WRITING MASTERY:

FOUNDATIONS OF FICTION

HOW TO PUNCTUATE YOUR DIALOGUE

Every time a new character speaks or the speaker changes, the first line of their
dialogue must be set apart by a paragraph break.
Right:
“When do you want to leave?” Jane asked.
“Before breakfast,” Andrew replied.
Wrong:
“When do you want to leave?” Jane asked. “Before breakfast,” Andrew replied.

Only direct dialogue requires quotation marks. Direct dialogue is someone speaking.
Indirect dialogue is someone talking about what someone said.
Direct:
“She loved her new wand,” he said.
Indirect:
He told everyone that she loved her new wand.

Punctuation should always go inside the quotation marks.

Right:
“Is everything ready?”
“I packed my suitcase.”
Wrong:
“Is everything ready”?
“I packed my suitcase”.

©2016 Jessica Brody Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Page 1

 WRITING MASTERY:
FOUNDATIONS OF FICTION

If you follow a quotation with a dialogue tag (such as he said or she asked), a comma
ends the quotation and a period comes after the tag.
Right:
“Darth Vader is my father,” he said.
Wrong:
“Darth Vader is my father.” He said.

If you decide to start the sentence with a tag, make sure to put a comma before the
dialogue.
Right:
She asked, “Was the bike stolen?”
The detective said, “Yes, it was.”
Wrong:
She asked “was the bike stolen?”
The detective said “yes it was.”

Dialogue can be broken up with a tag, but make sure to add a comma after the first
piece of dialogue and another after the tag. Or if the first piece of dialogue is a
complete sentence, use a comma after the dialogue and a period after the tag.
Right:
“Yes,” answered Gandalf, “he has gone at last.”
OR:
“I hoped until early evening is was only a joke,” said Frodo. “But I knew in my heart that
he really meant to go.”

©2016 Jessica Brody Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Page 2