Everything should be relevant and make a contribution to the whole. The setting should be established invisibly, without disruptive asides and obvious references. Dialogue is one of the most important ways to establish character. How characters use language gives the reader a wealth of clues about them. Each person s speech should reflect his or her background, education, geographical location, age, even their political leanings and heritage all the things that make them real characters.
Fiction also requires a good balance between dialogue and straight prose.
Overall Quality Your sister is over at your house, poking through your bookshelves. That s your overall quality rating. A 1 means forget about it, don t bother. A 5 means cancel your plans for the weekend and turn off the phone. Overall Quality is a good place to address general issues.