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How to Format Dialogue in a Story

Last Updated: December 23, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Diya Chaudhuri, PhD . Diya Chaudhuri holds a PhD in Creative Writing (specializing in Poetry) from Georgia State University. She has over 5 years of experience as a writing tutor and instructor for both the University of Florida and Georgia State University. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 451,255 times.

Whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction, satire or drama, writing the dialogue may have its challenges. The parts of a story where characters speak stand out from the other elements of a story, starting with the quotation marks that are nearly universally applied. Here are some of the most common and established steps for making sure that your story looks right when you have to figure out how to properly format dialogue.

Things You Should Know

  • Break and indent paragraphs involving 2 or more speakers.
  • Use quotation marks around all words spoken by a character.
  • Break a long speech into multiple paragraphs.

Getting the Punctuation Right

Step 1 Break and indent paragraphs for different speakers.

  • Even if a speaker only utters half a syllable before they’re interrupted by someone else, that half-syllable still gets its own indented paragraph.
  • In English, dialogue is read from the left side of the page to the right, so the first thing readers notice when looking at a block of text is the white space on the left margin. [2] X Research source

Step 2 Use quotation marks correctly.

  • A single set of quotation marks can include multiple sentences, as long as they are spoken in the same portion of dialogue. For example: Evgeny argued, "But Laura didn’t have to finish her dinner! You always give her special treatment!"
  • When a character quotes someone else, use double-quotes around what your character says, then single-quotes around the speech they’re quoting. For example: Evgeny argued, “But you never yell ‘Finish your dinner’ at Laura!”
  • The reversal of roles for the single and double-quotation mark is common outside of American writing. Many European and Asian languages use angle brackets (<< >>) to mark dialogue instead.

Step 3 Punctuate your dialogue tags properly.

  • Use a comma to separate the dialogue tag from the dialogue.
  • If the dialogue tag precedes the dialogue, the comma appears before the opening quotation mark: Evgeny argued, “But Laura didn’t have to finish her dinner!”
  • If the dialogue tag comes after the dialogue, the comma appears before (inside) the closing quotation mark: “But Laura didn’t have to finish her dinner,” argued Evgeny.
  • If the dialogue tag interrupts the flow of a sentence of dialogue, use a pair of commas that follows the previous two rules: “But Laura,” Evgeny argued, “never has to finish her dinner!”

Step 4 Punctuate questions and exclamations properly.

  • If the question or exclamation ends the dialogue, do not use commas to separate the dialogue from dialogue tags. For example: "Why did you order mac-and-cheese pizza for dinner?" Fatima asked in disbelief.

Step 5 Use dashes and ellipses correctly.

  • For example, use a dash to indicate an abruptly ended speech: "What are y--" Joe began.
  • You can also use dashes to indicate when one person's dialogue is interrupted by another's: "I just wanted to tell you--" "Don't say it!" "--that I prefer Rocky Road ice cream."
  • Use ellipses when a character has lost her train of thought or can't figure out what to say: "Well, I guess I mean..."

Step 6 Capitalize the quoted speech.

  • For example: Evgeny argued, "But Laura didn’t have to finish her dinner!" The “b” of “But” does not technically begin the sentence, but it begins a sentence in the world of the dialogue, so it is capitalized.
  • However, if the first quoted word isn’t the first word of a sentence, don’t capitalize it: Evgeny argued that Laura “never has to finish her dinner!”

Step 7 Break a long speech into multiple paragraphs.

  • Use an opening quotation mark where you normally would, but don’t place one at the end of the first paragraph of the character’s speech. The speech isn’t over yet, so you don’t punctuate it like it is!
  • Do, however, place another opening quotation mark at the beginning of the next paragraph of speech. This indicates that this is a continuation of the speech from the previous paragraph.
  • Place your closing quotation mark wherever the character’s speech ends, as you normally would.

Step 8 Avoid using quotation marks with indirect dialogue.

Making Your Dialogue Flow Naturally

Step 1 Make sure the reader knows who is speaking.

  • When you have a long dialogue that’s clearly being held between only two people, you can choose to leave out the dialogue tags entirely. In this case, you would rely on your paragraph breaks and indentations to let the reader know which character is speaking.
  • You should leave out the dialogue tags when more than two characters are speaking only if you intend for the reader to be potentially confused about who is speaking. For example, if four characters are arguing with one another, you may want the reader to get the sense that they’re just hearing snatches of argument without being able to tell who’s speaking. The confusion of leaving out dialogue tags could help accomplish this.

Step 2 Avoid using over-fancy dialogue tags.

  • Place dialogue tags in the middle of a sentence, interrupting the sentence, to change the pacing of your sentence. Because you have to use two commas to set the dialogue tag apart (see Step 3 in the previous section), your sentence will have two pauses in the middle of the spoken sentence: “And how exactly,” Laura muttered under her breath, “do you plan on accomplishing that?”

Step 4 Substitute pronouns for proper nouns.

  • Some examples of pronouns include I, me, he, she, herself, you, it, that, they, each, few, many, who, whoever, whose, someone, everybody, and so on.
  • Pronouns must always agree with the number and gender of the nouns they’re referring to. [9] X Research source [10] X Research source
  • For example, the only appropriate pronouns to replace “Laura” are singular, feminine ones: she, her, hers, herself.
  • The only appropriate pronouns to replace “Laura and Evgeny” are plural, gender neutral ones (because English loses gender when pluralized): they, their, theirs, themselves, them.

Step 5 Use dialogue beats to mix up your formatting.

Community Q&A

Community Answer

  • Remember that less is often more. One common mistake that writers make when creating dialogue is to write things in longer sentences than people would actually say them. For example, most people use contractions and drop inessential words in everyday conversation. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • Be very careful if you attempt to include an accent in your dialogue. Often, this will necessitate extra punctuation to show accent sounds ( danglin' instead of dangling , for example), and can end up visually overwhelming your reader. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

rules of writing speech in a story

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  • ↑ http://edhelper.com/ReadingComprehension_33_85.html
  • ↑ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%20space
  • ↑ https://stlcc.edu/student-support/academic-success-and-tutoring/writing-center/writing-resources/quotation-marks-dialogue.aspx
  • ↑ https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/how-to-write-dialogue/tags/
  • ↑ http://learn.lexiconic.net/dialoguepunctuation.htm
  • ↑ http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000106.htm
  • ↑ http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/propernoun.htm
  • ↑ http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/pronoun.asp
  • ↑ http://facweb.furman.edu/~moakes/Powerwrite/pronouns.htm
  • ↑ https://www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter/docs/handouts/Pronouns.pdf

About This Article

Diya Chaudhuri, PhD

To format dialogue in a story, insert a paragraph break and indent every time a new speaker starts talking. Then, put what they’re saying inside a set of double quotation marks. If you're using a dialogue tag, like "She said" or "He asked," follow it with a comma if it comes before the dialogue or a period if it comes after. Also, remember to put periods, question marks, and exclamation points inside the quotation marks. For more tips from our Creative Writing co-author, like how to write good, convincing dialogue, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to structure and punctuate direct speech in fiction

  • Direct speech is any word spoken by a character, it can be used to help develop the characters and plot.
  • Direct speech should sit inside speech marks .
  • Direct speech must be carefully structured and punctuated to clearly separate it from the rest of the text.

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Learn how to correctly structure and punctuate direct speech when writing fiction

Speech marks

Punctuation is used in direct speech to separate spoken words, or dialogue, from the rest of a story. The words spoken by a character sit inside speech marks:

“Did you hear that noise?” whispered Sam.

Speech marks are sometimes known as inverted commas or quotation marks.

Some writers use double speech marks and some use single speech marks. You can use either type as long as you are consistent - it’s important not to swap between the two.

Remember to open - and close - the speech marks at the start - and end - of the direct speech:

“I think there is something moving in the bushes,” George said.

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How to Write Dialogue: Rules, Examples, and 8 Tips for Engaging Dialogue

rules of writing speech in a story

by Fija Callaghan

You’ll often hear fiction writers talking about “character-driven stories”—stories where the strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations of the central cast of characters stay with us long after the book is closed. But what drives character, and how do we create characters that leave long-lasting impressions?

The answer lies in dialogue : the device used by our characters to communicate with each other. Powerful dialogue can elevate a story and subtly reveal important information, but poorly written dialogue can send your work straight to the slush bin. Let’s look at what dialogue is in writing, how to properly format dialogue, and how to make your characters’ dialogue the best it can be.

