Punctuating Dialogue
Punctuating dialogue is actually very simple. I'm sure you are already familiar with at least some of the rules of dialogue punctuation below, but it is worthwhile refreshing your memory.
There is nothing worse than writing great dialogue then ruining it with poor punctuation. This article contains the five rules of how to punctuate dialogue when writing a novel.
1. Keep Punctuation Inside the Quotation Marks
Like this...
"Hello," said John. "How are you?"
Not like this...
"Hello", said John. "How are you"?
Like this...
"Hello," said John. "How are you?"
Not like this...
"Hello", said John. "How are you"?
Okay, I'm sure you all knew that about punctuating dialogue, but I just want to make sure I cover all the bases here!
This next one, though, is something many novel writers get wrong...
2. Start a New Paragraph for a New Speaker
Why? Because it makes life so much easier for the readers of your novel (and doing that is the whole purpose of punctuating dialogue well and laying it out correctly).
Starting a new paragraph whenever the speaker changes looks like this:
"Hello," said John. "How are you?"
"Can't complain," said Eleanor. "Well, I could, but nobody listens to a word I say."
"I'm just on my way to the coffee shop. Want to join me?"
"I'd love to, John, but I'm already running late."
The same thing applies even if one of the characters doesn't speak:
"Hello," said John. "How are you?"
"Can't complain," said Eleanor. "Well, I could, but nobody listens to a word I say."
"I'm just on my way to the coffee shop. Want to join me?"
"I'd love to, John, but I'm already running late."
John smiled. He couldn't stand Eleanor, and he was certain she hated him. But with John's brother being engaged to Eleanor's best friend, they at least had to pretend.
"How about next time?"
"Looking forward to it already," said John.
3. Omit Quotation Marks in a Long Speech
The art of writing dialogue is to keep most of it short and sharp and punchy. Occasionally, though, a character will say something that simply can't be said in a single paragraph, much less in a sentence or two.
When this happens in your novel, punctuate the dialogue like this:
"The usual way of punctuating dialogue," he said, "is to start the speech with quotation marks and to close the marks when the character stops speaking a sentence or two later. However, if it is a long speech then you will want to break it up into paragraphs.
"Like this. Notice that there are no quotation marks at the end of the previous paragraph, but that they do appear at the start of this new one. It is only when you reach the end of the final paragraph of the speech that you close the quotation marks."
4. Use Quotation Marks According to Taste
Strangely, there is no definitive answer to the question of whether it is correct to use single or double quotation marks in dialogue.
Pick some novels off your shelves at random and what you should find is that some will use single quotation marks and some doubles.
Personally, I prefer doubles. I don't know why - they just look better, at least to my eye. Oh, and it makes them stand out from apostrophes.
(Incidentally, it also looks better to use quotation marks which 'curl in' towards the speech, rather than the stand-up-straight variety.)
The folks from the single-quotation-mark school of punctuating dialogue say that it is logical to keep double quotation marks in reserve for when there is a speech within a speech. Like this...
'I saw Eleanor yesterday,' said John. 'I asked her how she was. "Can't complain," she told me.'
Of course, it is just as possible to stick to double quotation marks and use singles for any speeches within speeches!
Bottom line? Single or double quotation marks are equally correct, so use whichever variety you prefer. When you publish your novel, the publishers will have their own house style on dialogue punctuation (and on everything else, for that matter), so they will use whatever they usually use, irrespective of what you have used in your manuscript.
5. Use Dashes and Ellipses Correctly
Use ellipses to indicate a character's words trailing off. Like this...
"The reason I wanted to talk to you, Frank, is to ask you..."
You would do that if the speaking character was distracted or forgot what they wanted to say.
But if they were cut off, use a dash...
"The reason I wanted to talk to you, Frank, is to ask you-"
"Yeah, well I don't want to talk to you."
And that is all there is to say about punctuating dialogue.
It is also the end of everything there is to say about writing dialogue in general.
Well, almost...
Dialogue, as you know, is a conversation between two or more fictional characters.
Monologue, on the other hand, is where a character talks - or more precisely, thinks - to themselves, usually inside their head.
And monologue is about one of the most crucial aspects of novel writing that there is.
You can learn all about in my complete guide to Writing Interior Monologue...
