Using Dialogue Correctly

⁺₋₰⇲⌧ ʙʀɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ ᴍʏ sᴛᴀʀʙᴜᴄᴋs ⌑꒱

                                               ❝ :coffee: ❞

『••✎••』

I’m gonna try and keep this easy to understand and shirt but no promises :sob: .

table of contents ༉‧₊˚✧ ཻུ۪۪ ᵕ̈

                        ╭      ⁞ ❏. Punctuation in dialogue;

                         ┊      ⁞ ❏. direct and indirect dialogue ;  

                         ┊      ⁞ ❏. Single lines of dialogue;

                        ┊      ⁞ ❏. Interrupted Dialogue;

                        ┊      ⁞ ❏. Multiple lines of Dialogue;

                        ┊      ⁞ ❏. Other Quote info + !;

                        ┊      ⁞ ❏. outro;

ೃ⁀➷ ₍ 🗒 ₎┊..⃗. 𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖙 ༘⌇ 𓅸

⨾ Nana’s 🧃. ❞   ︶ ︶ ︶ ⨾ 𝖇𝖑𝖔𝖌

Punctuation in Dialogue

・゜+.             

Punctuation Marks in Dialogue

When adding a tag line to your dialogue always put a comma before a quotation mark.

correct

・゜+. “I already told you this,” I exclaimed.

incorrect

・゜+.   “I already told you this” I exclaimed.

                    “I already told you this.” I exclaimed

Question marks and an exclamation points always go inside the quotation marks.

・゜+. “How could you?” she asked.

                   “How could you!” she asked.                     

『••✎••』

   → ⨟ direct and indirect dialogue °. :pushpin: ❜

『 ┄,, * ↚∘꒱꒱ ↬ ⌗ 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙𝖘 𝖒𝖞 𝖘𝖍𝖎𝖙, 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙𝖘 𝖒𝖞 𝖜𝖆𝖛𝖊 ❞

           ╭┈˖⋆ ❁────

                ·˚ ༘ 🖇 ˊˎ-

Only direct dialogue requires quotation marks. Direct dialogue is someone speaking. Indirect dialogue is a report that someone spoke. The word that is implied in the example of indirect dialogue.

↚∘꒱꒱ direct :: “She was annoying,” he said.

↚∘꒱꒱ indirect :: He said that she was annoying

Direct and indirect dialogue emphasize different elements of the sentence, so choose the one that works best for what you want to convey.

『••✎••』

✩‧₊⚘๑

❁ཻུ۪۪. ❱ http:˚꒰ Single line dialogue ! °. :cherries: ❜

『┄,,*↚∘꒱꒱↬ ⌗ 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙𝖘 𝖒𝖞 𝖘𝖍𝖎𝖙, 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙𝖘 𝖒𝖞 𝖜𝖆𝖛𝖊 ❞

           ╭┈˖⋆ ❁────

           ┊ ·˚ ༘ :peach: ˊˎ-

What is a tag line/ dialogue tag ?

a talking is the part after dialogue that states who said what

ex: he said, she said, they said, we said

Single line of dialogue, with no dialogue tag

The entire sentence, including the punctuation mark is within the quotation marks.

correct

“I just want to go home.”

incorrect

“I just want to go home”.

Single line with dialogue tag

Punctuation serves to separate the spoken words from other parts of the sentence. Use the comma like given in the punctuation section

Because the dialogue tag —she said— is part of the same sentence as the words, it is not capitalized .

correct

“I just want to go home,” she said.

Incorrect

“I just want to go home” She said.

Single line with dialogue tag first

The comma still separates the dialogue tag from the spoken words, but it is outside the quotation marks, and the period is inside the quotation marks.

Correct

She said, “I just want to go home.”

Incorrect

She said “I just want to go home,”

Single line of dialogue with dialogue tag and action

The dialogue is enclosed in quotation marks. A comma follows the dialogue and comes before the closing quotation mark. The dialogue tag is next and the action follows the tag—no capital letter because this is part of the same sentence—with a period to end the sentence.

correct

“I just want to go home,” she said, hoping Sue didn’t hear her.

incorrect

“I just want to go home,” she said hoping sue didn’t hear her.

The action and dialogue tag can also come first. Use the comma to separate the action and dialogue tag.

Leaning away, she said, “I just want to go home.”