What is dialogue in a story?

Dialogue is the verbal exchange between two or more characters. In most fiction, the exchange is in the form of a spoken conversation. However, conversations in a story can also be things like letters, text messages, telepathy, or even sign language. Any moment where two characters speak or connect with each other through their choice of words, they’re engaging in dialogue.

Dialogue is the verbal exchange between two or more characters.

Why does dialogue matter in a story?

We use dialogue in a story to reveal new information about the plot, characters, and story world. Great dialogue is essential to character development and helps move the plot forward in a story.

Writing good dialogue is a great way to sneak exposition into your story without stating it overtly to the reader; you can also use tools like dialect and diction in your dialogue to communicate more detail about your characters.

Dialogue helps to create characters that leave long-lasting impressions.

Through a character’s dialogue, we can learn about their motivations, relationships, and understanding of the world around them.

A character won’t always say what they mean (more on dialogue subtext below), but everything they say will serve some larger purpose in the story. If your dialogue is well-written, the reader will absorb this information without even realizing it. If your dialogue is clunky, however, it will stand out and pull your reader away from your story.

Three reasons why dialogue matters in a story.

Rules for writing dialogue

Before we get into how to make your dialogue realistic and engaging, let’s make sure you’ve got the basics down: how to properly format dialogue in a story. We’ll look at how to punctuate dialogue, how to write dialogue correctly when using a question mark or exclamation point, and some helpful dialogue writing examples.

Here are the need-to-know rules for formatting dialogue in writing.

Enclose lines of dialogue in double quotation marks

This is the most essential rule in basic dialogue punctuation. When you write dialogue in North American English, a spoken line will have a set of double quotation marks around it. Here’s a simple dialogue example:

“Were you at the party last night?”

Any punctuation such as periods, question marks, and exclamation marks will also go inside the quotation marks. The quotation marks give a visual clue to the reader that this line is spoken out loud.

Quotation marks give a visual clue to the reader.

In European or British English, however, you’ll often see single quotation marks being used instead of double quotation marks. All the other rules stay the same.

Enclose nested dialogue in single quotation marks

Nested dialogue is when one line of dialogue happens inside another line of dialogue—when someone is verbally quoting someone else. In North American English, you’d use single quotation marks to identify where the new dialogue line starts and stops, like this:

“And then, do you know what he said to me? Right to my face, he said, ‘I stayed home all night.’ As if I didn’t even see him.”

The double and single quotation marks give the reader clues as to who’s speaking. In European or British English, the quotation marks would be reversed; you’d use single quotation marks on the outside, and double quotation marks on the inside.

Every speaker gets a new paragraph

Every time you switch to a new speaker, you end the line where it is and start a new line. Here are some dialogue examples to show you how it looks:

“Were you at the party last night?” “No, I stayed home all night.”

The same is true if the new “speaker” is only in focus because of their action. You can think of the paragraphs like camera angles, each one focusing on a different person:

“Were you at the party last night?” “No, I stayed home all night.” She raised a single, threatening eyebrow. “Yeah, I wasn’t feeling that well, so I just stayed in and watched Netflix instead.”

If you kept the action on the same line as the dialogue, it would get confusing and make it look like she was the one saying it. Giving each character a new paragraph keeps the speakers clear and distinct.

Use em-dashes when dialogue gets cut short

If your character begins to speak but is interrupted, you’ll break off their line of dialogue with an em-dash, like this:

“Yeah, I wasn’t feeling that well, so I just stayed in and—” “Is that really what happened?”

Be careful with this one, because many word processors will treat your em-dash like the beginning of a new sentence and attach your closing quotation marks backwards:

“Yeah, I wasn’t feeling that well, so I just stayed in and—“

You may need to keep an eye out and adjust as you go along.

In this dialogue example, the new speaker doesn’t lead with an em-dash; they just start speaking like normal. The only time you’ll ever open a line of dialogue with an em-dash is if the speaker who’s been cut off continues with what they were saying:

“Yeah, I wasn’t feeling that well, so I just stayed in and—” “Is that really what happened?” “—watched Netflix instead. Yes, that’s what happened.”

This shows the reader that there’s actually only one line of dialogue, but it’s been cut in the middle by another speaker.

Each line of dialogue is indented

Every time you give your speaker a new paragraph, it’s indented from the left-hand side. Many word processors will do this automatically. The only exception is if your dialogue is opening your story or a new section of your story, such as a chapter; these will always start at the far left margin of the page, whether they’re dialogue or narration.

Each time you change speakers, begin dialogue on a new line.

Long speeches don’t use use closing quotation marks until the end

Most writers favor shorter lines of dialogue in their writing, but sometimes you might need to give your character a longer one—for instance, if the character speaking is giving a speech or telling a story. In these cases, you might choose to break up their speech into shorter paragraphs the way you would if you were writing regular narrative.

However, here the punctuation gets a bit weird. You’ll begin the character’s dialogue with a double quotation mark, like normal. But you won’t use a double quotation mark at the end of the paragraph, because they haven’t finished speaking yet. But! You’ll use another opening quotation mark at the beginning of the subsequent paragraph. This means that you may use several opening double quotation marks for your character’s speech, but only ever one closing quotation mark.

If your character is telling a story that involves people talking, remember to use single quotation marks for your dialogue-within-dialogue as we looked at above.

Sometimes these dialogue formatting rules are easier to catch later on, during the editing process. When you’re writing, worry less about using the exact dialogue punctuation and more about writing great dialogue that supports your character development and moves the story forward.

How to use dialogue tags

Dialogue tags help identify the speaker. They’re especially important if you have a group of people all talking together, and it can get pretty confusing for the reader trying to keep everybody straight. If you’re using a speech tag after your line of dialogue—he said, she said, and so forth—you’ll end your sentence with a comma, like this:

“No, I stayed home all night,” he said.

But if you’re using an action to identify the person speaking instead, you’ll punctuate the sentence like normal and start a new sentence to describe the action taking place:

“No, I stayed home all night.” He looked down at his feet.

The dialogue tags and action tags always follow in the same paragraph. When you move your story lens to a new person, you’ll switch to a new paragraph. Each line where a new person speaks propels the story forward.

When to use capitals in dialogue tags

You may have noticed in the two examples above that one dialogue tag begins with a lowercase letter, and one—which is technically called an action tag—begins with a capital letter. Confusing? The rules are simple once you get a little practice.

When you use a dialogue tag like “he said,” “she said,” “he whispered,” or “she shouted,” you’re using these as modifiers to your sentence—dressing it up with a little clarity. They’re an extension of the sentence the person was speaking. That’s why you separate them with a comma and keep going.

With an action tag , you’re ending one sentence and beginning a whole new one. Each sentence represents two distinct moments in the story. That’s why you end the first sentence with a period, and then open the next one with a capital letter.

If you’re not sure, try reading them out loud:

“No, I stayed home all night,” he said. “No, I stayed home all night.” He looked down at his feet.

Dialogue tags vs. action tags.

Since you can’t hear quotation marks out loud, the way you say them will show you if they’re one sentence or two. In the first example, you can hear how the sentence keeps going after the dialogue ends. In the second example, you can hear how one sentence comes to a full stop and another one begins.

But what if your dialogue tag comes before the dialogue, instead of after? In this case, the dialogue is always capitalized because the speaker is beginning a new sentence:

He said, “No, I stayed home all night.” He looked down at his feet. “No, I stayed home all night.”

You’ll still use a comma after the dialogue tag and a period after the action tag, just like if you’d separate them if you were putting your tag at the end.

If you’re not sure, ask yourself if your leading tag sounds like a full sentence or a partial sentence. If it sounds like a partial sentence, it gets a comma. If it reads like a full sentence that stands on its own, it gets a period.

External vs. internal dialogue

All of the dialogue we’ve looked at so far is external dialogue, which is directed from one character to another. The other type of dialogue is internal dialogue, or inner dialogue, where a character is talking to themselves. You’ll use this when you want to show what a character is thinking, but other characters can’t hear.

Usually, internal dialogue will be written in italics to distinguish it from the rest of the text. That shows the reader that the line is happening inside the character’s head. For example:

It’s not a big deal, she thought. It’s just a new school. It’ll be fine. I’ll be fine.

