itsjustveryludicrous:

gohyunjungfun:

you: excessive and incorrect use of commas

me—an intellectual: excessive and incorrect use of m dashes

me, a pseudo-intellectual: both, if at all possible—and it’s always possible

linguisten:

“People often write online messages as if they’re speaking. [David] Crystal traces that to a period of linguistic ‘free love’ in the 1990s, when breaking the rules online was encouraged, and punctuation was one way to do it. John McWhorter, a linguistics professor at Columbia University, thinks that it’s part of a long-term cultural shift toward an increasingly oral society. If formal writing is language in its Sunday best, the linguistic fashion in digital communication is distressed jeans, frayed at the hem. As the linguist Ben Zimmer says, people often punctuate creatively to express their tone of voice and their mood. Even Lynne Truss, who insists on precision in punctuation in her Eats, Shoots & Leaves, says that she starts all of her emails with a yell. Instead of ‘Dear George,’ for instance, she writes ‘George!”

—The Quotable Guide to Punctuationby Stephen Spector

doks-aux:

Thank you for the responses to my last post! I’ll be responding to them individually soon. I now come seeking second opinions on bits from another work. This is a long one, so most of it will be under a cut.

–

First is this sentence:

This time, when Mac wakes in the middle of the night, the cold is so much harsher than before.

I’m trying to decide if that comma before “when” is needed. Theoretically, you could take that clause out and the sentence would make sense structurally, but it feels like important contextual information would be missing. My instinct is that the comma can and should go, but I’m not certain.

–

Then this one:

Mac drops into the other lounge chair, pulling his socks up with him.

For context, the author originally had written “socked feet,” but Google suggested changing it to “socks.” I think either one is fine depending on the exact imagery you’re going for. The first just brings to mind the character drawing his feet into the seat of the chair, while the second suggests he’s actually tugging his socks up as he also brings his legs into the chair.

The thing that’s actually tripping me up is one I’m not sure is an actual problem. For some reason, I can’t reconcile the use of “drops” in the first part of the sentence with “up with him” in the second. The first obviously and correctly describes that he is moving downward into the chair, but the second then suggests an upward motion. I think it’s just the “with him” part that’s doing this, as if it instead said something like “pulling his feet into the seat,” it wouldn’t sound off to me. Is this a personal hang-up (entirely possible) or something that actually needs clarity?

Keep reading

Thank you for the responses to my last post! I’ll be responding to them individually soon. I now come seeking second opinions on bits from another work. This is a long one, so most of it will be under a cut.

–

First is this sentence:

This time, when Mac wakes in the middle of the night, the cold is so much harsher than before.

I’m trying to decide if that comma before “when” is needed. Theoretically, you could take that clause out and the sentence would make sense structurally, but it feels like important contextual information would be missing. My instinct is that the comma can and should go, but I’m not certain.

–

Then this one:

Mac drops into the other lounge chair, pulling his socks up with him.

For context, the author originally had written “socked feet,” but Google suggested changing it to “socks.” I think either one is fine depending on the exact imagery you’re going for. The first just brings to mind the character drawing his feet into the seat of the chair, while the second suggests he’s actually tugging his socks up as he also brings his legs into the chair.

The thing that’s actually tripping me up is one I’m not sure is an actual problem. For some reason, I can’t reconcile the use of “drops” in the first part of the sentence with “up with him” in the second. The first obviously and correctly describes that he is moving downward into the chair, but the second then suggests an upward motion. I think it’s just the “with him” part that’s doing this, as if it instead said something like “pulling his feet into the seat,” it wouldn’t sound off to me. Is this a personal hang-up (entirely possible) or something that actually needs clarity?

–

The next is actually a few sentences all dealing with the same/similar issue, namely the use of “as if” in a sentence and how it should or should not be punctuated:

Swirls of green float among the stars, as if someone took a paintbrush and scribbled across the sky.

The other couple’s eyes flick between them as if to say: “He was yours?”

Murdoc parts and licks his lips, as if in reflex.

Maybe he just traded his rational fear of Murdoc for an irrational one, as if life surrounding Murdoc was never destined to be easy.

