The Mechanics of Dialogue
- Use double quotes to enclose a character's speech.
- Use simple indicators to show who is speaking, i.e., "she said," "he said." These indicators should be used occasionally to help keep the reader know who is talking, but it is not necessary to follow each character's spoken line with an indicator.
Example: "I'm hungry," he said
"I'm hungrier," she said.
"Impossible."
We can assume that the last line is spoken by the first speaker, the male.
- Use a new paragraph each time a different character speaks. This serves as a cue to the reader that we've had a change of speakers.
- Place ending periods and commas inside the end quotation mark.
Mariah said, “I want an elephant for my birthday.”
“Don’t be late!” Bill warned.
"I want an elephant for my birthday,” Mariah repeated.
- Capitalize the first word of what the person says, even if it occurs in the middle of a larger sentence.
Mariah’s mother asked her husband, “Where are you planning on keeping this elephant?”
- Use quotation marks around each part of a divided quotation. Remember to set off the speaker's tag with commas.
"I'm not sure," said Ray, "that I feel like it."
-Use a pair of dashes to indicate an abrupt break in thought or speech or an unfinished statement or question.
“First of all,”he said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person
until you consider things from his point of view—”
“Sir?”
“—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
- Use an ellipsis (…) to indicate a pause in written dialogue.
“Well…I don’t know,” Sarah answered.
from: www.teacherweb.com/CT/ScottsRidgeMS/Jennes/punctuating.pdf
http://teacherwriter.net/2009/02/25/how-to-use-proper-punctuation-when-writing-dialogue/
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/writerschoice/rws/mslessons/grade6/lesson30/index.shtml
- Use simple indicators to show who is speaking, i.e., "she said," "he said." These indicators should be used occasionally to help keep the reader know who is talking, but it is not necessary to follow each character's spoken line with an indicator.
Example: "I'm hungry," he said
"I'm hungrier," she said.
"Impossible."
We can assume that the last line is spoken by the first speaker, the male.
- Use a new paragraph each time a different character speaks. This serves as a cue to the reader that we've had a change of speakers.
- Place ending periods and commas inside the end quotation mark.
Mariah said, “I want an elephant for my birthday.”
“Don’t be late!” Bill warned.
"I want an elephant for my birthday,” Mariah repeated.
- Capitalize the first word of what the person says, even if it occurs in the middle of a larger sentence.
Mariah’s mother asked her husband, “Where are you planning on keeping this elephant?”
- Use quotation marks around each part of a divided quotation. Remember to set off the speaker's tag with commas.
"I'm not sure," said Ray, "that I feel like it."
-Use a pair of dashes to indicate an abrupt break in thought or speech or an unfinished statement or question.
“First of all,”he said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person
until you consider things from his point of view—”
“Sir?”
“—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
- Use an ellipsis (…) to indicate a pause in written dialogue.
“Well…I don’t know,” Sarah answered.
from: www.teacherweb.com/CT/ScottsRidgeMS/Jennes/punctuating.pdf
http://teacherwriter.net/2009/02/25/how-to-use-proper-punctuation-when-writing-dialogue/
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/writerschoice/rws/mslessons/grade6/lesson30/index.shtml