Here you can see that the dialogue tag is used in the same way, just as if it was a line of external dialogue. However, “she thought” is written in regular text because it’s not a part of what the character is thinking. This helps keep everything clear for the reader.

External dialogue vs. internal dialogue.

In your story, you can play with using contrasting internal and external dialogue to show that what your characters say isn’t always what they mean. You may also choose to use this internal dialogue formatting if you’re writing dialogue between two or more characters that isn’t spoken out loud—for instance, telepathically or by sign language.

8 tips for creating engaging dialogue in a story

Now that you’ve mastered the mechanics of how to write dialogue, let’s look at how to create convincing, compelling dialogue that will elevate your story.

1. Listen to people talk

To write convincingly about people, you’ll first need to know something about them. The work of great writers is often characterized by their insight into humanity; you read them and think, “Yes, this is exactly what people are like.” You can begin accumulating your own insight by listening to what real people say to each other.

You can go to any public place where people are likely to gather and converse: cafés, art galleries, political events, dimly lit pubs, bookshops. Record snippets of conversation, pay attention to how people’s voices change as they move from speaking to one person to another, try to imagine what it is they’re not saying, the words simmering just under the surface.

By listening to stories unfold in real time, you’ll have a better idea of how to recreate them in your writing—and inspiration for some new stories, too.

2. Give each spoken line a purpose

Here is something that actors have drilled into their heads from their first day at drama school, and writers would do well to remember it too: every single line of dialogue has a hidden motivation. Every time your character speaks, they’re trying to achieve something, either overtly or covertly.

Small talk is rare in fiction, because it doesn’t advance the plot or reveal something about your characters. The exception is when your characters are using their small talk for a specific purpose, such as to put off talking about the real issue, to disarm someone, or to pretend they belong somewhere they don’t.

When writing your own dialogue, ask yourself what the line accomplishes in the story. If you come up blank, it probably doesn’t need to be there. Words need to earn their place on the page.

Eight tips for creating engaging dialogue.

3. Embrace subtext

In real life, we rarely say exactly what we really mean. The reality of polite society is that we’ve evolved to speak in circles around our true intentions, afraid of the consequences of speaking our mind. Your characters will be no different. If your protagonist is trying to tell their best friend they’re in love with them, for instance, they’ll come up with about fifty different ways to say it before speaking the deceptively simple words themselves.

To write better dialogue, try exploring different ways of moving your characters around what’s really being said, layering text and subtext side by side. The reader will love picking apart the conversation between your characters and deducing what’s really happening underneath (incidentally, this is also the place where fan fiction is born).

4. Keep names to a minimum

You may notice that on television, in moments of great upheaval, the characters will communicate exactly how important the moment is by saying each other’s names in dramatic bursts of anger/passion/fear/heartbreak/shock. In real life, we say each other’s names very rarely; saying someone’s name out loud can actually be a surprisingly intimate experience.

Names may be a necessary evil right at the beginning of your story so your reader knows who’s who, but after you’ve established your cast, try to include names in dialogue only when it makes sense to do so. If you’re not sure, try reading the dialogue out loud to see if it sounds like something someone would actually say (we’ll talk more about reading out loud below).

5. Prune unnecessary words

This is one area where reality and story differ. In life, dialogue is full of filler words: “Um, uh, well, so yeah, then I was like, erm, huh?” You may have noticed this when you practiced listening to dialogue, above. We won’t say there’s never a place for these words in fiction, but like all words in storytelling, they need to earn their place. You might find filler words an effective tool for showing something about one particular character, or about one particular moment, but you’ll generally find that you use them a lot less than people really do in everyday speech.

When you’re reviewing your characters’ dialogue, remember the hint above: each line needs a purpose. It’s the same for each word. Keep only the ones that contribute something to the story.

6. Vary word choices and rhythms

The greatest dialogue examples in writing use distinctive character voices; each character sounds a little bit different, because they have their own personality.

This can be tricky to master, but an easy way to get started is to look at the word choice and rhythm for each character. You might have one character use longer words and run-on sentences, while another uses smaller words and simple, single-clause sentences. You might have one lean on colloquial regional dialect, where another sounds more cosmopolitan. Play around with different ways to develop characters and give each one their own voice.

Effective dialogue is the key to a good story.

7. Be consistent for each character

When you do find a solid, believable voice for your character, make sure that it stays consistent throughout your entire story. It’s easy to set a story aside for a while, then return to it and forget some of the work you did in distinguishing your characters’ dialogue. You might find it helpful to write down some notes about the way each character speaks so you can refer back to it later.

The exception, of course, is if your character’s speech pattern goes through a transformation over the course of the story, like Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady . In this case, you can use your character’s distinctive voice to communicate a major change. But as with all things in writing, make sure that it comes from intention and not from forgetfulness.

8. Read your dialogue out loud

After you’ve written a scene between two or more characters, you can take the dialogue for a trial run by speaking it out loud. Ask yourself, does the dialogue sound realistic? Are there any moments where it drags or feels forced? Does the voice feel natural for each character? You’ll often find there are snags you miss in your writing that only become apparent when read out loud. Bonus: this is great practice for when you become rich and famous and do live readings at bookshops.

3 mistakes to avoid when writing dialogue

Easy, right? But there are also a few pitfalls that new writers often encounter when writing dialogue that can drag down an otherwise compelling story. Here are the things to watch out for when crafting your story dialogue.

1. Too much exposition

Exposition is one of the more demanding literary devices , and one of the ones most likely to trip up new writers. Dialogue is a good place to sneak in some information about your story—but subtlety is essential. This is one place where the adage “show, don’t tell” really shines.

Consider these dialogue examples:

“How is she, Doctor?” “Well Mr. Stuffington, I don’t have to remind you that your daughter, the sole heiress to your estate and currently engaged to the Baron of Flippingshire, has suffered a grievous injury when she fell from her horse last Sunday. We don’t need to discuss right now whether or not you think her jealous maid was responsible; what matters is your daughter’s well being. As to your question, I’m afraid it’s very unlikely that she’ll ever walk again.” Can’t you just feel your arm aching to throw the poor book across the room? There’s a lot of important information here, but you can find subtler ways to work it into your story. Let’s try again: “How is she, Doctor?” “Well Mr. Stuffington, your daughter took quite a blow from that horse—worse than we initially thought. I’m afraid it’s very unlikely that she’ll ever walk again.” “And what am I supposed to say to Flippingshire?” “The Baron? I suppose you’ll have to tell him that his future wife has lost the use of her legs.”

And so forth. To create good dialogue exposition, look for little ways to work in the details of your story, instead of piling it up in one great clump.

Three mistakes to avoid when writing dialogue.

2. Too much small talk

We looked at how each line of dialogue needs a specific purpose above. Very often small talk in a story happens because the writer doesn’t know what the scene is about. Small talk doesn’t move the scene along unless it’s there for a reason. If you’re not sure, ask yourself what each character wants in this moment.

For example, imagine you’re in an office, and two characters are talking by the water cooler. How was your weekend, what did you think of the game, how’s your wife doing, are those new shoes, etc etc. Can’t you just feel the reader’s will to live slipping away?

But what about this: your characters are talking by the water cooler—Character A and Character B. Character A knows that his friend is inside Character B’s office looking for evidence of corporate espionage, so A is doing everything he can to stop B from going in. How was your weekend, what did you think of the game, how’s your wife doing, are those new shoes, literally anything just to keep him talking. Suddenly these benign little phrases have a purpose.

If you find your characters slipping into small talk, double check that it’s there for a purpose, and not just a crutch to keep you from moving forward in your scene. When writing dialogue, Make each line of dialogue earn its place.

3. Too much repetition

Variation is the spice of a good story. To keep your readers engaged, avoid using the same sentence structure and the same dialogue tags over and over again. Using “he said” and “she said” is effective and clear cut, but only for about three beats. After that, try switching to an action tag instead or letting the line of dialogue stand on its own.

Powerful dialogue elevates a story.

You can also experiment with varying the length of your sentences or groupings of sentences. By changing up the rhythm of your story regularly, you’ll keep it feeling fresh and present for the reader.

Effective dialogue examples from literature

With all of these tips and tricks in mind, let’s look at how other writers have used good dialogue to elevate their stories.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine , by Gail Honeyman

“I’m going to pick up a carryout and head round to my mate Andy’s. A few of us usually hang out there on Saturday nights, fire up the playstation, have a smoke and a few beers.” “Sounds utterly delightful,” I said. “What about you?” he asked. I was going home, of course, to watch a television program or read a book. What else would I be doing? “I shall return to my flat,” I said. “I think there might be a documentary about komodo dragons on BBC4 later this evening.”

