Never waste time getting your character into a scene. If the action will take place in a park, start your scene at the park, not getting dressed, driving, arriving.

If you simply cannot “get there” without writing those sequences, then write them and lop them off in the rewrite. Find the point at which your character becomes engaged in the action and start there.

Likewise, never waste dialogue on “hello,” “how are you,” “please meet so and so.” Good dialogue, like good narrative, always reveals character, moves the story or shows conflict. Even better when it does all three.

Get in late and get to the story action, character interaction, or the meaty problem that’s troubling your focal character.

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