I’ve had difficulty finding information about this. As far as I know, “as if” is a subordinating conjunction and shouldn’t be preceded by a comma unless they’re being used to contrast, which none of these examples are. But the comma in the first and last examples… just feel right? The second example appears correct without one, and the third similarly looks like it would be better without one. But I cannot articulate why the other two seem like they need the commas. Do the commas need to be ditched in all of them? Please help, my crops are dying.

–

Here’s some fun with quotes:

“Sounds like I know your boss better than you do. Or should I say our boss?”

Should “our boss” in the second sentence take quotation marks on its own? Would it be “Or should I say ‘our boss?’”

–

This is some wording that’s tripping me up:

Murdoc weaves through the crowd like he belongs here, pink and blue lights reflecting off his big TV-screen eyes and the fangs of his smile.

Something about “big TV-screen eyes” bothers me, but it might just be that I’m more used to those words in a different word: “big-screen TV?” Is it actually fine as is?

–

Another comma-related issue:

His eyes, half-lidded, study Mac—like Mac is a textbook and Murdoc is still too drunk to read.

Should there be a comma after “textbook?” I’m unsure about situations like this because while “Mac is a textbook” and “Murdoc is still too drunk to read” are both complete sentences which would normally need a comma and conjunction to connect them, they’re both part of the comparison that follows that “like.”

–

Related to the above:

Maybe Bozer is right and the undercover work really is just messing with Mac’s head.

Should there be a comma after “right?” I’m once again doubting my knowledge of compound sentences here because of that “maybe.”

–

Another comma one:

It occurs to Mac that he hasn’t had a real conversation with Bozer, or any of his actual friends, in a while.

Am I correct in thinking that “or any of his actual friends” can take or leave those commas off-setting it depending on how the author would like to emphasize it?

–

Oh, goody. More commas:

Maybe Mac will step off the ship and back into his life and never look at a man the wrong way again—well, not wrong, but wrong for him.

“Not wrong, but wrong for him.” I think in most instances of a “not this but that” situation, you wouldn’t separate with a comma? It doesn’t look wrong there though.

–

Another comma, I’m so sorry:

He comes back out in sweatpants and a UCLA t-shirt, wet around the collar from his still-dripping hair.

At this point I have just completely forgotten how commas work. Does the comma after “t-shirt” indicate that “wet” is describing “he,” whereas removing the comma would have “wet” describing “t-shirt?”

This was a lot. I’m definitely rusty after not working for so long, and I’d appreciate any help making me word-smart again.

(All snippets shared with permission of the author.)

I’m getting back in the beta saddle, so that means it’s time for more pleas for assistance. This is actually a repost of my last that didn’t get any response. I’ll have another one tonight or tomorrow most likely. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

–

First, we have:

He had his Junior Woodchuck First Aid certification

(For reference, this is a DuckTales fic, and the Junior Woodchucks are equivalent to Boy Scouts and similar organizations.) My gut says that “First Aid certification” should either all be capitalized or none of it should. Either Junior Woodchucks First Aid Certification is a full proper name, or we’re merely talking about a first aid certification issued by the Junior Woodchucks.

–

And second:

using his eye-movement activated virtual interface

“Eye-movement activated” functions together as a single adjective, but what is the correct construction? Is it what’s written or:

eye movement activated

eye movement-activated

eye-movement-activated

I definitely feel like there needs to be a hyphen connecting “activated” at the very least.

Also, would “motion” be a better choice than “movement” here?

–

And next there’s:

“Where did you go to save the day, Timbawktu?”

(Please take a moment to appreciate this bird pun.) I’m uncertain about this construction. I think the comma might work? But I think it could also be written as:

“Where did you go to save the day? Timbawktu?”

“Where did you go to save the day: Timbawktu?”

“Where did you go to save the day–Timbawktu?”

Are they all equally correct or is one preferred over others? It was difficult to search for this particular circumstance.

–

And then:

“He told me not to follow him!” Fenton snapped back, surprising himself. “And considering that he just beat two heavily armed criminals to an unconscious pulp, I didn’t think antagonizing him was a good idea!

Am I correct in thinking that “he just beat” should be changed to “he’d just beaten” or “he beat?”

–

And then of course:

“Good! Great! That’s what I like to hear! Goodbye!” If Dr. Gearloose had an analog phone, Fenton was pretty sure he would have slammed it into the cradle.