『••✎••』

✩‧₊⚘๑

❁ཻུ۪۪. ❱ http:˚꒰ interrupted dialogue ! °. :iphone: ❜

『┄,,*↚∘꒱꒱↬ ⌗ 𝕯𝖔 𝖎𝖙 𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝕴’𝖑𝖑 𝖗𝖊𝖕𝖆𝖞 𝖞𝖆❞

           ╭┈˖⋆ ❁────

           ┊ ·˚ ༘ 📸 ˊˎ-

Dialogue interrupted by dialogue tag

Dialogue can be interrupted by a tag and then resume in the same sentence. Commas go inside the first set of quotation marks and after the dialogue tag (or action).

“Just leave me alone,” she said, “It’s over.”

“Just leave me alone,” she said, hoping to provoke a reaction, “it’s over.”

Separating this into two sentences also works. The first sentence will end with a period and the second will begin with a capital letter.

“Just leave me alone,” she said, hoping to provoke a reaction. “It’s over .”

Dialogue interrupted by action or thought but no dialogue tag

Characters can pause in their words to do something and then resume the dialogue. If there is no dialogue tag, special punctuation is required to set off the action or thought.

Thus the spoken words are within quotation marks and the action or thought is set off by the dashes.

Correct

“Just go”—she pounded the wall with a heavy fist—“we’re over.”

“You loved me”—at least she thought he had—“but you hurt me anyway.”

Dialogue that trails off

When dialogue trails off—the character has lost his train of thought or doesn’t know what to say—use the ellipsis.

“He loved you . . .” A long, long time ago, she thought.

Dialogue abruptly cut off

When dialogue is cut off—the character is being choked or something suddenly diverts his attention or another character interrupts him—use an em dash before the closing quotation mark. Dialogue can be interrupted mid-word or at the end of a word. Consider the sounds of words and syllables before deciding where to break the interrupted word: you wouldn’t break the word there after the T (t—), because the first sound comes from the combined th (th—).

“He loved y—“

Dialogue abruptly cut off by another speaker

When a second speaker interrupts the first, use the em dash where the first speaker’s words are interrupted and again where they resume.

“He loved you—”

“As if I could believe that.”

“—for such a long, long time.”

『••✎••』

✩‧₊⚘๑

❁ཻུ۪۪. ❱ http:˚꒰ Multiple lines of Dialogue! °. :dizzy: ❜

『┄,,*↚ ∘ ꒱꒱ ↬ ⌗ 𝕯𝖔𝖓’𝖙 𝖇𝖊 𝖘𝖈𝖆𝖗𝖊𝖉 𝖎 𝖆𝖎𝖓’𝖙 𝖆𝖋𝖗𝖆𝖎𝖉 ❞

           ╭┈˖⋆ ❁────

           ┊ ·˚ ༘ 🦋 ˊˎ-         

Multiple lines of dialogue

For a paragraph with several sentences of dialogue, put the dialogue tag, if you use one, at the end of the first sentence. The tags are for readers, to keep track of the speaker. A tag lost in the middle or hiding at the end of the paragraph doesn’t help the reader at the top of the paragraph.

This is not an absolute rule, of course. Sometimes the feel or rhythm requires a different construction. But you can use this rule to keep your readers on track. If a group of guys is talking, the reader might guess who is speaking, but there’s nothing wrong with helping out the reader.

“i heard Jason cheated on Melanie, thank god I’m not looking stupid like her. I would never get in a relationship with someone I know is a player it’s such a stupid thing to do,” Jenna said. “Nothing beats freedom.”

“i heard Jason cheated on Melanie, thank god I’m not looking stupid like her. I would never get in a relationship with someone I know is a player it’s such a stupid thing to do. Nothing beats freedom.”

Multiple paragraphs of dialogue

Dialogue may stretch across paragraphs without pause. To punctuate, put a terminal punctuation—period, question mark, or exclamation point— at the end of the first paragraph. There is no closing quotation mark at the end of this paragraph.

Begin the next paragraph with an opening quotation mark.

Follow this pattern for as long as the dialogue and paragraphs continue. At the last paragraph, use a closing quotation mark at the end of the dialogue.

“He was my best friend. I told you that, didn’t I? And then he stabbed me in the back. Stole my wife and my future. I hated him for that. Still do. Hate him bad.

