But I'm looking for something else that pays more. Dialogue on the written page has to involve more action, not only in the dialogue itself but in the descriptive paragraphs or narrative that should be inserted somewhere into the above conversation. Don't let dialogue go on too long without breaking it up. In fact, devour as many as you can. Lawrence Block, Ross Macdonald, Raymond Chandler, Sue Grafton, James Ellroy, Steven Womack, Robert Crais, Jeremiah Healy, Donald Westlake.
Good writing is good writing.
Get a routine. Stick with it. If you are a writer who writes every single day, whether in a journal, a notebook, or for clients, then you are way ahead of the person who wants to write a novel but doesn't have the discipline. They don't want to be forced to write for a certain number of pages or hours a day. It just gets in the way of the flow and energy of your writing, especially with a long piece of fiction like a novel.