Similarly, am I correct that “had” needs to be either “had had” or something like “had been using?” Verb tenses frequently befuddle me.

–

But don’t forget:

Dr. Gearloose had softened considerably ever since Boyd had moved in with him, but it felt like everything had fallen apart when the android left.

There’s nothing technically wrong with this sentence, but something about it feels overly formal and wordy to me. Am I overthinking it or could it be loosened up a bit?

–

And finally:

Fenton wanted Boyd to come back to Dr. Gearloose for mostly selfish reasons, both because Fenton enjoyed Boyd’s company and because Boyd made working for Dr. Gearloose infinitely more pleasant

I’m unsure about that comma. (Of course.) Is it correct there? Does it need to be or can it be removed or replaced with a colon or em dash? Is it fine as is? This is another specific situation that was difficult to find an answer for.

Any help is appreciated! This has been a fun, challenging chapter.

(All snippets shared with permission of the author.)

wanderingwriter87:

caffeinewitchcraft:

randomgooberness:

randomgooberness:

Whole-heartedly BEGGING writers to unlearn everything schools taught you about how long a paragraph is. If theres a new subject, INCLUDING ACTIONS, theres a new paragraph. A paragraph can be a single word too btw stop making things unreadable

Ok So I’m getting more notes than I thought quicker than I expected! So I’m gonna elaborate bc I want to. 

I get it, when you’re someone who writes a lot and talks a lot, it’s hard to keep things readable, but it’s not as much about cutting out the fat(that can be a problem) so much as a formatting issue. 

You are also actively NERFING yourself by not formatting it correctly, it can make impactful scenes feel so, so much better. Compare this, 

To THIS. 

Easier to read, and hits harder. 

No more over-saturated paragraphs. Space things out.

Just adding my two cents in here! I totally agree with spacing things out more. Especiallyin the sort of example like above. Dialogue is always better as its own line and clusters of actions deserve their own paragraph.

Here are three reasons why I like the extra paragraphs in the example made by OP.

1) Following a character’s internal dialogue. If you’re having a character move from one thought to another, or one emotion to another, new paragraph! It shows the reader that there’s a shift happening and can really add power to the scene.

“He vaguely remembers what his friend told him about letting go. It…was so horrifying to him- he melted the freezer aisle in fear.

But…he’s tired. He needs to let go.”

The paragraph break between the first thought (it used to scared him) to the second (he needs to let go regardless) has super great flow. It lets me, as a reader, feel the significance of this change through the structure alone.

2) Connecting internal world to external. this one’s a little harder to explain, but bear with me!

“…Yeah.”

He looks in the mirror.

…He’s tired of carrying…

In this scene we have Dialogue to Action to Internal Thought. The sequencing is super clear because of the paragraphs and we get a lot more information from these three lines than we would have otherwise. He verbally comes to a decision. What is that decision? It seems like he hasn’t even fully come to terms with what it is. So he looks in the mirror. Only when he sees himself there does he finally allow his internal monologue to surface. 

The writer uses the space in the scene - the mirror - to anchor the narrative. It’s really well done and only succeeds because the new paragraph allows the story to shift from external to internal and then back again.

3) Carrying the journey. In the first example, where there are no paragraphs, the scene is not a journey. It’s a single moment in time where the MC sees himself in the mirror and cuts his hair.

By adding paragraphs, we get a journey. Linearly, the scene only lasts a few moments. But by shifting between internal and external, by showing the MC’s thoughts, etc, these moments take up a lot more narrative space. They become a story on their own and, because of it, there’s so much more tension in the scene.

-

There are a lot of reasons why the above scene is so successful. I could go on and on about them! But I particularly liked the point OP made about how much of a difference paragraphs make.

this has only gotten more important as more ppl are reading on mobile. paragraphs babeeeeyy

The English language needs a punctuation mark to indicate sarcasm.

writing-is-a-martial-art:

thewritinggrindstone:

whatagrump:

Apparently a lot of people get dialogue punctuation wrong despite having an otherwise solid grasp of grammar, possibly because they’re used to writing essays rather than prose. I don’t wanna be the asshole who complains about writing errors and then doesn’t offer to help, so here are the basics summarized as simply as I could manage on my phone (“dialogue tag” just refers to phrases like “he said,” “she whispered,” “they asked”):

• “For most dialogue, use a comma after the sentence and don’t capitalize the next word after the quotation mark,” she said.
• “But what if you’re using a question mark rather than a period?” they asked.
• “When using a dialogue tag, you never capitalize the word after the quotation mark unless it’s a proper noun!” she snapped.
• “When breaking up a single sentence with a dialogue tag,” she said, “use commas.”
• “This is a single sentence,” she said. “Now, this is a second stand-alone sentence, so there’s no comma after ‘she said.’”
• “There’s no dialogue tag after this sentence, so end it with a period rather than a comma.” She frowned, suddenly concerned that the entire post was as unasked for as it was sanctimonious.

