The thing to remember with compost is you need a mix of green (wet/nitrogen) and brown (dry/carbon).

Green things are kitchen scraps, fruit peelings, grass clippings.

Brown things are dried leaves, pine needles, shredded newspaper, straw, etc.

If you have too much green your compost will rot down slimey and moist. Too much brown and it won't really rot down quickly enough...if you add them in layers then mix frequently eventually you will get nice compost that is nearly like rich black soil.