Dialogue

You're probably not gonna like my answer, but it really depends on what's happening. Sometimes I struggle with whether or not I have too much/too little dialogue, but I try to remember that there's many examples of each kind in books. If the situation calls for a lot of talking, then have a lot of talking. But you also have to make sure that it's not boring, useless dialogue. Needs to propel the story forward. If you have betas they could probably look at it when the time comes, too.

I've found sometimes that reading it aloud can help. It's sometimes easier for me to evaluate the pacing that way.

Loverofwords said:

You're probably not gonna like my answer, but it really depends on what's happening. Sometimes I struggle with whether or not I have too much/too little dialogue, but I try to remember that there's many examples of each kind in books. If the situation calls for a lot of talking, then have a lot of talking. But you also have to make sure that it's not boring, useless dialogue. Needs to propel the story forward. If you have betas they could probably look at it when the time comes, too.

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This and more. Dialogue is an amazing tool, but it has to serve a purpose. Dialogue is used for characterization (development of the character) and making your characters more real to your reader. It's used to advance your story. Dialogue provides for showing the dynamics or interpersonal relationships between characters without having to go into long passages of narrative to explain their history. Dialogue provides information to your reader in summary form; ex., a detective was tasked with canvassing the neighborhood for potential witnesses and he reports on the pertinent interviews.

It's the content and use of the dialogue as it moves your story forward that matters, not the amount.

Make sure your dialog doesn't contain talking heads. Even when we're sitting at the table, talking over coffee, we're still doing something. What are your characters doing while talking? How do these actions help us to know them and their relationships better?

Four lines. Exactly.

No, but seriously, there's so much stuff you need to take into account, even things as banal as making sure the reader understands the conversation. In a long conversation, it's easy to lose track of the characters' emotions and motivations, let alone who is speaking. Hypothetically, a conversation can go on forever--I'm thinking of Beckett's Endgame here, even though it's a play--if it's supported properly and is intriguing.

Define "action". I often have action take place during dialogue. Sometimes I have three or four or five pages of dialogue with no action. It depends on the story, or where you're at in the story, on how much action has already taken place, on whether it's time to give characters and readers a chance to breathe.

Read two or three of your favorite novels in the genre you're writing, and pay attention to this question as you read. It's the best way to get a good answer, anyway.

I suppose I should have used the word context rather than action. How are the characters speaking with each other? What else is around them? Are their words saying one think but their body language something else? Does the setting have an effect on the conversation?

I'll echo the sentiment others have stated already - "action/description" should, typically, be interwoven with your dialogue. I don't think the issue is about "how much" dialogue you can have - that will vary depending on the work, scene, etc., but if you want your reader to be immersed in the dialogue, they should be able to visualize the scene while it's taking place. And as Cindy mentioned - even when we're talking, we're doing something, and those things help readers to see the scenes, and (hopefully) gain more insight into the characters beyond simply what the words mean.

taraesque said:

How much dialogue is too much before you need to have more action/description going on?

"Boo," I said.
"What?" he asked.
"It's Halloween," I said.

And so on and so forth....

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No way to answer that without full context. You have many options.

One thing, though; you surely don't need to use "said" every sentence.

I also think you need to take into account point of view. I think you can get away with more straight dialogue with third person and third person limited. If you have a first person POV, I tend to think you need to infiltrate short bursts of direction from the speaker in long bouts of dialogue. But that is just a gauge. It really does depend on the piece of writing.

It's a good question, and one that I struggle with too. The best advice I got on dialogue was that you can use the description/action to show pauses, which allows you to control the pace.

E.g.:
"Boo," I said.
"What?" he asked.
"It's Halloween," I said.

Versus:

"Boo," I said. The window fan buzzed, just barely audible over the traffic in the street below. I smelled sweat and sewage blowing in. The glow from the TV in the other room flickered blue, then red.
"What?" he asked.
"It's Halloween," I said.

Adding the pause in Version B can let you add overtones of menace, romantic tension, boredom, etc. etc. depending on the context. Conversely, you can speed up your dialogue by taking out the descriptions- up to you to decide when and where it's appropriate.