Dynamic Dialogue
Dialogue is good for imparting information, but only use it to impart necessary information. The reader doesn’t need to know every little detail e.g.:
“I thought you were having your hair cut today,” Sally said. Her eyes narrowed, running over her daughter’s hair.
“I was, but they had a water leak. That was at ten o’clock. They said I could come in and wait. A man was going to come and fix it. He was supposed to be there at nine o’clock, but he hadn’t turned up. So I had a cup of tea. At half past ten they made me another cup. The man still hadn’t turned up. Then at eleven o’ clock…”
Did you find yourself starting to switch off? That’s what your reader will do if you use too much unnecessary detail. Every word needs to count e.g.:
“I thought you were having your hair cut today,” Sally said. Her eyes narrowed, running over her daughter’s hair.
“I was, but they had a water leak. I’ve got to go back next week.”
This is all that’s necessary, then push on with the rest of the story.
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Esther Chilton 
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