Punctuation & Dialogue Know-How

 

Surprisingly, many people don’t know how to properly write dialogue. What I mean is quotation marks and punctuation. The main rule is that the end quotation mark is always placed after the punctuation.

Example: “I love pizza,” she said.

Now let’s talk about the punctuation. If you are saying he said/she said/they said or using a name (Melanie said), use a comma before the end quotation mark. And he/she/they is lowercase. Here are some examples:

INCORRECT: “I love pizza.” she said.

INCORRECT: “I love pizza,” She said.

CORRECT: “I love pizza,” he said.

CORRECT: “We love pizza,” they said.

The same goes for question marks. If he/she/they are asking, he/she/they is lowercase.

CORRECT: “Do you like pizza?” he asked.

INCORRECT: “Do you like pizza?” He asked.

If you are introducing dialogue, use a comma. Example: She said, “I love pizza.”

For more on punctuation with dialogue with examples, check out this article from the Author Learning Center.

Happy writing!

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