In our not-yet-acknowledged secret garden lie the seeds of some of our best not-yet-written stories
Sol SteinMost of the time, tough, combative, adversarial dialogue is much more exciting than physical action.
Sol SteinTo create tension, dialogue needs to be stretched out. That is, characters should not be immediately responsive.
Sol SteinI see manuscripts and books that are spoiled for the literary reader because they are one long stream of top-of-the-head writing, a writer telling a story without concern for precision or freshness in the use of language. Some of this storytelling reads as if it were spoken rather than written, stuffed with tired images that pop into the writer's head because they are so familiar. The top of the head is fit for growing hair, but not for generating fine prose.
Sol Stein