video that shows a rose being made. If you can practice making the rose right at the computer replaying the video over and over. GL to all. 
If you have no problem with not having a soft center, USE the kisses, they work great! As far as the petal goes, watch the Wilton video: http://www.wilton.com/decorating/basic/roses.cfm
Practice, practice, practice! Good luck!
Thank you for the website, Zamode ! I viewed the video--and it does help!!
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