PUNCTUATING DIALOGUE
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“Stop Talking Like That!”
A Guide to Punctuating Dialogue Without Losing the Plot
Let's be honest: punctuating dialogue can feel like trying to teach a cat to tap dance. New writers often tie themselves in knots over it, and even the seasoned among us sometimes get tripped up by rogue commas and pesky em dashes. But fret not—this guide will help you turn your manuscript from punctuational chaos into a thing of polished beauty.
A Note Before We Begin: Don't Panic (Yet)
Some things in dialogue, like how to punctuate when an action interrupts a sentence or when a piece of dialogue spans a few paragraphs, have more than one “correct” way to do it. This often comes down to which style guide your editor follows (Chicago, Oxford, or The Sacred Scrolls of House Grammar).
You don't need to obsess over this. Your editor will handle consistency later. But learning one clear method helps you avoid jarring mistakes—and makes your manuscript look a lot more professional when submitting to agents or self-publishing. And fewer errors = less editing cost. Huzzah!
Let's dive in, quotation marks first.
“Come Again?” – Use Quotation Marks to Indicate Speech
Always pop dialogue into double (or single) quotation marks.
“Let's go to the pub.”
All punctuation that belongs to the spoken sentence goes inside the quotation marks. Yes, even that full stop.
“He Said, She Said” – Where Punctuation Belongs
Punctuation lives inside the quotation marks if it belongs to the speech.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asked.
“Because you're wearing socks with sandals!” he exclaimed.
If the sentence ends in a boring old full stop and you're using a dialogue tag like she said, replace it with a comma inside the quotation marks.
“I quite like socks with sandals,” she said.
No dialogue tag? Then keep the full stop.
“I quite like socks with sandals.”
Action Beats vs Dialogue Tags – Know the Difference
Action beats are physical movements or behaviours. They're not dialogue tags, so they stand alone as sentences.
“I'm leaving now.” She grabbed her coat and marched out.
Whereas dialogue tags (he said, she muttered, etc.) are joined with commas and lower case:
“I'm leaving now,” she muttered.
“Gasp! You're Dying?” – Put Actions Before or After Dialogue in Separate Sentences
Keep actions tidy and on their own.
He blinked. “You're serious?”
“You're serious?” He blinked.
Don't mush them together in one awkward lump.
'Say What?' – Quotes Inside Quotes Use Single Marks
If a character quotes someone or something else mid-speech, nest those quotation marks with singles.
“Then she shouted, 'You've ruined my soufflé!' and stormed out.”
This is why I personally prefer to use double quotations for speech, but the choice is yours, just make sure you pick a lane and stick to it throughout your story.
“My Turn to Talk!” – New Speaker = New Paragraph
Each time someone new opens their mouth, give them their own line/paragraph.
“Where's the money?” asked Jane.
“I spent it,” muttered Paul.
Jane blinked. “On what?”
“Action figures,” he said. “Limited edition.”
If someone talks and then moves, keep both in the same paragraph. Don't exile them unnecessarily.
“At the end of the day,” he grumbled, “there's always more soup” – Interrupting Actions Use Lowercase
If an action interrupts a line of dialogue, continue the sentence after the action with a lowercase letter.
“I can't believe,” he sighed, “you ate the last biscuit.”
The action interrupts the speech, but the sentence rolls on. No capital letters barging in where they're not invited.
“It's a Long Story...” – Formatting Long Monologues
When a character drones on longer than a wedding speech, you'll need multiple paragraphs. Use opening quotation marks at the start of each paragraph, but only close them at the end of the final one.
“Here's the thing about cows. They act like they don't care. Standing in fields all day, chewing grass, blinking slowly like they've never had a single thought in their heads. But that's exactly what they want you to think. It's a front. A slow, lumbering, moo-filled deception.
“Once, on a family holiday to Devon, I got separated from the walking group. I ended up in a field—just me and about thirty cows. Thought nothing of it at first. Took a few pictures. Made a joke about them being my new mates. Big mistake.
“One of them stepped toward me. Just one. Looked me dead in the eye and mooed. The rest started circling—not walking, circling. I tried to back away, but they moved with me, in formation. Perfect synchronisation, like bovine ballet.
“I panicked. Dropped my phone. Tried to leg it, but there was nowhere to go. The leader—a massive one with a wonky ear—blocked the gate. They were herding me. Like they knew exactly what they were doing.
“I eventually made it out through a gap in the hedge, covered in mud, panic, and at least three types of nettle rash. But I'll never forget the look in that cow's eyes. Calculating. Cold. That wasn't a cow. That was... something else.
“Remember those Cravendale adverts, where the cows followed that guy home? Up the lift, on the window-washing platform? It's the stuff of nightmares, and after my experience, I truly believe cows are evil.
“Anyway, that's why I don't eat beef anymore.”
Don't close those quotes too early, or the cows might get you.
“Wait, What—” Em Dashes Are for Interruptions
When someone is rudely cut off mid-sentence, you'll want an em dash (—), not a hyphen (-).
“I just think you should—”
“Don't finish that sentence.”
Stick the em dash inside the quotation marks. The dash acts as a full stop, so no need for that either.
To create an em dash, on a Mac, press Option + Shift + the dash (-) key. On Windows, there are a few ways you can do it. If you have a numeric keypad, you can press Control and the Minus (-) sign. If you don't have a numeric keypad, navigate to Insert > Symbol and click on More Symbols. You'll then have to look through the punctuation section to find the em dash.
And if you're still struggling to type one, feel free to copy this: —
“I Guess This Is… the End…” – Ellipses Trail Off Nicely on Their Own
If a character's voice trails off into the distance like a moody poet, an ellipsis will do the trick—no extra punctuation required.
“Well… I suppose that's it...” he said.
Don't slap a comma after the ellipsis. It's already doing all the trailing-off work for you.
Most writing software will automatically convert three consecutive full stops (...) into an ellipsis… (notice the slight spacing?) for you.
Final Thoughts: Perfection Is Overrated, Consistency Isn't
Don't lose sleep over every dash and dot—that's your editor's job. But a good handle on dialogue punctuation makes your work far easier to read, which means a better chance at impressing agents or saving money in edits. Plus, it makes you look like a pro.
Now go forth and punctuate with confidence—or at least with fewer ellipses em dashes…