In this dialogue example, the author gives her characters two very distinctive voices. From just a few words we can begin to see these people very clearly in our minds—and with this distinction comes the tension that drives the story. Dialogue is an excellent place to show your character dynamics using speech patterns and word choices.

Pride and Prejudice , by Jane Austen

“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?” Mr. Bennet replied that he had not. “But it is,” returned she; “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.” Mr. Bennet made no answer. “Do you not want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife impatiently. “You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.” This was invitation enough. “Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.”

In this famous dialogue example, the author illustrates the relationship between these two characters clearly and succinctly. Their dialogue shows Mr. B’s stalwart, tolerant love for his wife and Mrs. B’s excitement and propensity for gossip. The author shows us everything we need to know about these people in just a few lines.

Dinner in Donnybrook , by Maeve Binchy

“Look, I thought you ought to know, we’ve had a very odd letter from Carmel.” “A what… from Carmel?” “A letter. Yes, I know it’s sort of out of character, I thought maybe something might be wrong and you’d need to know…” “Yes, well, what did she say, what’s the matter with her?” “Nothing, that’s the problem, she’s inviting us to dinner.” “To dinner?” “Yes, it’s sort of funny, isn’t it? As if she wasn’t well or something. I thought you should know in case she got in touch with you.” “Did you really drag me all the way down here, third years are at the top of the house you know, I thought the house had burned down! God, wait till I come home to you. I’ll murder you.” “The dinner’s in a month’s time, and she says she’s invited Ruth O’Donnell.” “Oh, Jesus Christ.”

This dialogue example is a telephone conversation between two people. The lack of dialogue tags or action tags allows the words to come to the forefront and immerses us in their back-and-forth conversation. Even though there are no tags to indicate the speakers, the language is simple and straightforward enough that the reader always knows who’s talking. Through this conversation the author slowly builds the tension from the benign to the catastrophic within a domestic setting.

Compelling dialogue is the key to a good story

A writer has a lot riding on their characters’ dialogue, and learning how to write dialogue is a critical skill for any writer. When done well, it can leaves a lasting impact on the reader. But when dialogue is clumsy and awkward, it can drag your story down and make your reader feel like they’re wasting their time.

But if you keep these tips in mind, listen to dialogue in your everyday life, and practice , you’ll be sure to create realistic dialogue that brings your story to life.

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How to Format Dialogue in a Story: 10 Dialogue Rules to Follow

How to format dialogue in a story | how to format dialogue, last updated on: july 11, 2022, why is it important to format dialogue, 1. set speech in double quotation marks, 2. dialogue tags stay outside of the quotation marks., 3. punctuation for speech stays within the quotation marks, 4. actions get their own sentence, 5. quoting within dialogue, 6. quotation marks for long dialogue, 7. start a new paragraph each time a new character speaks, 8. continue interrupted speech with a lowercase letter, 9. use an em-dash to indicate interruption, 10. use an ellipsis to indicate speech trailing off.

Writing dialogue is an essential part of writing almost any book. Whether picture book, middle grade, or thriller, chances are that if a book contains characters, at some point they will speak. For many authors, writing dialogue comes easy, while for others it is a challenge. Regardless of which kind of author you are, I’d be willing to bet that at some point you questioned the proper formatted of your dialogue. And it’s no wonder. Formatting dialogue can be tricky. Does the period go inside or outside the quote marks? What if you’re quoting someone else within in a character’s dialogue? And when do you capitalize the text at the start of a speech?

With so many questions, it can be tempting to just do your best and move on—to let the reader figure it out, or to assume an editor will catch the mistakes. But the truth is, understanding and following the rules of dialogue shows a level of professionalism that both readers and editors appreciate. It shows that an author has taken the time to learn their craft: not just how to tell a story but how to tell it properly. So let’s dive in!

What are the top 10 dialogue rules?

While formatting on thoughts can be ambiguous, formatting on dialogue is not. Anything a character says aloud should be enclosed in double quotation marks.

“Come on, Sally. Let’s go.”

A dialogue tag attributes speech to a character. It is not part of the actual speech. As such, the dialogue tag stays outside the quotation marks. 

“Come on, Sally. Let’s go,” Kevin said.

When a dialogue tag precedes the dialogue, a comma should be used before the opening quotation mark.

Kevin said, “Let’s go, Sally.”

When dialogue ends with either a question mark or an exclamation point, the punctuation stays within the quotation marks. When dialogue ends with a period, the period is replaced by a comma. In all cases, the dialogue tag that follows begins with a lowercase letter and ends with a period.

“Come on, Sally. Let’s go!” said Kevin.

“When can we go, Sally?” asked Kevin.

Kevin asked, “When can we go?”

Pro tip: Exclamation points and question marks should never appear after a dialogue tag. Punctuation is meant to modify the actual speech, not the way it is said.

Attributing dialogue with tags on every line can get cumbersome. One way around this is to set up who is going to speak with an action before their dialogue. In such cases, the action should get its own sentence.

Kevin shook his head. “When can we go, Sally?”

By showing Kevin shaking his head immediately before he speaks, the reader can infer that the next line comes from him.

Often characters will quote someone else’s words. Using another set of quotation marks within their speech can appear confusing, especially if there is any question of whether the next set of quotation marks is actually functioning as the end of their speech. Instead, use single quotation marks within the double quotation marks.

“When you said, ‘Be there at 8!’ I thought you’d be on time,” Kevin said.

It’s tempting to put a closing quotation mark at the end of every paragraph, but if a character’s speech runs over multiple paragraphs, that would be misleading. After all, they aren’t done speaking. Instead, begin each paragraph with an opening quotation mark to remind readers that someone is speaking. Do not include a closing quotation mark until the speech is complete.

“I want to go, Sally,” Kevin said. “I’ve been waiting all morning. I don’t understand why you can’t just leave the house on time.

“I mean, let’s be honest. It’s not as if there’s that much to do. Put on shoes, grab your purse, and let’s go. But no, you have to find the right shoes, and the right purse.

“I tell you, the waiting is enough to drive a person mad!”

Pro Tip: Although it looks odd, this rule applies to picture books as well. In the case of dialogue running over multiple pages, use opening quotes at the start of each page, but do not close the quotes until the speech is done.

It’s not uncommon to see authors run dialogue together into one big paragraph, but reading it in that way can get confusing. Instead, give each characters’ words their own space by starting a new paragraph each time someone new starts talking.

“When can we go, Sally?” Kevin asked.

“In a minute,” Sally called.

When a dialogue tag comes between two sentences, the second sentence will begin with a capital letter. But when the dialogue tag comes in the middle of the sentence, the second half of the speech should continue in lowercase. In these cases, the first part of the sentence should end with a comma, and another comma should follow the dialogue tag.

“Come on, Sally,” Kevin said. “Let’s go.”

“I want to go,” Kevin said, “but I’m still waiting for Sally.”

It’s not uncommon for characters in a novel to interrupt each other. But how can you make it clear to a reader that a sentence has been cut off? By using an em-dash at the end of the speech. Note that the em-dash goes inside the quotation marks.

“Sally,” Kevin said, “I really want to—”

“Not now,” Sally interrupted. “I’m on a call.”

Often characters finishing speaking in a less than definitive way. To indicate that a character’s speech is trailing off, end with an ellipsis inside the quotation marks. No additional punctuation is needed when ending with an ellipsis.

“We were going to the beach,” Kevin said, “but then Sally got a call, and the dog ate her shoes, and, well . . .”

Pro Tip: Ellipses should be written as three periods with a space between each one.

Want to learn more about how write effective dialogue? Check out 5 Tips to Write Dialogue Effectively . 

And for more information on how to format your whole book, don’t forget How to Format a Book Manuscript: A Complete Guide .

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How To Write Dialogue In A Story (With Examples)

One of the biggest mistakes made by writers is how they use dialogue in their stories. Today, we are going to teach you how to write dialogue in a story using some easy and effective techniques. So, get ready to learn some of the best techniques and tips for writing dialogue!