And!

• “If you’re breaking dialogue up with an action tag”—she waves her hands back and forth—”the dashes go outside the quotation marks.”

Reblog to save a writer’s life.

magpiefngrl:

eddiestarchild:

jaskierist:

flootzavut:

notesoftruth:

jawnwats:

prismatic-bell:

cj-amused:

tenoko1:

evildorito:

onewordtest:

trikruwriter:

“This is your daily, friendly reminder to use commas instead of periods during the dialogue of your story,” she said with a smile.

“Unless you are following the dialogue with an action and not a dialogue tag.” He took a deep breath and sat back down after making the clarifying statement. 

“However,” she added, shifting in her seat, “it’s appropriate to use a comma if there’s action in the middle of a sentence.”

“True.” She glanced at the others. “You can also end with a period if you include an action between two separate statements.”

Things I didn’t know

“And–” she waved a pen as though to underline her statement–“if you’re interrupting a sentence with an action, you need to type two hyphens to make an en-dash.”

You guys have no idea how many students in my advanced fiction workshop didn’t know any of this when writing their stories.

Okay, but someone please explain question marks when followed by a dialogue tag. How do?

“The speech tag is still part of the previous sentence,” she explained, ‘so it isn’t capitalised.“

“What do you mean?” he asked. “But there’s a full stop as part of the question mark!”

She nodded gravely. “I know!” she said. “A lot of people find this confusing. But the speech tag belongs to the line of dialogue, it’s still part of the sentence, so it’s wrong to capitalise it.”

She reblogged the post again, because she had recently read far too many potentially enjoyable stories marred by poor dialogue punctuation.

I’ve only seen this post in screenshots till now..

NOICE. Can’t wait to use this

“There are two more ways"—she pointed to the blackboard—“to punctuate interruptions. One is with the em dashes outside the quotations marks to indicate continuous speech. The action occurs at the same time as speech. The other—” she sipped from a glass of water “—is em dashes within the quotation marks to indicate interrupted speech.”

handpickedhappiness:

thevoxbox:

charlesoberonn:

giftvvrap:

will you marry me = a marriage proposal
will, you, Mary, me = a foursome proposal

Will you, Mary me = Cavewoman Mary helps Will recover from his Amnesia

Will, you marry me. = Will’s time-traveling partner

And people keep trying to tell me that punctuation isn’t important

A lot of people have trouble when it comes to punctuating dialogue, and that’s okay. It’s not an uncommon problem, and it is something that can be corrected.

There are three types of dialogue: direct dialogue, indirect dialogue, and internal dialogue.

Direct dialogue is a person or character’s speech and is written between quotation marks. For instance, “You can have one cookie,” his mother said.

Indirect dialogue is a report or recount of someone speaking and is written into the description or blocking of a scene. For instance: His mother said he could have one cookie.

Internal dialogue is the equivalent of thought. It doesn’t need to be enclosed in quotation marks, but it can be written in different ways—some authors write thoughts in normal text font, others italicise it to set it apart from the narration.

Direct dialogue is usually written with a dialogue tag, such as ‘said’, ‘whispered’, ‘muttered’, ‘shouted’, ‘stammered’, and all the other words that are synonymous.

The first thing about punctuating dialogue is that dialogue always begins with a capitalised word, no matter whether the dialogue is before the dialogue tag or after it. The only exception to this is when interrupted dialogue resumes. (There are examples of all of these below.)

It’s best to write dialogue in a paragraph of its own—you should start a new paragraph every time you change subject/focus (whether it’s a description of a character or setting, a new action, thought, or shifting focus from one character to another), place/setting, time, or a person’s dialogue. This helps distinguish shifts between characters, topics, and settings.

