Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue... I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with "she asseverated" and had to stop reading and go to the dictionary.
Elmore LeonardI never see my bad guys as simply bad. They want pretty much the same thing that you and I want: they want to be happy.
Elmore LeonardAt the time I begin writing a novel, the last thing I want to do is follow a plot outline. To know too much at the start takes the pleasure out of discovering what the book is about.
Elmore Leonard