>>8199
I can tell you what I'm doing when it comes to dialogues. Maybe it'll help you a little. Basically, I aks myself a few questions whenever I write a dialogue:
>Does what the characters say characterize them?
>Does it further the plot?
>Does it establish the setting?
>Does it tell the reader what's going on at this moment?
In short, does this piece of dialogue have a purpose? If it doesn't, it goes into the trash.
>Is it a pure infodump, or did I just write it to make a point?
Both disturb the flow of the story. The first sacrifices the enjoyment of your readers to worldbuilding, the second to your agenda. If a piece of dialogue fails this test, I either scrap it or rewrite it.
>Would any human being actually talk like that?
"As you know…" is something almost no one ever starts a fucking sentence with. It usually precedes an infodump, but it can just as well be something that fulfills a good purpose. In both cases, it'll end up sounding artificial, though.
>Would the character ever talk like that?
One of the many reasons why you need a good grasp of your characters. Just don't make the mistake of giving each character a unique voice and not realizing that that's all that sets them apart from others. Some characters have a more formal or informal manner of speaking: One is in a shitty situation, the other finds himself in a predicament. Some speak fluently, others take a while to come up with words, for whatever reason. Some are precise and get to the point, others talk a lot and say little.
>Would the character ever talk like that IN THIS SITUATION?
A character who always speaks fluently and correctly can come across as a cold motherfucker when he does that after his family has just died. I'm pointing this out because trying to make every dialogue in-character can easily lead to making every line of dialogue from one character sound the exact same.
As for other types of scenes: I'll second your question in that regard. Haven't figured that one out yet, either. Maybe I do have a few tricks, I'll share them if I figure them out.