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Punctuating dialogue correctly is tricky for a lot of writers.
I know this because as a freelance book editor, I edit a book every week! I would say that only about half the manuscripts I edit have correct punctuation for dialogue…and this includes manuscripts by very talented writers. So if you don’t feel confident about dialogue punctuation, you’re not alone. I hope this post helps!
Here’s one of the biggest things you need to know about punctuating dialogue.
If your line of dialogue is followed by a dialogue tag—such as “he said,” “she asked,” and so on—the period at the end of the line of dialogue should become a comma, and the dialogue tag is lowercase. Let me show you examples of that!
This is incorrect:
“I’m going to buy a new dress for the party.” She said.
This is correct!
“I’m going to buy a new dress for the party,” she said.
This is incorrect:
“I often work at the library.” He said.
This is correct!
“I often work at the library,” he said.
If you are using a character’s name instead of a pronoun such as he, she, or they, the period still becomes a comma, but the character’s name remains uppercase.
This is correct!
“I often work at the library,” Oliver said.
Okay, so what about after a question mark or an exclamation point?
A question mark or an exclamation point does not change to a comma. However, the pronoun in the dialogue tag is still lowercase.
This is incorrect:
“How far is the library from your house,” she asked.
(It’s incorrect because, with rare exceptions, a question should end with a question mark.)
This is correct!
“How far is the library from your house?” she asked.
This is incorrect:
“I can’t believe you didn’t ask me first!” She shouted.
This is correct!
“I can’t believe you didn’t ask me first!” she shouted.
Now, here’s the thing about punctuating dialogue that a lot of people get wrong.
If you have a complete sentence—that is, a subject and a verb that is not a synonym for “said” or “asked”—before or after a line of dialogue, that is not a dialogue tag. It’s separated from the line of dialogue with a period, not a comma. Let’s look at some examples!
This is incorrect:
“Good morning,” he nodded.
(Do you see why this isn’t a dialogue tag? “Nodded” is not a synonym for “said.” You can’t nod a line of dialogue. Well, maybe if you were using Morse code or something, but otherwise, no. By the way, you also can’t smile a line of dialogue.)
This is correct!
“Good morning.” He nodded.
This is also correct!
He nodded. “Good morning.”
This is incorrect:
She handed him a cup of coffee, “Nice to see you.”
This is correct!
She handed him a cup of coffee. “Nice to see you.”
Let’s talk about where the paragraph breaks go when you’re punctuating dialogue.
When a new person starts talking, you want a new paragraph. (Please note that in a manuscript with standard formatting, every new paragraph should be indented.)
This is incorrect:
“When will you be done with your work?” he asked. “Right now,” she said with a smile.
This is correct!
“When will you be done with your work?” he asked.
“Right now,” she said with a smile.
If there’s a sentence or two before a line of dialogue, that’s okay! You still don’t put lines of dialogue from two different people in the same paragraph.
This is also correct!
“When will you be done with your work?” he asked.
She looked up from the computer screen. Then she snapped the laptop shut and stood up. “Right now,” she said with a smile.
When there’s a sentence or two between two lines of dialogue, but the same person is still talking, most of the time, you don’t want to put a paragraph break in there. A paragraph break usually signals a new speaker, and you don’t want to confuse the reader.
This is correct!
“I’ve done enough work for today,” Michelle said. She snapped the laptop shut and stood up. “Let’s take the dogs to the lake!”
But if the second thing the person says is really dramatic, you might want to throw a paragraph break in there.
Like this!
“I’ve done enough work,” Michelle said. She snapped the laptop shut, stood up, and looked around the office.
“In fact, I quit.”
If the character says something and then you have several sentences before they say the next thing, that doesn’t all have to go in one paragraph. Just make sure you use a dialogue tag when the character speaks again, so we know they’re still the one talking.
What about when an action is simultaneous with a line of dialogue…or an action interrupts a line of dialogue?
