To create tension, dialogue needs to be stretched out. That is, characters should not be immediately responsive.

A writer writes what other people only think.

In our not-yet-acknowledged secret garden lie the seeds of some of our best not-yet-written stories

A lawyer's job is to manipulate the skeletons in other people's closets.

Our instinct as human beings is to provide answers, to ease tension. As writers our job is the opposite, to create tension and not dispel it immediately.

Most of the time, tough, combative, adversarial dialogue is much more exciting than physical action.

To create tension, dialogue needs to be stretched out. That is, characters should not be immediately responsive.