Writing Inspiration Wednesday

Some tips on writing dialogue from Monica Wood:

When writing dialogue, eliminate hellos and good-byes. Salutations usually gum up the works without adding a shred of character development or forward motion.
Dialogue from inexperienced writers often reads like this:

"Hello."
"Mitzi, is that you?"
"Yes, it's me."
"What do you want."
"Well, it's about Fluffy."

And so forth, paralyzing the story's momentum. When the phone rings, skip to the point:

Igor picked up the phone. It was Mitzi, bent on delivering the latest installment of Fluffy's confinement.
"She's doing that weird drooly thing again," she said. "I need you to pick up some of her special food."

Similarly, when it's time to hang up, ditch the farewells and disconnect:

"There's nothing wrong with that suptid lizard that a healthy dose of neglect won't cure," Igor said.
"Are you going to start on her? Don't you even think about starting on her."
They went on like this for another ten minutes, until Igor hung up, hauled on his coat, and headed to the pet store.

Good ideas, right? Helps me today as I write, write, write. Am knee-deep in my first draft.

Playing on the iPod: Bad Day (Daniel Powter)