1. Tips and Rules for Writing Dialogue
Name: ___________________________
Tips and Rules for Writing Dialogue
Rules for Punctuating Dialogue:
The Basics
Important rule: Always put a character's words and speech inside quotation marks.
Important rule: The punctuation that goes with the character's words always goes inside the quotation marks.
Example: "I am writing a fairy tale about a fairy godmother gone evil.“
Typing Dialogue
When typing dialogue, you should start a new line and indent every time another person speaks.
When starting new dialogue or changing to a different speaker, just press "Enter" and "Tab"
Punctuating Tag Lines
When your tag line…
1. Is at the beginning of the sentence:
Put a comma after the tag line and before the quotation marks.
Example: Maria said, “Cinderella is my favorite fairy tale character.”
2. Is at the end of the sentence:
For sentences that would end in a period, put a comma after the sentence, inside the quotation marks.
For sentences that end in exclamation or question marks, put that punctuation inside the quotation marks.
Examples: “I love to read fairy tales,” said Ali. “Do you like fairy tales?” she asked.
3. Comes between parts of the dialogue:
Put a comma after the first piece of dialogue (inside the quotation marks) and a comma after the tag line.
Example: “I don’t know,” said Jake, “I like comic books.”