When writing an uninterrupted single line of dialogue without a dialogue tag, the entire sentence including the punctuation (full stop, question mark, or exclamation point) at the end fit between the quotation marks. For example,

“Please don’t go.”

“What were you thinking?”

“No!”

If the dialogue is a single line of interrupted dialogue, the punctuation at the end of the sentence is replaced with an em dash (which is written by typing two hyphens/dashes without a space between the last word and the quotation marks—most writing programs will automatically correct it to a longer dash, however not all do). For example,

“Please don’t—"

When writing a single line of dialogue with a dialogue tag following, you finish the dialogue with a comma inside the quotation mark and a full stop after the dialogue tag. The dialogue tag should be lower case unless it’s the person’s name (keep an eye out for this because if you’re writing on an iPad, iPhone or something else, it sometimes corrects it to a capital letter when it shouldn’t be).

“Please don’t go,” he begged.

“No,” Ryan replied.

If the dialogue is a question or a line that is amplified by an exclamation mark, they replace the comma with the question mark or exclamation mark, but make sure to keep the dialogue tag in lower case unless it’s a name.

“Do you have to go?” he asked.

“Shut up!” Alex bellowed.

When writing the dialogue tag first, the comma goes at the end of the dialogue tag, the dialogue is capitalised (because it’s a sentence in and of itself), and a full stop (or question mark or exclamation mark) at the end of the dialogue, but inside the quotation mark. For example,

He said, “I love you.”

These rules not only apply to dialogue in fiction, but also to quotes in essays. The only difference being, if you’re putting in a reference, you introduce the quote, insert the quote but leave out the punctuation at the end of the sentence (unless it’s a question mark), close the quotation marks and enter the reference and then put the period or punctuation mark on the outside of the reference. This clarifies that the reference belongs to that quote.

When writing a single line of dialogue with a dialogue tag and action, the rules are similar to those above. The only difference is the dialogue tag is followed by a comma and an action if the tense shifts (if this is a bit confusing, I did write another post on shifting tenses here - that hopefully helps), or the action and tag are combined in one sentence.

“Are you coming or not?” he asked, pulling on his jacket.

“I’ll be right back,” he called over his shoulder as he ran towards the door.

If the dialogue tag goes before the dialogue, the action goes before the dialogue tag.

He reached out and gently brushed a stand of hair back behind her ear, whispering, “You’re safe now. I promise.”

She turned and screamed, “Run!”

When the dialogue is split into two sentences, things get a little more complicated. If a line of dialogue is interrupted by a dialogue tag and then resumes the same sentence, you put a comma at the end of the first line (inside the quotation mark) and after the dialogue tag (and action if included) before resuming the dialogue in lower case. For example,

“We went to the carnival,” Mike said, “and I got to ride the Ferris wheel.”

“I wanted so badly to make you proud,” he said, fighting back tears, “but you never cared.”

When separating the line of dialogue into two sentences, you do the same as above, but replace the comma that comes after the dialogue tag (or action) with a full stop and capitalise the start of the dialogue that follows.

“He needed you,” she said. “But you were never there.”

“We’re too late,” she said, sitting back from his still body. “He’s gone.”

This, however, changes if the action comes first. In this case, the first part of the dialogue ends in a full stop, the sentence including the action is capitalised and ends in a comma after the dialogue tag.

“That could actually work.” He stood up and turned to face Noah, adding, “But I’m still mad at you.”

“Shut up!” He waited for the room to fall silent before continuing, “If we’re going to do this, then we have to do it right.”

If dialogue is interrupted by an action or a thought with no dialogue tag, there are two ways of writing it.

If the action or thought interrupts the single line of dialogue, you end the first part of the sentence without punctuation and then put the action or thought between two em dashes. For example,

“We were meant to be a team”—at least she thought they were—“but you were only in this for yourself.”

If the dialogue can be split into two sentences, then the punctuation is similar to the earlier examples, except the commas are replaced with full stops. For example,

“I love you.” He paused, letting out a deep sigh. “I’ve always loved you.”

“Jack?” He sounded surprised. “What are you doing here?”

If you write a line of dialogue that trails off, the rules are the same as your usual line of dialogue except you use and ellipsis (…) instead of a comma at the end of the dialogue. For example,

“I don’t remember…”

“If only…” he whispered.

