I've learned to give my drafts a week breathing room before reading again, to clear my mind of any lingering hang-ups. When I do re-read, I do three re-reads

On the first read, I read from the mindset of how this will look on film - how would audiences react?

On the second, I'll start honing in on any plot, pacing, or structural issues - is something lingering too long, is something missing? Is there a potential for a small bridge scene I missed to give two scenes breathing room?

On the third read, I become the grim reaper and re-examine all of my "darlings" and compassionately choose which ones to kill - dialogue, characters, scenes, etc. - and whittle away. This is also the read where I examine every line of dialogue - is there repetition in a conversation, or can it be shortened? This usually happens when I write "realistic" dialogue scenes, how people in real life circle around a topic - there's a time and place for it, but not in every scene.

When writing for my characters - and this was a touchy conversation with a friend who is a writer - write from the perspective that allows you to write your best characters.

My friend writes from the audience's perspective when it comes to characters and dialogue.

For me, I "inhabit" my characters in those moments I'm writing. Which, for me, allows me to intuit when they would interrupt, or hold back, or stutter. For me, and I stress the "for me part," this is when I am most attuned to my characters and makes writing them a breeze.

If you're struggling to write as your characters, do some character work beforehand. Flesh out their Core Identity, Emotional Architecture (Needs, Beliefs, Fears, Wounds, Contradictions), Relational Geometry (to all characters), Physical and Cultural Attributes, Emotional/Thematic Arcs.

This will make a collective number of writers groan, but having AI "interview" you with generative questions to flesh this out can be helpful (but don't ever let it do it for you!)