Too much dialogue?

[CicadaGrrl]

I have been criticised by other people for using dialogue to reveal my world to my readers. The characters talk about things that would be common knowledge to them, but foreign to the reader. I don't see their criticism, how often do we talk about mundane things that would reveal our world to an outside reader? Quite often for me.

People also talk while doing things, dialog beats I think they are called. Everything should be either exposition or moving forward dialog can move forward or expose.

Unless you do it really awkwardly--having them talk about stuff they wouldn't mention--I think this is a GREAT, dynamic way to set up your world.

 

[Caged Maiden]

I think people have different writing styles, and mine seems similar to joe's. It's boring to read lines and lines of dialogue without the author giving you a clue what's happening.
If he's confessing his love for her, I want to know that his hand is on her cheek, or is she's standing in the doorway and she's just been berated by her father, I want to know what I am supposed to be imagining in my head. While one daughter would stand defiantly, arms crossed, another might be standing awkwardly, wiping her sweaty hands on her skirts. Dialogue is important, and I think far harder to write perfectly than the actions associated with it, so sometimes I just write write write until the words are all there, and then go back and fill in the other stuff.
It's a mix for me, because sometimes I like to leave out a description to let a reader think what someone's expression is, but if it's a point I'm trying to get across, or a mood I'm trying to create, I tend to be specific. Here's the beginning of a dialogue that takes up 4 pages:

Raven woke as a weight shifted next to her.
She opened her eyes to see Logan sitting on the edge of her bed.
“What are you doing in here?” she demanded, sitting upright.
“I have a key,” he said softly.
“I locked the door because I didn’t want to see you.”
“I know,” he said, closing his eyes and bowing his head, “but, I owe you an apology and an explanation.”
“Your words fall on deaf ears, Logan,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest, “I don’t care what you have to say.”
“Please,” he said, attempting to uncross her arms. 

“No,” she shouted, snatching her arm away from him.
“I couldn’t tell them,” he pleaded, “then they would have had you and the location. I simply couldn’t.” He hung his head in shame.
Tears welled in her eyes, and she sniffled. “You knew,” she whispered, containing her emotions only just. “You knew everything the whole time. I don’t even understand how or why you knew...........”

Obviously this is a conflict, and there is more action to it than if they were just discussing something benign, but I like action. If I have two girls talking in a field, they'd probably be plucking petals off of flowers, taking off their shoes to feel the grass on their bare feet, shielding their eyes from the bright sun, rolling their eyes in exasperation, laughing rudely.... Even a plain setting and unexciting conversation gives you a chance to let your reader get to know your characters, and a lot of times, actions are the best way to do that.