Incorrect:
“Are you mad at me?” he asked. She shrugged, casting her gaze to the floor. “Why would I be mad?” “I don’t know,” he said, picking at his fingernails. “It just seems like you don’t want to talk to me.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m talking to you right now, aren’t I?”
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The above example is short so it’s not too bad, but it’s still fairly difficult to read because of its format. When you split up the conversation, it’s much easier to follow. Like this:
Correct:
“Are you mad at me?” he asked.
She shrugged, casting her gaze to the floor. “Why would I be mad?”
“I don’t know,” he said, picking at his fingernails. “It just seems like you don’t want to talk to me.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m talking to you right now, aren’t I?”
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Once you’ve mastered this rule, your readers shouldn’t have to decode the conversations, and instead they’ll be able to focus on what’s actually happening.
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3. Periods, commas, question marks, and exclamation points always go inside the quotations.
Once again, I’m going to explain this rule with short examples.
Incorrect: “Hi”, she said.
Correct: “Hi,” she said.
Incorrect: “You’re a fool”.
Correct: “You’re a fool.”
Incorrect: “Where are you going”?
Correct: “Where are you going?”
Incorrect: “Go away”!
Correct: “Go away!”
Note: I’ve seen some people place commas outside of the quotations if the dialogue ends with an exclamation point or question mark (ex. “Go away!”, she yelled). I’ve also seen commas placed right after the mark (ex. “Where are you going?,” he asked). Both of these situations are incorrect. You do not need the comma.
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4. If your dialogue is followed by a speaker tag, end it with a comma, question mark, or an exclamation point, and only capitalize the following word outside the speech if it’s a proper noun.
This is the rule that I see broken all the time. First of all, a ‘speaker tag,’ also known as a ‘dialogue tag,’ is the use of a subject and a verb to directly describe speech. (Examples: I said, he asked, she replied, you screamed, they yelled, we murmured, etc). It is part of the same sentence as the dialogue, which is why you do not capitalize the following word.
* Keep in mind that the order of the speech and the tag can be reversed, but the basic punctuation essentially remains the same.
Here are a few examples:
Incorrect: “Hi.” She said. Incorrect: She said. “Hi.”
Correct: “Hi,” she said Correct: She said, “Hi.”
Incorrect: “Where are you going?” He asked.
Correct: “Where are you going?” he asked.
Incorrect: “Go away!” She yelled.
Correct: “Go away!” she yelled.
Tip: A lot of professional editors and critics will encourage you to use more basic tags (such as ‘said’ and ‘asked’) as opposed to attacking the thesaurus every time someone speaks, because this will allow the tag to become invisible on the page and it will not distract the reader from the actual dialogue.
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5. If your dialogue is followed by an action/beat, end it with a period, question mark, or an exclamation point, and always capitalize the following word outside the speech.
This rule is also broken frequently, and it’s probably the one that I struggled with the most when I began writing dialogue. An ‘action tag,’ also sometimes referred to as a ‘beat,’ is simply an action that may describe what the character is doing before, while, or after they speak. If used properly, you can strengthen the conversations/scenes in your story tremendously.
Do not join the dialogue and action with a comma; it is not part of the same sentence, which is why you use a period and capitalize the following word.
Examples:
Incorrect: “Hi,” she smiled.
Correct: “Hi.” She smiled.
Incorrect: “Where are you going?” he arched his eyebrows.
Correct: “Where are you going?” He arched his eyebrows.
Incorrect: “Go away!” she slammed the door in his face.
Correct: “Go away!” She slammed the door in his face.
Tip: Know the difference between a speaker tag and an action tag (‘sneered,’ ‘laughed,’ ‘winked,’ and ‘smirked’ are actions, for example, but are commonly misused as speaker tags). Remember: you can say a word, but you cannot smile a word.
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Other Tips:
- Try to balance your speaker tags and action tags for variety.
- You do not have to end all dialogue with a tag. As long as your reader knows who is speaking, you can omit it and let the dialogue speak for itself.
- Avoid using ‘flowery’ tags—such as bellowed, implored, screeched—because they are distracting, unnecessary, and often ridiculous. The only tags you really need are ‘said,’ ‘asked,’ and sometimes ‘replied,’ but occasionally it’s okay to slip in a ‘whisper’ or ‘mumble’ if it supports the dialogue.
- Know the difference between a speaker tag and an action tag (‘sneered,’ ‘laughed,’ ‘winked,’ and ‘smirked’ are actions, for example, but are commonly misused as speaker tags). Remember: you can say a word, but you cannot smile a word.
Note: I’ve included a list of dialogue tags in the next page (Ch. 1.2), because after about ten minutes of trying to find a correct list online, I gave up and decided to create one myself.
- “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” – Stephen King.
If possible, avoid using adverbs with your tags—she said saucily, he screamed loudly—because they’re usually redundant and they do too much ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing.’ When it comes to adverbs, less is more. Seriously.
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I think that covers almost everything, but feel free to let me know if I’ve missed something, or if I should clarify anything a little better.
And don't forget to comment and vote if this chapter has been helpful. ^_^
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Writing & Editing: A Self-Editor's Handbook
Non-FictionThis is a collection of commonly misused grammar, punctuation, spelling and syntax rules with simple explanations, as well as various tips to help you improve the overall quality of your writing. ...
1.1 Dialogue Punctuation
Start from the beginning