There are two main reasons why good dialogue is so important in works of fiction. First, good dialogue helps keep the reader interested and engaged in the story. Second, it makes your work easier to write, read and understand. So, if you want to write dialogue that is interesting, engaging and easy to read, keep on reading. We will be teaching you the best techniques and tips for writing dialogue in a story.

Internal vs External Dialogue

Direct vs indirect dialogue, 20 tips for formatting dialogue in stories, step 1: use a dialogue outline, step 2: write down a script, step 3: edit & review your script, step 4: sprinkle in some narrative, step 5: format your dialogue, what is dialogue .

Dialogue is the spoken words that are spoken between the characters of a story. It is also known as the conversation between the characters. Dialogue is a vital part of a story. It is the vehicle of the characters’ thoughts and emotions. Good dialogue helps show the reader how the characters think and feel. It also helps the reader better understand what is happening in the story. Good dialogue should be interesting, informative and natural. 

In a story, dialogue can be expressed internally as thoughts, or externally through conversations between characters. A character thinking to themself would be considered internal dialogue. Here there is no one else, just one character thinking or speaking to themselves:

Mary thought to herself, “what if I can do better…”

While two or more characters talking to each other in a scene would be an external dialogue:

“Watch out!” cried Sam. “What’s wrong with you?” laughed Kate.

In most cases, the words spoken by your character will be inside quotation marks. This is called direct dialogue. And then everything outside the quotation marks is called narrative:

“What do you want?” shrieked Penelope as she grabbed her notebooks. “Oh, nothing… Just checking if you needed anything,” sneered Peter as he tried to peek over at her notes.

Indirect dialogue is a summary of your dialogue. It lets the reader know that a conversation happened without repeating it exactly. For example:

She was still fuming from last night’s argument. After being called a liar and a thief, she had no choice but to leave home for good.

Direct dialogue is useful for quick conversations, while indirect dialogue is useful for summarising long pieces of dialogue. Which otherwise can get boring for the reader. Writers can combine both types of dialogue to increase tension and add drama to their stories.

Now you know some of the different types of dialogue in stories, let’s learn how to write dialogue in a story.

Here are the main tips to remember when formatting dialogue in stories or works of fiction:

  • Always use quotation marks: All direct dialogue is written inside quotation marks, along with any punctuation relating to that dialogue.

example of dialogue 1

  • Don’t forget about dialogue tags: Dialogue tags are used to explain how a character said something.  Each tag has at least one noun or pronoun, and one verb indicating how the dialogue is spoken. For example, he said, she cried, they laughed and so on.

example of dialogue 2

  • Dialogue before tags: Dialogue before the dialogue tags should start with an uppercase. The dialogue tag itself begins with a lowercase.

example of dialogue 3

  • Dialogue after tags: Both the dialogue and dialogue tags start with an uppercase to signify the start of a conversation. The dialogue tags also have a comma afterwards, before the first set of quotation marks.

example of dialogue 4

  • Lowercase for continued dialogue: If the same character continues to speak after the dialogue tags or action, then this dialogue continues with a lowercase.

example of dialogue 5

  • Action after complete dialogue: Any action or narrative text after completed dialogue starts with an uppercase as a new sentence.

rules of writing speech in a story

  • Action interrupting dialogue: If the same character pauses their dialogue to do an action, then this action starts with a lowercase.

rules of writing speech in a story

  • Interruptions by other characters: If another character Interrupts a character’s dialogue, then their action starts with an uppercase on a new line. And an em dash (-) is used inside the quotation marks of the dialogue that was interrupted. 

rules of writing speech in a story

  • Use single quotes correctly: Single quotes mean that a character is quoting someone else.

rules of writing speech in a story

  • New paragraphs equal new speaker: When a new character starts speaking, it should be written in a new paragraph. 

rules of writing speech in a story

  • Use question marks correctly: If the dialogue ends with a question mark, then the part after the dialogue should begin with a lowercase.

rules of writing speech in a story

  • Exclamation marks: Similar to question marks, the next sentence should begin with a lowercase. 

rules of writing speech in a story

  • Em dashes equal being cut off: When a character has been interrupted or cut off in the middle of their speech, use an em dash (-).

rules of writing speech in a story

  • Ellipses mean trailing speech: When a character is trailing off in their speech or going on and on about something use ellipses (…). This is also good to use when a character does not know what to say.

rules of writing speech in a story

  • Spilt long dialogue into paragraphs: If a character is giving a long speech, then you can split this dialogue into multiple paragraphs. 

rules of writing speech in a story

  • Use commas appropriately: If it is not the end of the sentence then end the dialogue with a comma.

rules of writing speech in a story

  • Full stops to end dialogue: Dialogue ending with a full stop means it is the end of the entire sentence. 

rules of writing speech in a story

  • Avoid fancy dialogue tags: For example, ‘he moderated’ or ‘she articulated’. As this can distract the reader from what your characters are actually saying and the content of your story. It’s better to keep things simple, such as using he said or she said.
  • No need for names: Avoid repeating your character’s name too many times. You could use pronouns or even nicknames. 
  • Keep it informal: Think about how real conversations happen. Do people use technical or fancy language when speaking? Think about your character’s tone of voice and personality, what would they say in a given situation? 

Remember these rules, and you’ll be able to master dialogue writing in no time!

How to Write Dialogue in 5 Steps

Dialogue is tricky. Follow these easy steps to write effective dialogue in your stories or works of fiction:

A dialogue outline is a draft of what your characters will say before you actually write the dialogue down. This draft can be in the form of notes or any scribblings about your planned dialogue. Using your overall book outline , you can pinpoint the areas where you expect to see the most dialogue used in your story. You can then plan out the conversation between characters in these areas. 

A good thing about using a dialogue outline is that you can avoid your characters saying the same thing over and over again. You can also skim out any unnecessary dialogue scenes if you think they are unnecessary or pointless. 

Here is an example of a dialogue outline for a story:

dialogue outline example

You even use a spreadsheet to outline your story’s dialogue scenes.

In this step, you will just write down what the characters are saying in full. Don’t worry too much about punctuation and the correct formatting of dialogue. The purpose of this step is to determine what the characters will actually say in the scene and whether this provides any interesting information to your readers.

Start by writing down the full script of your character’s conversations for each major dialogue scene in your story. Here is an example of a dialogue script for a story:

write down your script

Review your script from the previous step, and think about how it can be shortened or made more interesting. You might think about changing a few words that the characters use to make it sound more natural. Normally the use of slang words and informal language is a great way to make dialogue between characters sound more natural. You might also think about replacing any names with nicknames that characters in a close relationship would use. 

The script might also be too long with plenty of unnecessary details that can be removed or summarised as part of the narration in your story (or as indirect dialogue). Remember the purpose of dialogue is to give your story emotion and make your characters more realistic. At this point you might also want to refer back to your character profiles , to see if the script of each character matches their personality. 

edit your script

Once your script has been perfected, you can add some actions to make your dialogue feel more believable to readers. Action or narrative is the stuff that your characters are actually doing throughout or in between dialogue. For example, a character might be packing up their suitcase, as they are talking about their holiday plans. This ‘narrative’ is a great way to break up a long piece of dialogue which otherwise could become boring and tedious for readers. 

add action to script

You have now planned your dialogue for your story. The final step is to incorporate these dialogue scenes into your story. Remember to follow our formatting dialogue formatting rules explained above to create effective dialogue for your stories!

format dialogue example

That’s all for today! We hope this post has taught you how to write dialogue in a story effectively. If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments below!

How To Write Dialogue In A Story

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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If You Want to Write a Great Speech, Here’s How to Do It

Joanna Cutrara

Writing a speech isn’t all that different than writing for other mediums. You need to know your audience, the required length, and the purpose or topic. This is true whether your speech is for a business conference, a wedding, a school project, or any other scenario.

But there’s something about speech writing that’s especially nerve-wracking .

If you write and deliver a speech that doesn’t go over well, you’ll get feedback in real time. The people sitting in front of you could lose interest, start talking, doze off, or even wander out of the room. (Don’t worry, only audiences in movies throw tomatoes).

Of course, a poor speech is not the end of the world. You can give plenty of crummy speeches and live to tell the tale.

But we also know that a great speech is capable of changing the world. Or at least sparking an audience’s imagination, catapulting your business into success, earning an A+ on your assignment, or ensuring that the bride and groom are still friends with you after the wedding.

So if you’re feeling stressed over your impending speech writing duties, fret no more! Today we’re breaking down for you the step-by-step process of exactly how to write a great speech.

