Note: None of these are my own original ideas. I credited where I could find the source. Some of it has been paraphrased, added to from additional sources, or modified from the original. 

Just in case you haven't gotten enough of my nonsense between the things you have to learn for yourself, a deep dive into editors, readers, and you, or all sorts of bad advice explained...

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⭐ Quick Guide to Punctuating Dialogue

• “This is a line of dialogue,” she said.
• “This,” he said, “is a sentence split by a speech tag.”
• “This is a full sentence,” she said. “This is a new sentence.”
• “This is a sentence followed by an action.” He smiled. “They’re separate sentences, because I didn’t speak by smiling.”
• “Is this a question?” he asked.
• “This sentence”—an action happens—“shows an action happening while someone is speaking.”
• “This dialogue was interrupted by—”
• “The ellipsis . . . It represents faltering speech or a long, meaningful pause.” <-print

Note: American English/CMOS

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⭐ Useful Dialogue Tags

Default to the unobtrusive said/asked. Not every line needs a tag. Good dialogue should speak for itself.

• Volume: bellowed, crooned, hollered, mumbled, murmured, muttered, roared, screamed, screeched, shouted, squeaked, whispered, yelled
• Emotion: begged, cried, choked out, exclaimed, groaned, growled, grumbled, gushed, hissed, moaned, mumbled, snarled, sneered, sobbed, wailed
• Tone: admonished, announced, articulated, boasted, cooed, declared, demanded, encouraged, enunciated, heckled, huffed, lectured, jeered, joked, mimicked, quipped, scolded, snapped, taunted, teased, urged
• Speed/Rhythm: drawled, droned, rambled, stammered, stuttered
• Action: babbled, blubbered, blurted, called, chanted, commanded, coughed, croaked, gasped, hiccupped, interjected, lied, panted, rasped, recited, sang, slurred, sputtered, wheezed

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⭐ Basic Body Beats

• Angry: clenching fists, gritting teeth, stomping
• Cold: shivering, shaking, teeth chattering, rubbing hands together
• Embarrassed: blushing/cheeks heat
• Excited: clapping hands, jumping, smiling wide
• Frustrated: rolling eyes, tapping foot, crossing arms
• Nervous: fidgeting, lump in throat
• Proud: chin held high, standing tall
• Sad: head hanging, quiet voice, fighting back tears
• Shocked: jaw dropped, hands covering mouth
• Worried: mind racing, pacing, heart racing

Selection from The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression

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⭐ Start a New Paragraph When…

• The “camera” moves
• A new character shows up
• Someone speaks
• Someone else speaks
• A new idea, subjects, or topic is introduced
• Time passes or reverts to an earlier point
• The setting changes
• The mood shifts
• You want to create a dramatic effect

Source

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⭐ Showing vs. Telling

Do a Ctrl+f for “was” and reduce the number by rephrasing those sentences to have more active, dynamic verbs with more robust descriptions. (Also look for: am, is, are, to be, being, feel, felt) 

Checklist of RED FLAG WORDS for easy manuscript review.

• Self-aware: knew, realized, felt, thought. Not every instance will be a problem, but it’s a good place to start the search.
• Stimulus/response: when, as, before. Revise as needed so the stimulus comes first, then the character reaction.
• Telling: when, as, to [verb], which, because, to be verbs. These are often found in told prose.
• Stage direction: as, while, when. These often connect multiple actions in one long and confusing chain. 
• Motivational: to [action], when, as, while, causing, making, because.
• Emotional: in [emotion], with [feeling].
• Descriptive: realize, could see, the sound of, the feel of, the smell of, tried to, trying, in order to, to make.
• Passive: to be verbs—is, am, are, was, were, be, have, had, has, do, does, did, has been, have been, had been, will be, will have been, being.
• Mental: realized, thought, wondered, hoped, considered, prayed.
• Bonus often-unnecessary words: up, down, then

Main source/paraphrased from Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting It) by Janice Hardy

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⭐ Character Motivations

• Basic: curiosity, desire, failure, guilt, instability, peer pressure, survival
• Noble: honor, inequality, love, loyalty, obedience, unfulfillment, vengeance
• Evil: dishonor, greed, hatred, jealousy, lust, pride, revenge
• Fear: death, humiliation, loss, pain, regret, rejection, shame

Source

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⭐ Possible Reasons a Plot Feels Flat

If your plot feels flat, STUDY it. Your story may be lacking…

• Stakes: What would happen if the protagonist failed? Can you make it worse?
• Thematic relevance: Do the events of the story speak to a greater emotional or moral message? Is the conflict resolved in a way that befits the theme?
• Urgency: How much time does the protagonist have to complete their goal? Are there multiple factors complicating the situation?
• Drive - What motivates the protagonist? Are they active or passive? Could you swap them for another character with zero impact?
• Yield - Do their choices have impact? Do they use knowledge/clues from the beginning to help them in the end?

Source

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⭐ Possible Reasons a Scene Feels Flat

• Excessive focus on one character
• Surrounding characters are too passive (do they all have to be there?)
• Lacking descriptions or markers for setting/time
• Too much dialogue or exposition
• Lacking atmosphere, motivation/goals, or tension
• Include all senses — sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste

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⭐ Scene not working?

• Change the weather.
• Switch the POV.
• Main character acts instead of reacts (example: goes for the kiss instead of getting kissed).
• Other characters are suspicious/uncooperative instead of kind/helpful (or vide versa).
• Start scene later in story timeline, with the missing time covered by a brief summation.
• Start scene slightly earlier in the timeline, without the summary.
• Introduce a new complication.
• List the MC’s greatest fears—and make them happen.
• Make the MC’s choices harder/raise the stakes.
• Rewrite the scene from memory, keeping only the parts you like.
• Delete the last line you wrote. Go in a different direction.

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⭐ How to Kick a Reader in the Gut

The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance. —Richard Price

Disrupt a reader's sense of justice. This generally means setting up a character to deserve one thing and then giving them the exact opposite.

• Kill a character off before they can achieve their goal.
• Let the bad guy get an extremely important win.
• Set up a coup against a tyrannical king. The coup fails miserably.

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⭐ Wheel of Emotions

Source

Feel free to add more tips or advice you’ve found useful in the comments.