“Maybe if I…” His voice trailed off as he began to tinker with the machine.

If you write a line of dialogue that follows an action but has no dialogue tag, then you use regular sentence structures (with full stops). For example,

He patted her head. “Don’t ever change, kid.”

The final rule is don’t overload your paragraphs. Try and stick to one or two segments of dialogue per paragraph—whether it’s a line of dialogue with an action or dialogue tag, or two parts of dialogue split by a dialogue tag, thought, action or description.

An example of what not to do—

“Alright.” His father rose from his chair, shoving the last bite of his toast into his mouth as he dumped the plate in the sink and grabbed his jacket and a traveller mug of coffee. “I need to head off to work. If you’re looking for Alex, he’s working an extra shift at the gas station,” he called over his shoulder as he headed towards the door. “I’ll see you when I get back tonight.”

If you were to fix this, you’d just need to break it up more.

“Alright.”

His father rose from his chair, shoving the last bite of his toast into his mouth as he dumped the plate in the sink and grabbed his jacket and a traveller mug of coffee.

“I need to head off to work. If you’re looking for Alex, he’s working an extra shift at the gas station,” he called over his shoulder as he headed towards the door. “I’ll see you when I get back tonight.”

Hopefully this helps.

“lol” is not a punctuation mark.  If I say “Hello” in response to your “Hi,” responding “Sup? lol” DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE.  
Why are you laughing?  Was my “Hello” response amusing to you?  Did you really laugh out loud?  Did you actually find something in my response that would ever make anyone laugh ever? No.  You didn’t.  So now you'e begun our exchange by lying to meeeeee.  Don’t do that.

That is all.

writing-is-a-martial-art:

thewritinggrindstone:

whatagrump:

Apparently a lot of people get dialogue punctuation wrong despite having an otherwise solid grasp of grammar, possibly because they’re used to writing essays rather than prose. I don’t wanna be the asshole who complains about writing errors and then doesn’t offer to help, so here are the basics summarized as simply as I could manage on my phone (“dialogue tag” just refers to phrases like “he said,” “she whispered,” “they asked”):

• “For most dialogue, use a comma after the sentence and don’t capitalize the next word after the quotation mark,” she said.
• “But what if you’re using a question mark rather than a period?” they asked.
• “When using a dialogue tag, you never capitalize the word after the quotation mark unless it’s a proper noun!” she snapped.
• “When breaking up a single sentence with a dialogue tag,” she said, “use commas.”
• “This is a single sentence,” she said. “Now, this is a second stand-alone sentence, so there’s no comma after ‘she said.’”
• “There’s no dialogue tag after this sentence, so end it with a period rather than a comma.” She frowned, suddenly concerned that the entire post was as unasked for as it was sanctimonious.

And!

• “If you’re breaking dialogue up with an action tag”—she waves her hands back and forth—”the dashes go outside the quotation marks.”

Reblog to save a writer’s life.

Fuck i may have committed several oopsies in my works.

Guess at least now i know how it actually goes…

writingadvice-reblogs:

elumish:

Dialogue Basics

The dialogue tag can go before, after, or inside the dialogue:

Before:
Jane said, “I’m saying words.”
(Note the comma after said and the period at the end of the statement, inside the quotation marks.)

After:
“I’m saying words,” Jane said.
“I’m saying words,” said Jane.
(Note the comma at the end of the statement, inside the quotation marks, and the uncapitalized said.)

“Am I saying words?” asked Jane.
(Note the question mark at the end of the question, inside the quotation marks, and the uncapitalized asked.)

“I’m saying words.” The woman spoke authoritatively.
(Note the period at the end of the statement, inside the quotation marks. That’s because after the quotation marks is a new sentence. The word after the quotation marks is capitalized.)

Inside:
“I’m saying words,” Jane said, “and you are reading them.” (Common)
“I’m saying words,” said Jane, “and you are reading them.” (Uncommon)
(Note the comma at the end of the first part of the statement, inside the quotation marks, and after the end of the dialogue tags. Note also that both “said” and “and” are uncapitalized. That’s because this is all one big sentence, which ends with the period.)