Here’s a tip: Want to make sure your writing shines? Grammarly can check your spelling and save you from grammar and punctuation mistakes. It even proofreads your text, so your work is extra polished wherever you write.

Your writing, at its best Grammarly helps you communicate confidently Write with Grammarly

1 Tips to write (and live) by

Let’s start with the 30,000 foot, big-picture view. These are the tenets that will guide you in your speech writing process (and pretty much anything else you want to write).

  • Know the purpose: What are you trying to accomplish with your speech? Educate, inspire, entertain, argue a point? Your goals will dictate the tone and structure, and result in dramatically different speeches.
  • Know your audience: Your speech should be tailored for your audience, both in terms of ideas and language. If you’re speaking at a sound healer convention, you won’t need to explain the concept of energetic blocks. And if you’re speaking to an octogenarians-only quilting circle, you probably shouldn’t drop as many F-bombs as you would with your local biker gang.
  • Know the length: You don’t want to underwhelm or overwhelm your audience.Ten minutes may be too short for your keynote address, but it’s probably too long for your best man speech. Don’t leave things up to chance. Your writing process will be much easier if you keep your eye on your target length.
  • Write, revise, practice, revise, practice…: MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech wasn’t written in a day. Give yourself the time you need to practice your material and work through multiple drafts. Don’t expect to nail everything on the first try.

2 The step-by-step process

Still feeling stressed over how to get started? Here’s how to write your speech from concept to completion.

Step 1: Outline your speech’s structure. What are the main ideas for each section?

Step 2: Flesh out the main ideas in your outline. Don’t worry about finding the perfect words. Just let your creativity flow and get it all out!

Step 3: Edit and polish what you’ve written until you have a cohesive first draft of your speech

Step 4: Practice, practice, practice. The more you practice your speech the more you’ll discover which sections need reworked, which transitions should be improved, and which sentences are hard to say. You’ll also find out how you’re doing on length.

Step 5: Update, practice, and revise your speech until it has a great flow and you feel it’s ready to accomplish its purpose.

3 The universal structure

Getting hung up on Step 1? Here’s a structure you can follow for any type of speech.

Introduction

Who are you, why are are you giving this speech, what is your main thesis?

The “who” and “why” can be longer or shorter depending on the context. For example, if you’re speaking at a wedding, you’ll want to explain your relationship to the bride and groom and why they mean so much to you. But if you’re presenting to your class at school, you may be able to head straight into your thesis.

If you’re presenting in a business or motivational setting, this is a crucial time to hook your audience’s attention and pique their curiosity. Typically someone else will have already introduced you and your accolades, so use this to your advantage and dive straight in.

“Hi everyone, it’s great to be here! As Kevin just said, I’ve been an urban beet farmer for 30 years, and a couple years back I got this absolutely crazy idea. What if…”

Main message

Idea 1, Idea 2, Idea 3…

The majority of your speech should be spent presenting your thesis and supporting material in a simple, organized way.

Whether you’re giving an inspirational talk or a business presentation, rambling is a sure-fire way to lose your audience’s attention. Don’t try to share absolutely everything you know on your topic, instead pick a few (two to five) key points to present to your audience.

Stick to one point at a time and finish the thought before you move on to the next. Build in clear, logical transitions from idea to idea.

Want to make your speech memorable? Studies have shown our brains are great at remember stories! As much as is appropriate, make your speech personal and include your own anecdotes and thoughts.

We’re also better at remembering big ideas if they’re condensed into a few memorable words, so do your best to sum up your thesis.

“I have a dream.”

“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

“Make good art.”

What do you want your audience to walk out of the room remembering?

Wrap everything up and drive home your main idea, whether that’s through providing a few (one to three) key takeaways, or telling one last story that perfectly illustrates your point.

Here are some examples of how your outline might look

As a researcher presenting your findings…

Introduction: Explain the key problem or question of your research.

Main message: Describe the research process, then describe your three key findings.

Takeaway: Present your conclusions and their implications, then your next steps for moving forward.

As the maid of honor giving a speech at your best friend’s wedding…

Introduction: Explain who you are and how you met the bride.

Main message: Recount three funny and heartwarming stories about your decades-long friendship with her, plus your first impressions of the groom.

Takeaway: Wrap things up by expounding on how amazing the bride and groom’s love for each other is, how they’re meant to be together, and how you know their love will last a lifetime. …L’chaim!

What are your favorite tips for writing a great speech?

Here’s a tip: Grammarly’s  Citation Generator  ensures your essays have flawless citations and no plagiarism. Try it for citing speeches in Chicago , MLA , and APA styles.

rules of writing speech in a story

How To Format Dialogue (includes examples)

rules of writing speech in a story

This is very useful, Dax! Thank you for sharing this!

Dax MacGregor

Frederick, Thanks for taking time to comment and also for the kind words.

Kara

This really helped me!

Thanks for the feedback, Kara.

austen1022

This is great. Thank you! One more question in addition to this. What about if dialogue from a single character covers two paragraphs. Do you close quote and reopen with the new paragraph, or do you leave the quotes open at the end of paragraph one and start paragraph two with no quotes, and then closed quotes at the end once the character finishes speaking?

If your prose contains a monologue where a paragraph change is required, then you would insert closing quotation marks at the end of the paragraph and open the new paragraph with new quotation marks.

But be careful. Normally a new paragraph indicates a change of speakers. You’ll need to make it clear to your readers that the same person is continuing to speak. I often insert gestures to accomplish this. Here’s an example:

“After Suzi, I didn’t think there would ever be another woman in my life. But by the time Krystal and I escaped from the wilderness, we had bonded. Well, I thought it was mutual, but then she left. I felt crushed when I woke up and discovered she had abandoned me.”   He tried to blink away the moisture pooling in his eyes. “So now, events have brought us back together. But I wonder, when this is all over, will she walk out of my life a second time? I’m praying that she doesn’t.”

Anna Wiclie

I have a question, something I’m having a bit of trouble finding answers to, say I have a few sentences or a paragraph before a string of dialogue– do I drop down a new line for dialogue? For example,

Amelia lifted her hand to the gem and I wrapped my fingers around her wrist; the code may have been a deadly trap. Our eyes locked, and Jade cleared his throat and said through his teeth, “If this is wrong, we could all be dissolved by the power backlash.”

In your example, the dialogue is part of the previous sentence and therefore belongs in the same paragraph.

bill

I have began writing fiction in novel format the last two months, the past five years I have written script format, and could not figure out the proper way to keep it readable; this page explains it all; now i get it!

Back to my novel

Bill, Thank you for the positive feedback.

Claire Nevins

“Thanks, Dax!” she said, as she finished her corrections and started back to work. “You’ve been a lifesaver!”

Leo

Are those official formatting rules? You got it from some manual?

I couldn’t find an official manual with rules. Through experience and discussion with experts, I assembled and published these.

And the rules keep changing. I have updated these several times over the years.

Thanks Dax.

I had some complaining froms readers about dialogue formatting in my book, so I’m going to edit it correctly now, based on this post.

Anna

I have a problem with this one: ‘I know,’ he lowered his voice to a whisper,’ what you said.’ Shouldn’t it be ‘I know’–he lowered his voice to a whisper–‘what you said.’? Sometimes it’s hard to tell when to separate parts of the sentence with commas and when with dashes. I know that ‘whisper’, like ‘said’ or ‘ask’, would require commas but in the above sentence we’re talking about a different action. Could you give examples of words that should not be followed by commas and should be followed by em dashes instead? For example, how to treat the word ‘hear’? Which is correct? ‘But she’s only fifteen,’ she heard mom say to dad,’and he’s twenty years older.’ Or: ‘But she’s only fifteen’–she heard mom say to dad–‘and he’s twenty years older.’ It does seem like the first one is a better choice but not an obvious one. After all, ‘hear’ is different from all the variations (synonyms) of ‘say’. After all, we would use dashes in this one: ‘If you says so’–he saw her eyes light up when he agreed with her–‘but I’m not giving up yet.’ Or wouldn’t we?

Sorry for the delayed response, I took an extended vacation out of the country and completely off the grid.

Em dashes can replace commas, parentheses or colons. The use of em dashes is a style choice. Some writers love them and others abhor them. My advice? Use them whenever it seems right to you. However, since they interrupt the flow, use them judiciously.

