How to Write Fiction

Punctuating Dialogue

I'm kind of surprised by this, but there are a LOT of people on Wattpad that don't know how to properly punctuate dialogue in fiction.

Always, always, always use punctuation at the end of the quote AND at the end of the dialogue tag.

Here are some basic examples:

"This is the format for a statement with a dialogue tag," Elicia said.

"Did you know this is how to format a question with a dialogue tag?" Elicia asked.

"Your character is really excited!" Elicia shouted.

Let's get a little more complicated:

"Did you know that you"-Elicia points at the reader-"can interrupt dialogue with action?" (Note that you use em dashes with NO spaces. Wattpad is sometimes funky with em dashes, so forgive me if they are wrong here.)

"Did you know," Elicia asked, "that you can interrupt dialogue with a dialogue tag?"

"You can also add action to your dialogue tag by adding a comma," Elicia said, winking her eye. (Use this sparingly!!!)

Even more complicated:

Use Single Quotes when your speaker is quoting someone else:

"Stephen King said, and I quote, 'the road to Hell is paved with adverbs.'" (Note SINGLE quotation marks on both sides of the quote!)

When your character directly addresses another character use a comma to offset the name:

"Elicia, why are you making us learn all this?" Susie asked.

"I want you to be a better writer, Susie," Elicia replied.

When your character is interrupted:

"I don't appreciate being inter--"

When your character's voice fades away (trails off):

"Please learn..." (An ellipsis is used here-not a random number of dots. THREE dots.)

When you put a dialogue tag before the dialogue:

Elicia points at her students and asks, "Have you learned anything yet?" (Note the uppercase letter for the dialogue.)

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Author's Note:

If you think of any other examples or have questions, just ask! I check these as often as possible!