Conflicting Dialog

Egri proposes that the reason we're drawn to conflict, is because it exposes character. No need to establish mood, atmosphere, background, before the action begins. It should happen throughout the story with conflict. Constantly. Without interruption. Every conflict exposes something about the character. If for any reason a character is NOT in conflict, the story stops, right then and there.

Dialog, then, grows from the character and the conflict, and, in its turn, reveals the character and carries the action. Good dialog is the product of characters carefully chosen and permitted to grow until the slowly rising conflict has proved the premise. No speeches. No Soapboxes.