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Level up your writing skills in English - Dialogue Punctuation

A guide for those whose first language is not English (pro tips at the end)

Well, this is maybe the most that the new authors struggle with. As any other language, English also has its own rules for dialogues and I bet you could find them on the net as well, but if you want it short - here I am.

First things first, we use ‘’ and “” for dialogues in English and never ‘—‘ or ‘–‘ or spaces or just ‘start new line’. We need to indicate the people are speaking. ‘’ - for thoughts and “” - for speaking.

‘I was dancing with him.’ - I understand it’s in the character’s head.

“I was dancing with him.” - I understand the character says it out loud.

The next part is punctuation. I know, a lot of you maybe struggle with all these commas and no commas at the end, at the beginning, dialogue tags and stuff, but, believe me, it’s not as hard as it seems. So, what is important to remember is that we use commas with things that we do with our mouth or verbally and full stops with actions.

“It was quite interesting,” she said.

Look, comma is inside the “” and ‘said’ is something she does with her mouth or verbally.

“It was not so easy.” She moved closer to the table.

Look, full stops is inside the “” and ‘she’ is written in the capital, because ‘she moved closer to the table’ is not something she could do with her mouth or verbally.

Also, do not forget to start each character’s speaking from the new line, so it doesn’t look like a mess.

“I came here from the north.” He put his gloves on the table.

“Me too,” she agreed.

Look, 2 characters speaking, each of them having their own line. Also, notice that the first one is doing action, which is why there’s a full stop at the end, and the second one is agreeing - which is something we could do with our mouth or verbally and - which is why we have comma at the end.

The other thing to remember is that ‘…’ is not interrupting. It’s about the words slowly fading as the character speaks. If you want to show that the person was interrupted - use ‘—‘.

“I wasn’t sure whether to go…” Jake answered.

Look, there’s no comma or full stop at the end of “” and I understand that Jake’s voice becomes quieter and quieter as he speaks, showing that he’s really unsure of what to do next.

“I wasn’t sure wheth—“

“I will tell you!” she shouted.

Look, there’s no comma or full stop at the end of “” and I understand that the character is interrupted. Also, take a look at the second line: there’s an exclamation mark inside “”, but she is written with the small letter - yes, because shouted is something you do with your mouth or verbally.

One more thing: if your sentence finished with ! or ? there’s no need to add a full stop or comma at the end or after “”, ‘’.

That’s it for beginners. Practice with those above to sharpen your writing skills. Yes, you may think it’s too easy and want more, but believe me - I’m also using the rules above and rarely use the rules I’m gonna tell next in my own writing. Make small things look good first and then go to bigger things.

Well, my fellows, who are professionals in writing dialogues and the tips above were like a baby talk to you, fasten your seatbelts, you’re gonna find out some more tricks (I hope).

Okay, first things first, ‘’ and “” could be interchangeable. If you want to write thoughts in “” - you’re welcome, but don’t forget your choice for the rest of the story, so the readers are not messed up with what’s thought and what’s word:

“I was dreaming,” he thought.

And

‘I was dreaming,’ he thought.

Are both fine.

Next, using dialogue tags or actions before the words themselves:

Jake answered quietly, “What if I got it wrong?”

She pressed her hand to his chest. “It can’t be.”

It’s also okay. Just mind the punctuation: commas are for dialogue tags (mouth or verbally) and full stops for actions.

Depending on what you choose for your story, we use ‘’ inside “” and “” inside ‘’:

“I was surprised by ‘his’ behavior,” she stated.

If you have prolonged dialogue tag or action with dialogue tag, the tag should always come directly to the sentence (it’s easier to avoid any extra punctuation drama):

He answered quietly, smiling, “Of course.”

Julie laughed and asked, “What’s that?”

“I want this,” she replied, walking down the street.

There’s a difference when the words are interrupted by dialogue tag or action:

“We’d rather,” Jake said and lifted his arm, “win this auction.”

“I’ll never”—she pressed her finger to his chest—“let you do this!”

But personally I never use this rule, cause it’s just hard to punctuate and I believe that non-English readers may find it too hard to understand.

Well, that’s all for now, thanks for reading and I hope that was useful! <3

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