I’m adding this one and the next one per request! This is fun to know. You set off the action with em dashes (long dashes), with no spaces in between the dashes and the quotation marks. It may look strange here, but I guarantee you that you’ve seen it in books hundreds of times.
This is the correct way to do it!
“If he comes around again”—she stabbed the pumpkin with the carving knife—“he’s going to regret it.”
Of course, if a character trails off and there’s a long pause, it’s going to be handled differently.
Like this!
“If he comes around again…” She sighed and rested her chin on her hand. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
What if a character speaks for more than one paragraph?
In all honesty, if this is coming up a lot in a story, your characters are probably too long-winded. It’s very rare in real life for people to talk for a few paragraphs at a time. When I’m editing, I often recommend trimming big blocks of dialogue and/or breaking them up: with a question or comment from whoever’s listening, or with a small action, some body language, a facial expression, or a mention of a change in the tone of voice.
However, sometimes your character needs to go on a tirade or make a formal speech!
If the dialogue is more than one paragraph, you don’t put closing quotation marks at the end of the first paragraph. However, you do put opening quotation marks at the beginning of the next paragraph.
Here’s what that looks like!
Ian said, “If you vote for me for mayor, everyone will be allowed to raise chickens in their backyard, and they can turn their property into an Airbnb if they want to. Also, they will be allowed to put up fences in their front yards. These restrictive ordinances have to go.
“And finally, if you vote for me, we will bring back the annual Groundhog Day parade!”
Do you have other questions about punctuating dialogue?
Let me know in the comments! (Of course, I can’t help you if your question is, “Why is English so weird?”) If there’s something I didn’t cover, I may add it to the post!
“Thanks so much for reading, and have a great week!” she said. 🙂
This is great. Thank you.
Yay! I’m so glad it’s useful.
A useful post Bryn.
I had no clue when I wrote my first book, having characters smiling, shrugging etc. dialogue. It took a critique partner to put me right on that.
I find a lot of writers omit to correct Word when it automatically puts in a capital for the dialogue tag after a question mark or exclamation mark.
One point about long speeches by a character that go over a paragraph. I believe that there should be no closed quotes at the end of the paragraph, but that opening quotes should start the next.
Hi V.M.! Yes, it’s so common for writers to use smiling and shrugging and so on as though they are synonyms for “said.” You aren’t the only one!
You’re correct, of course, about how to punctuate speeches that are more than a paragraph. That is such a great thing to bring up. I am adding that to the post, with an example! Thank you!
What about less common examples, like: “I need to fix the car…” She bent down to pick up a wrench. “… before we can go out.” Or dialogue that extends to several paragraphs. What about dialogue that trails off or is interrupted, such as, “I meant to say…” Thanks!
That is such a good issue, Sally! I added it! (It may take a little time for the blog post to update!) Thank you!
Characters also cannot “laugh” their dialogue! There are many ways to phrase that a person is giggling while speaking, but “laughed” is not a direct synonym for “said.”
You covered when a person’s speech pauses and when they’re doing actions as they talk, but how do you feel about narration in the middle of dialogue? Meaning, you’re intended to imagine their sentence spoken continuously, but there’s a break for an explainer within the sentence. I’ve written it this way, but I wonder if there’s a standard I’ve missed:
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Carol said. “I couldn’t leave the house until Mandy—” the aforementioned babysitter, Jane assumed— “Got there, and her bus was running late.”
(I love a good em dash, so I might be biased.)
Hi Eilliott! I love this because I am always telling people to try laughing a line of dialogue if they don’t believe me. It would make a person sound deranged. 😀
Someone else brought up the issue of action that interrupts the dialogue, and I added it above. (The quotations go around the dialogue and the em dashes go around the ‘interruption,’ per Chicago Manual of Style.) You bring up a good point; a thought can be an interruption, too.
This is.good information, Bryn. My critique partners and I have discussed the use, and the overuse, of em dashes. Could you give some guidance on that? Also, when to use ellipses vs em dashes, please. It is sometimes unclear. Thank you.