GROWING GRAMMAR: DIALOGUE

Writing dialogue is tricky enough. Then there’s that whole punctuation issue, unless, well, you’re William Faulkner, James Joyce, or Cormac McCarthy, to name a few. They dispensed with punctuation littering their prose, and critics deem them style-masters. (Try doing that in a Genesis contest!). Some might deem them confusion-masters, but that’s another column.

The rules here are like bumpers for bowling. They’ll keep you (and your readers) out of the gutters of confusion. If you want strikes, consult the Chicago Manual of Style!

1. REPEAT AFTER ME:

COMMAS AND PERIODS BELONG INSIDE THE QUOTATION MARKS.

COMMAS AND PERIODS BELONG INSIDE THE QUOTATION MARKS.

COMMAS AND PERIODS BELONG INSIDE THE QUOTATION MARKS.

2. COLONS AND SEMI-COLONS BELONG OUTSIDE THE QUOTATION MARKS.

3. EXCLAMATION POINTS AND QUESTIONS MARKS:

INSIDE: When the punctuation is part of what is quoted: Tina asked, “Who’s on first?”

OUTSIDE: When the punctuation is NOT part of what is quoted: Did Marlo yell, “I’m on first!”?

WHEN BOTH NEED THE SAME PUNCTUATION:

USE ONE ! or ? and place it INSIDE the closing quotation marks: Did Tina ask, “Who’s on first?” 4. USE ELLIPSIS POINTS (THREE SPACED POINTS . . .) WHEN THERE IS A PAUSE IN THE DIALOGUE or IF THE CHARACTER’S WORDS TRAIL OFF.

“It’s impossible. It’s hard to believe she…,” stammered Ben.

Now, if the trailing thought is a COMPLETE THOUGHT, then place a period at the end of the ellipsis points.

“It’s impossible. It’s hard to believe she left….” Ben stared at his wedding band.

5.. USE AN EM DASH (SO CALLED BECAUSE THE WIDTH OF THE DASH IS EQUAL TO AN UPPERCASE “M”) TO SHOW AN ABRUPT BREAK IN THOUGHT or AN UNFINISHED THOUGHT, STATEMENT, OR QUESTION. To make an “em” dash in Microsoft Word, click on “Insert,” then “Symbol” and you will find one on the bottom row of the “normal text” window. Another option is to hold down the “Ctrl” and “Alt” keys and press the minus key.

“Speaking of raises”—Fred closed Barney’s office door—“I think it’s time to talk.”

6. TAGGING

“I’ll be happy to help.” Ann smiled Ann smiled, and said, “I’ll be happy to help.”

Both of these sentences are correct. In the first sentence, there is an action tag. The second         sentence has an action tag and a speaker.

If the TAG has a SPEECH VERB, then use a COMMA.

“I’m a writer,” she said.

If the TAG shows the character’s action, and it DOES NOT HAVE A SPEECH VERB, then it

is considered a separate sentence.

“I’m a writer.” Zelda glared at Scott.

7. DIVIDE AND CONQUER

Let’s start with a sentence: The story the class read is a classic Greek myth.

Now, let’s place the sentence in dialogue:

“The story the class read is a classic Greek myth,” said the teacher.

Now, let’s interrupt the sentence (this is Writer …Interrupted, right?):

“The story the class read,” the teacher said, “is a classic Greek myth.”

Note: The first word of the second part is NOT capitalized because it is still part of the sentence. The comma shows the quote is not finished.

“The story is a classic Greek myth,” said the teacher. “The students enjoyed it.”

Note: The first word of the second paragraph IS capitalized because TWO quotes that are

complete sentences are separated by the tag.