1. “Hey, what is this?” “It’s dialogue!”

2. Rule 1. Commas connect independent clauses with words like and, or, nor, for, but, yet, so.
We must act quickly, or the problem will get worse.
The farmers ate lunch at 10:00, and they rested in the shade whenever they got too hot.

3. Rule 2. Commas create a pause after introductory elements.
When Elizabeth I assumed the throne of England in 1558, the country was in turmoil.
His dream of glory destroyed, the boxer died an embittered man.
Yes, we need to improve our parks.

4. Rule 3. Commas set off supplementary (non- essential) information.
I need a lot of supplies, including groceries and gasoline, to get through a week in the country.
Do NOT use commas when the information is essential to the meaning of the sentence. (Ask yourself: does the meaning of the sentence change?)
The students who stayed up all night missed the exam.
A house destroyed by fire can smolder for days.

5. Rule 4. Put commas between items in a series.
He studied the notes, memos, and reports.
To accelerate smoothly, to stop without jerking, and to make correct turns, requires skill.
He reported that some economists believed the recession was over, that some believed it continued, but that most agreed a slow recovery was under way.

6. Rule 5. Commas separate equal modifiers (adjectives of equal weight – you can reverse them).
He put on a clean, pressed shirt.
It was a warm, sunny day.
A comma is not needed in the following sentence:
I found five copper coins.

7. Rule 6. Commas set off contrast elements, tag sentences, and direct address.
Contrast elements – words or phrases that are opposite.
Jeremiah was a bullfrog, not a toad.
Tag sentences – short statements at the ends of sentences.
You received my application on time, I hope.
They meet on Mondays, don’t they?
Direct address – addressing a person by name/title.
Lilith, I hope you are well.
That, my friends, is the end of the story.

8. In a story, dialogue should do one, if not all, of the following: Write these down!
1. Reveal characters’ relationships to one another.
2. Move the story forward.
3. Increase the tension.

9. Dialogue that shows the relationship between characters:
"What's the capital of Spain?" Jerry asked, pausing over his crossword puzzle.
Susan looked up from her book and rolled her eyes. "Madrid, duh."
"Why are you so sarcastic all the time?”
Jerry slammed his pencil on table. He looked like he was going to cry. “I don't think I can take much more of this."

10. Dialogue that moves the story forward: The phone rang, and Jerry picked it up. "Hello?" There was a moment of silence on the other end. “Is this Jerry Simmons?" a male voice asked. "Yeah. Who is this?" The man paused. Jerry could hear him take a deep breath. "Jerry, my name is Dave. I’m your brother” "If this is a prank, it isn’t funny,” Jerry said. “My family died a long time ago." “Not your whole family,” Dave said. Jerry hung up the phone.

11. Dialogue that increases the tension: "Dave. " Jerry shouted
Dialogue that increases the tension: "Dave!" Jerry shouted. "We've got to get away from here! The building's gonna blow!" "We've got to go back!" Dave screamed. "Why?" Dave pointed at the roof. "Susan's still up there!"

12. Da Rules: WRITE THIS DOWN!
Indent lines just as you would any paragraph.
Use “ ” marks to indicate speech.
New speaker = new line/paragraph
Use ‘tags’ to indicate speaker: said, remarked, bellowed, mentioned, muttered, asked, nagged, pleaded, etc.
Punctuation goes INSIDE the quotation marks.
“You mean it looks like this?” she asked.
“Yep,” he said, “even with commas.”
Thoughts: I wonder where I put my keys?

13. When you put it all together, it looks like this
When you put it all together, it looks like this. Notice how the author indents each new quote and places quotation marks after the end marks:
"Hey, dude. How are you?" Isobel said.
"I'm really good. Thanks for asking. And you?" Mark said.
"Good, thanks," Isobel replied.