Whether to leave spaces before and after em dashes is also a matter of differing opinions. Most experts and style guides recommend no spaces before or after. However, the AP Style Guide (used by newspapers) specifies a space before and after. Since the advice given here relates to manuscripts, my recommendation is no spaces.

Haley B

This was just what I needed to read! Thank you for taking the time to share and educate!

Thanks for the positive feedback.

Author Luke West

A great piece to read, thanks for the share! Quick question. You mentioned that the first line of dialogue should be indented, so the second line doesn’t require it? Sorry if this is a sill question. I don’t usually format but I’m looking forward to giving it a go.

Sorry for the lack of clarity.

What I’m trying to say is that, in a manuscript, the first line of every paragraph is indented and dialogue is no exception to that rule.

Jordon

How would I format this?

Branches are fingers of the dead? Wow, I’m definitely stealing that one. Why are you still up?”

Clark grinned, leaning over the paper, his arms easing around Amari’s waist. Clark’s unruly natural hair nuzzled the nape of Amari’s neck, making him shiver.

Amari reached back and wrapped his arms behind Clark.

“Branches are fingers of the dead? Wow, I’m definitely stealing that one. Why are you still up?”

In my response, I assume that Amari is speaking. If Clark is speaking, then the first two paragraphs could be combined.

Jordan

Thanks for writing this. It has really helped me several times now. A quick question though. How should I format this in terms of dialogue?

The transmitter is still active and is showing a message of an indistinct figure saying, “Hello? Is anyone there? Can you hear me?” I walk towards it, stepping over the cables and bits of machines strewn over the floor while I wonder what could have happened.

I’m not sure where to put new lines around the speaking, if any. Much appreciated!

What you have looks good.

Jason Bassford (@jason_bassford)

“8. If the same speaker talks long enough to require a new paragraph, place quotation marks at the end of the first paragraph and also at the opening of the new paragraph.”

Actually, this one does have a conventional rule, and it’s not what you claim. If dialogue continues to another paragraph, you do NOT use a closing quote at the end the first paragraph. (Your introductory description aside.) Instead, you only use a closing quote at the end of the final paragraph. However, each new paragraph does have an opening quote. The reason for not using a closing quote with preceding paragraphs is to indicate that it’s the same person who’s continuing to speak. This may look odd, but it avoids any confusion over the speaker. (Using a quote at the end of a previous paragraph, and then introducing a new paragraph with descriptive text, is fine. But with very long dialogue and multiple paragraphs, it could look even odder – and disrupt the flow.)

Deb Wain

Well done, Jason. I was just going to add this comment.

Dax, there’s also a typo in your example for point 5. There’s an extra open quotation mark at the beginning of the example which shouldn’t be there.

A typo has been there all this time? Yikes!

Thanks for taking the time to point it out. It’s been corrected.

The Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Style Guide both agree and confirm that you are correct and I was mistaken. I have corrected Item 8 and provided a better example.

Thank you for catching my error.

smallfryinbigpond

Hi Dax, I’d like to apologize beforehand if my question has already been asked previously. The thread is long and I can’t go through all of them.

My question is, can you combine dialogues between two characters in a one paragraph?

Here’s a sample:

“What’s her story doc?” The younger of the two men broke the silence that ensued. The man called Doc leaned back and replied, “Charlie Staxx is her handler and manager. Most of her training comes from illegal underground fight clubs. That girl has skills as you can see in the video. Too bad that shark Charlie only wants to make a quick buck out of her. That was her first fight and she hardly made it as bantamweight. They pitted her against a super heavy weight and yet she won. She has raw talent but plays dirty too. She will need a lot of shake-up if she ever decides to become legit.”

Joe

Hi. Someone is speaking. The person listening (the scene is from the listener’s POV) zones out and we hear his/her thoughts. We then pick up the speaker’s dialogue again. What’s the proper way to end the initial dialogue text and then resume? Many thanks.

Romel Escobar

Not sure if you mentioned it, but what if a character is speaking and the next line, no character is speaking. Would you have to indent it or leave it as is.

Katie

What if a character is speaking, and after they say something the other character does something, like nods their head, and then the first character continues talking?

Indira

I don’t know how to format this:

Chad woke up, disoriented. He heard two women arguing. “Ladies let’s not fight, I love you both,” he slurred. “He’s delirious, I’m his girlfriend!” “Please, he loves ME!” They don’t know about Joanna? “What!?” Whoops “He doesn’t deserve us, let’s go!” “Yeah, but first I have some business.” SLAP The blackness clouded Chads vision. “You crazy…..”

Clint Smith

Excellent summation, thanks for posting it! Makes me more comfortable that I’ve been doing it right all along 🙂

Brandon Bland

This is so saddening and enlightening. I’ve written 100 pages into my fantasy novel and I’ve been scouring the internet looking for rule 6. I wasn’t sure how to format dialogue. I just went about my way knowing something was amiss but not knowing completely how to fix it. Thank you so much this article probably just saved me and what ever poor person who has to edit my work a ton of money and time.

Mongoose

Thank you for this. Just a small point, perhaps it would be better to use a different example instead of a segment about a battered woman? It could be unnecessarily upsetting if someone reading this page is a survivor of an abusive relationship.

R Todd

Until reading this, I lacked dialogue confidence to the point of beginning to write a full narrative book. The rules you so generously posted gives my story incredible flexibility. I’ll let you know how it goes.

thenikus

Thank you so much. Especially for point 7, which was unclear to me 🙂

TaylorWrites Creative

Bookmarking this. Very clearly explained.

Jane Desnouee

I assume one single spaces each character’s comments in a dialogue, specifically within fan essay or article being consistently double spaced. Of course, each new character begins a new line, indented, etc..

The entire manuscript should be double-spaced, even dialogue.

David Harvey

Thanks Dax, l really needed help. I’m a first time writer. This will help me get out of the gate!

Amos

Really helpful. Would be smart to include with this information details related to “smart” quotes, as these are now generally required by editors of fiction.

Erinn

What about a person who hears a voice in their head, and is reading a book…

Jack opened the book. “Just start reading?”

Yes, just start reading.

“Every story has its beginning, and this beginning begins here.”

The last sentence would be from the book itself.

Great content, thank you!

You ask good questions.

When you write internal thoughts, there are multiple methods used. One option is to enclose them in quotation marks, as you did. However, many authors prefer not to use quotation marks because they are easily mistaken for dialogue, especially when other characters are present. It’s common to place inner thoughts in italics when quotation marks are not used. However, italics are not required. Whichever technique you use, you should be consistent throughout your manuscript. We have an article that discusses this: Do Thoughts Need Quotation Marks?

You correctly used quotation marks when citing material from another source. Nicely done.

I just noticed that the second line, “Yes, just start reading.” which was intended to be the internal thought, was not in italics as I had intended. Thank you so much for the feedback!

Larry Ronnow

I see that your new paragraph indent is the same as your first line of dialogue indent. I have seen some authors who have a larger indent than the paragraph indent. I think I like yours better. Seems to be more prevalent. Very good clear article in any case.

Alain Paradis

There’s a typo in #3.

For example, If Cindi screamed and then spoke

If should have a lower case i.

Thanks. It’s been corrected.

Berl

One thing that strikes me, is that in classic novels there is a seperate rule regarding the beginning of dialog after an introduction:

Silvia asked him flat out, “Where have you been?”

Silvia asked him flat out, “where have you been?”

Is there a rule, or is this the preference of the author?

As a general rule, the speech portion of the dialogue would be capitalized as it would be without the tags and quotation marks. In other words, using your example, the speech portion would be: Where have you been? So the first letter of the Silvia’s question would be capitalized. However, the Chicago Manual of Style (the rule book for novels) states: The initial letter may be changed to a capital or a lowercase letter. 13.7: Permissible changes to punctuation, capitalization, and spelling

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rules of writing speech in a story

7 essential rules for writing dialogue

Dialogue can serve a number of purposes in fiction including developing character, building suspense and advancing plot. If written well, it engages readers and increase their identification with characters. Here are 7 rules for writing dialogue:

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Dialogue can serve a number of purposes in fiction including developing character, building suspense and advancing plot. If written well, it engages readers and increase their identification with characters. Here are 7 rules for writing dialogue:

Make your dialogue imitate life

One of the first things to remember about writing dialogue is that it should capture the essence of how people speak without actually copying the exact way that people phrase things.