“I’m saying words,” Jane said. “You are reading them.”
“I’m saying words,” said Jane. “You are reading them.”
(Note the comma at the end of the first part of the statement, inside the quotation marks, but the period after the dialogue tags. That’s because this is one sentence. The next line of dialogue is a new complete sentence, so the first word is capitalized.)

Enclose all* dialogue inside quotation marks.

Correct:
“I’m saying words,” Jane said.

Incorrect:
I’m saying words, Jane said.

*There are some stylistic reasons for not using quotation marks, including if you want to distinguish speach from other forms of communication like telepathy, but it should be intentional, and unless it’s done well it can be super hard to read.

Only have one person speak per paragraph.

Correct:
“I’m saying words,” Jane said.

“And I’m reading them,” Tom said.

Incorrect:
“I’m saying words,” Jane said. “And I’m reading them,” Tom said.

Keep a person’s name with the line they’re speaking.*

Correct:
“I’m saying words,” Jane said.

Tom smiled. “And I’m reading them.”

Incorrect:
“I’m saying words.” Tom smiled.

“And I’m reading them.”

*This is another one of those ones where there can be stylistic reasons to break from it, but you need to be careful, because it can become very confusing.

Would that be

Jane said, “hi there!”

or

Jane said, “Hi there!”

when you put your dialogue tags before the dialogue?

Correct: 
Jane said, “Hi there!”

Incorrect:
Jane said, “hi there!”

You should basically always capitalize the start of the dialogue.

But, there is an exception: don’t capitalize if the dialogue tag is in the middle and the character continues their sentence (see above) or if the dialogue is interrupted by a thought or action.

“I’ve said so many words”–she smiles–“and you have all been so good at reading them.”

You can see a full detailing of how write interrupted dialogue here, but it’s important to note that you 1) don’t capitalize the second part of the dialogue, and 2) don’t use a comma before the first end quotation mark.

Dialogue Basics

The dialogue tag can go before, after, or inside the dialogue:

Before:
Jane said, “I’m saying words.”
(Note the comma after said and the period at the end of the statement, inside the quotation marks.)

After:
“I’m saying words,” Jane said.
“I’m saying words,” said Jane.
(Note the comma at the end of the statement, inside the quotation marks, and the uncapitalized said.)

“Am I saying words?” asked Jane.
(Note the question mark at the end of the question, inside the quotation marks, and the uncapitalized asked.)

“I’m saying words.” The woman spoke authoritatively.
(Note the period at the end of the statement, inside the quotation marks. That’s because after the quotation marks is a new sentence. The word after the quotation marks is capitalized.)

Inside:
“I’m saying words,” Jane said, “and you are reading them.” (Common)
“I’m saying words,” said Jane, “and you are reading them.” (Uncommon)
(Note the comma at the end of the first part of the statement, inside the quotation marks, and after the end of the dialogue tags. Note also that both “said” and “and” are uncapitalized. That’s because this is all one big sentence, which ends with the period.)

“I’m saying words,” Jane said. “You are reading them.”
“I’m saying words,” said Jane. “You are reading them.”
(Note the comma at the end of the first part of the statement, inside the quotation marks, but the period after the dialogue tags. That’s because this is one sentence. The next line of dialogue is a new complete sentence, so the first word is capitalized.)

Enclose all* dialogue inside quotation marks.

Correct:
“I’m saying words,” Jane said.

Incorrect:
I’m saying words, Jane said.

*There are some stylistic reasons for not using quotation marks, including if you want to distinguish speach from other forms of communication like telepathy, but it should be intentional, and unless it’s done well it can be super hard to read.

Only have one person speak per paragraph.

Correct:
“I’m saying words,” Jane said.

“And I’m reading them,” Tom said.

Incorrect:
“I’m saying words,” Jane said. “And I’m reading them,” Tom said.

Keep a person’s name with the line they’re speaking.*

Correct:
“I’m saying words,” Jane said.

Tom smiled. “And I’m reading them.”

Incorrect:
“I’m saying words.” Tom smiled.

“And I’m reading them.”

*This is another one of those ones where there can be stylistic reasons to break from it, but you need to be careful, because it can become very confusing.

Photo credit:  Samantha Hurley for Burst

I’d like to pass on some cool information about proofreading. Credit to author and screenwriter, Martin Johnson and the site Almost an Author.

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Truamatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has…

View On WordPress