John,

Rules are always meant to be broken, but if I'm reading about two old war comrades, I don't want to hear them say "Hello, how are you?" or "Been a long time". I want to hear the confrontation, the tension in their meeting which makes it worth your time writing and my time reading about. Something like "Frank! You haven't changed in fifty years" isn't stirring, but at least tells me the other guy's name, how long it's been since they met and that Frank still looks the same (or the speaker has a weird sense of humor, or Frank has a Dorian Gray picture, or the speaker can't bring himself to say anything that might be construed as a criticism). I'm not trying to ban specific words, just point out that a lot of what we actually say in conversation doesn't carry information and/or is specifically designed to lessen tension between the speakers--the opposite of what we are writers are trying to do.

Having said that, yes, there can be a great deal of tension between two characters who really hate each other but are going through the ritual of "Hello, how are you?" "Fine, and you?" It's not about the words but how you use them. By and large, "dialogue" increases tension, "conversation" decreases it.

Lessa

Lessa

I still have a problem with some of this.
My view on the role of dialogue is to build the character and help to move the story along. I agree entirely that if the Hellos and How you doing's do neither of these, the dialogue is redundant and should be cut. But dialogue is about more than conforntation and tension. I'm sorry, but that's not what I want to read (or hear in my mind) every time I pick a piece of fiction. Primarily I want believability, something I can be drawn into, something which is subtly giving me more information on the people and the situation they find themselves in.
It may have tension and confrontation - it may not. There are other emotions and scenarios for us to examine. But in my world - and in my writing - people still say Hello to each other. Long may they do so!

John