<snip>

Remember, the key rule for any dialogue is Short and Sweet. This isn't a 
matter of taste, this a rule of story-telling.. The best fanfic authors 
don't do it, and neither do any published writers.

This is _PATENTLY_ _FALSE_, I  _am_ a published writer (not well published
yet,
but published nonetheless), and this is just not so. Dialogue use is a matter
of context. Dialogue need to flow and be in keeping with the character
speaking. Tight, minimalistic dialogue will get you a rejection every time
unless the story calls for it. Dialogue needs to be realistic and readable.
That is the rule.

Let me tell you a little story. I have spent some time on a writer's list that
includes many published and unpublished authors as well as some agents and
editors from around the world. In response to someone who made a comment on
someone's use of dialogue that was similar to this one, an editor for a large
US publisher mentioned that one of the ways in which she "culled" manuscripts
was to flip through them to see how much dialogue they contained. If they
appeared to have less than around 50% dialogue, the manuscript went into the
rejected pile unread.

I would normally ignore such advice, but the possibility that some beginner
will see this advice and force themselves into this ridiculous mold you are
creating with "professional" guidelines pulled out of thin air.

A "real" writer tells their story, lets their characters speak in their own
voices and creates art. It does not matter if it is a novel, a short story, or
a fanfic. Writing is an art, not a science. A "real" writer knows what a
building looks like, who is in it, and what it tastes like. Guess what? The
people on this list are real writers.

Advice is all well and good, but do not couch your advice in a false authority
of "professional" conventions that you have no clue about. Don't try to make
yourself look more credible by putting forward authoritative statements built
on rules that do not exist.

I apologize for spamming the group, but I am not so sure this _is_ spam since
it has to do with writing, fanfic or no. But I know it would be better if this
was a story rather than a dialogue on... err. dialogue. I just can't stand to
see people mislead into believing that they _must_ write a certain way,
especially when the "advice" (or, more accurately command) is based on a
"rule"
that does not exist.

I am not yet what I would call a professional writer (I still can't live on
what I write), but I have taught creative writing at the college level and
have
been working in the field both academically and professionally for a while now
and though I don't know everything, I know that this "rule" does not exist.

Now, I am going to go and try to read some fiction, and maybe even write some
while I am at it.

Regards,

C-chan