Cliches in dialogue are different for me. I try to get rid of clichés except in dialogue, because people naturally talk in clichés.
However, in a scifi or fantasy piece, it may be that some cliched phrases should have moved on.
A big thing for me is making sure every character doesn't sound the same when they speak. Short story or novel - it's part of someone's character.
How do others feel about the length of dialogue any one person might say in one go? It's not unusual for me to run to 60 or 70 words for one person. That takes no time to speak, but my critiquers regularly highlight any lengthy dialogue - and I feel it's fine and appropriate. I browsed around a few sites the other day and failed to find advice on this. then I flicked thru a few books. Each had some very long sections of one person speaking but, at a glance, most were short.
Maybe highlight that the person who speaks a larger part by describing them in the terms of gregarious and likes to hear themselves talk. Then you can use the longer speaking piece and interrupt parts with the reactions of the other characters through the speakers point of view?