“But he’s been punished, yes he has. He went to jail for embezzling thousands. Not even millions. Just thousands. Serves him right, the petty crook. He’s just a petty man.”

『••✎••』

✩‧₊⚘๑

❁ཻུ۪۪. ❱ http:˚꒰ Other Dialogue info ! °. :baby_bottle: ❜

『┄,,*↚ ∘ ꒱꒱ ↬ ⌗ 𝖏𝖚𝖘𝖙 𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖒𝖞 𝖜𝖆𝖞 ❞

           ╭┈˖⋆ ❁────

           ┊ ·˚ ༘ :lollipop: ˊˎ-

Names in dialogue

Always use a comma before and/or after the name when addressing someone directly in dialogue (even if the name isn’t a proper name).

“You don’t love me , Joel.”

“Joel, you don’t love me.”

“He never loved you, honey.”

“He never loved you , Emma, not more than he loved Sally.”

Quote within dialogue

A character may be speaking and also quoting what someone else has said. Punctuation is necessary to indicate the difference between what the character is quoting and what are his own words.

The entirety of what a character says is enclosed by double quotation marks. The part the character is quoting from another person is enclosed by single quotation marks.

When single and double quotation marks are side by side, put a space between them.

“He said, and I quote, ‘The mailman loves you.’ ”

“He said, ‘The mailman loves you.’ I heard it with my own ears.”

Indirect dialogue for the inner quote would also work.

“He said the mailman loves you. I heard it with my own ears.”

Changing Speakers

Begin a new paragraph each time the speaker changes.

She looked up at the man hovering over her. “I’d wanted to tell you for years. I just didn’t know what to say.”

“We’ve been married for thirty-four years, Alice. You couldn’t find a way, in thirty-four years of living together and seeing each other sixteen hours a day, to tell me you were already married?”

“I’m sorry.”

Mixing dialogue with narration in the same paragraph

Dialogue and narration can be placed into the same paragraph. If the narration refers to a single character or is in the point of view of only one character, simply add the dialogue. Dialogue can go at the beginning, the middle, or the end of the paragraph and the narration.

If the narration refers to several characters or you can’t tell which character is the focus of the paragraph, begin the dialogue with a new paragraph and a dialogue tag. That is, don’t make the reader guess who is speaking.

If the paragraph opens with a wide view of a group of people but then the focus narrows to a single character, you could introduce that character’s dialogue into the end of that same paragraph. Or, you could begin a new paragraph with the dialogue. The key is to keep the reader in the flow of the story. Confusion over dialogue will pull the reader out of the fictional world.

Rachael was a beautiful woman; she’d been told so since the day she turned sixteen. And at forty-two, she decided she was just entering her prime. She stared at herself in the mirror, patted her hair, and grinned at the man watching her reflection with her. “I still got it, don’t I, baby?”

He reached for her bare shoulders. “And I love every inch of the it you’ve got.”

—

Rachael was a beautiful woman; she’d been told so since the day she turned sixteen. At forty-two, she was determined to see herself as the ingenue. Carl wanted to tell her she was now more femme fatale than ingenue. And that was all right by him.

“I still got it, don’t I, baby?” she asked his reflection.

“More than ever, honey.”

—

Rachael was a beautiful woman; she’d been told so since the day she turned sixteen. At forty-two, she was determined to see herself as the ingenue. “You’re stunning, sweetheart,” Carl said, pausing by the dressing table. He wanted to tell her she was now more femme fatale than ingenue, that she turned him on more than she had as a younger version of herself. But Rachael was not only beautiful. She was touchy. And being reminded of her age wouldn’t keep her happy.

Carl was all about keeping Rachael happy.

“Simply stunning,” he said again

︶︶─あなたは完璧です :❍        [ :cookie: ]

˚ ༘::☒ you are perfection. ♯ 𝖎𝖒 𝖇𝖆𝖇𝖞 ︶

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                       ⎙ posted   ::

                                     ⇨ ＯＵＴＲＯ!      

                            Thank you for reading

                           My blog. Just 2 hours

                            ago I was struggling w-

                          -ith dialogue! All info is

                           From Sources. Thank you again for reading.

                          I hope this helped you !

                          I might also make a pt.2 !

⌦˘͈ᵕ˘͈ ⌗bye