These are just some pointers that a writer can use when self-editing their fiction. Of the novel. For instance, in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Marley's death is what triggered much of the ghosts and nightmares that Scrooge had. Look at the success of The Godfather for how to create a lovable antihero. Even if a character does not answer an exchange of dialogue that's a reaction.
Good writing is the results of showing reactions.
In real life, one phone call or nighttime visit can change our whole word such as in Oprah's book club pick, Anita Shreve's The Pilot's Wife. Remember in real life, people say one thing and mean another. What appears to be is not. This really makes fiction resonate. A novel must have causal relationships between events.