That’s because people often interject pauses and words like “um.” They may speak in a way that is understandable in a conversation but is difficult to understand when written. One of the best ways to make sure your dialogue reads well is to read out loud. This will help you see what in your dialogue needs fixing.

When writing about a particular place, you may want to capture a particular dialect, accent or way of speaking. It is rarely a good idea to try to recreate the speech exactly as it sounds. The key in writing strong, snappy dialogue is to choose a few notable features to stand in for any unusual quirks of language and aim to write speech that sounds natural even when it technically is not.

One thing we often do when we speak is fumble for words or ramble before getting to the point. Unless the point of a passage of dialogue is to show a character doing this very thing, this should be avoided as well. Even when a character does stumble or ramble in speech, the dialogue should demonstrate this without accidentally bogging the reader down in the parts of a conversation you find frustrating in life.

Avoid unnatural exposition

In an attempt to avoid info dumps , writers will sometimes try to convey the same information via dialogue. Sometimes, this is successful. It’s easy, however,  to make the common error of having one character tell the other something that character already knows or in a way that the character would never speak. Here’s an example:

“Ever since your brother, Richard, invented the invisible ray, people have been disappearing in enormous numbers!” Blanche exclaimed.

There are a number of reasons besides the silliness of the information that make this exposition seem unnatural. One is that Blanche tells the person she is speaking to the name of their own brother. This is obviously only for the reader’s benefit. However, the other information Blanche conveys is likely for the reader’s benefit as well. If huge numbers of people have been disappearing as a result of Richard’s invention, Richard’s brother is likely to have heard something about that.

People often do not say exactly what they mean, and this can be used to your advantage to make dialogue interesting:

Use implication and hidden meanings

7 must-obey rules for writing dialogue - be indirect

In their daily life, people often spend a lot of time not saying what they mean or concealing their meaning in their speech. Often, the real meaning behind what they are saying is discernible to either the other characters in the story or to the reader. Your dialogue will be much more interesting if it’s not just characters stating the obvious. Let’s take a look back at the earlier passage. Here is how it might be rewritten with unstated meanings implied:

“Have you heard from Richard?” Blanche asked. He shook his head. “My brother and I don’t speak much.” “Not even after—?” “Especially not then.” Blanche said softly, “All those people.” “Have you finished running the reports?” he asked.

We still get from this exchange that one of the speakers has a brother named Richard. We also understand that they are both concerned but neither has to say so directly. Within the greater context of the story, the man’s refusal to speak of his brother and his abrupt shift of topic may indicate that he finds the topic too emotional to discuss. The dialogue flows more naturally and is more interesting if these things are implied rather than spoken.

Be vigilant with dialogue tags

Dialogue tags are phrases like ‘he said’ and ‘she asked’. Notice that in the above passage, there are six lines of dialogue and three tags. There are a few guidelines to keep in mind when using dialogue tags :

  • Simpler is usually better. Some writers maintain that “said” is the only dialogue tag you need. While most allow that other words such as asked or replied are also useful sometimes, beware of unusual or unintentionally funny dialogue tags, and make sure they are describing sounds people make in the real world. For example, can you describe someone as hissing a phrase that contains no sibilants?
  • Be sparing but not too sparing. In other words, you don’t need to tag every line of dialogue, but do so often enough that the reader can keep up with who is speaking.
  • Replace some tags with actions. This can be overdone, but in some cases, an action like “He shook his head” can replace a tag like “he said” if it conveys necessary information to the reader about the character’s feelings.

Make your dialogue do double—or triple—duty

As with other aspects of your fiction, your dialogue needs purpose. Over the course of a day, we have a number of mundane exchanges. Not every conversation is worthy of recording. However, your dialogue does not just need a reason to exist; again, like other elements of fiction it also needs to do more than one thing.

For example, this means that a great passage of dialogue does not just establish character; it also pushes the plot forward. This doesn’t need to be the case with every sentence spoken, but the overall conversation should do so.

You can learn a lot about eliminating unnecessary dialogue and making your dialogue do double or triple duty from other media:

Learn from TV and movies

What do you do when you make or end a phone call? Usually there are greetings and small talk. Now watch someone on a TV show or in a movie end a call. They almost never say goodbye, and that’s because doing so is wasted speech as far as writers for this medium are concerned.

Some TV shows, movies and screenwriters are particularly renowned for their distinctive dialogue. Playwright David Mamet has written several films, and TV writers Aaron Sorkin and Joss Whedon are frequently mentioned for their distinctive use of dialogue.  The Wire  effectively captured the vernacular of cops, drug dealers and politicians in the U.S. city of Baltimore while  The Gilmore Girls , set in a tiny town in the northeastern United States, was renowned for its clever, rapid-fire dialogue punctuated with pop cultural references. Other acclaimed TV series such as Sherlock  may not necessarily have their dialogue singled out as much for praise, but their success as TV shows points to a successful use of it. You can watch some of your own favourites and notice writers’ techniques that you can transfer to your own work. You may also tend to notice more when dialogue goes wrong in film or TV than on the written page, and when it does, notice why.

Writing for film and TV is not exactly the same as writing fiction, and sometimes passages of dialogue that work in one medium do not work in another. Even so, you can still study media that are heavily reliant on dialogue to learn how to improve your own.

Think about your characters’ voices

Rules for writing dialogue - character backgrounds

As you are studying TV shows and movies, notice as well that characters have individual voices. On shows with the best-developed characters and dialogue, there are particular lines that could only be spoken by the person who is saying them:

Think about your own characters. The first thing that affects the way that they speak is their background and demographics, but characters are much more than that. Does your character speak haltingly, or tend to use big words, or try to downplay their education? Does your character tend to be awkward and say the wrong thing or is your character inherently charming? If you read over your dialogue and find it interchangeable, you probably need better developed characters or dialogue that better suits the individuals.

Writing snappy dialogue is a key to creating engaging, realistic characters . Good dialogue keeps the pace of the novel up as well. Avoid awkward dialogue tags and overusing dialogue for exposition, but try to ensure that your characters all speak in their unique voices and that you capture the flavour of speech in the place where your novel is set. Both film and TV tend to rely heavily on dialogue, and you can watch movies and TV to find out what to do and what not to do in your own writing.

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rules of writing speech in a story

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

12 replies on “7 essential rules for writing dialogue”

This is very well explained and covered things that would have been missed very easily in my own writing had you not pointed them out. I shall definitely be using this when I edit my dialogue throughout my draft. Thank you!

Thank you, Rebecca! Really glad this will benefit your writing practice. It’s a pleasure, best of luck with your draft.

Thank you 🙂 Slowly but surely it is getting there!

Great one, Angela!

Great post! I really liked the bit about the dialogue tags. I wince every time I see those done wrong.

Thanks, Tatiana! I agree – nothing like clumsy dialogue to ruin a good story.

Point 6 is great and something I think a lot of writers could benefit from. If your dialogue doesn’t sound good aloud than its not really dialogue. Great job. Ryan S. O’Malley

Thanks, Ryan! I agree – the ear never lies when it comes to dialogue.

One of the best movies I’ve ever seen dialogue wise is Howard Hawks’ “The Thing (From Another World)”. That movie has skillfully done info dumps that aren’t obvious. All of the characters have distinctive voices. They interrupt each other all the time and the dialogue sounds totally natural, which helps build the tension leading up to the ultimate showdown.

Thanks for the suggestion, Ruby. I must say I haven’t seen that. I’m intrigued to see how info dumps are used subtly as you say. Thanks for the recommendation.

Yes,I really need to work on point 7-“Thinking about your Character Voices.” Factors such as age ,sex, religion,education, social status, race nationality, political affiliations, level of exposure/ travel and personal idiosyncrasies are some factors which may affect what people say and how they say what they say.

I understand a little more.

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Last updated on Sep 21, 2023

How to Write Fabulous Dialogue [9 Tips + Examples]

This post is written by author, editor, and bestselling ghostwriter Tom Bromley. He is the  instructor of Reedsy's 101-day course,  How to Write a Novel .

Good dialogue isn’t about quippy lines and dramatic pauses.

Good dialogue is about propelling the story forward, pulling the reader along, and fleshing out characters and their dynamics in front of readers. Well-written dialogue can take your story to a new level — you just have to unlock it.

In this article, I’ll break down the major steps of writing great dialogue, and provide exercises for you to practice your own dialogue on.

Here's how to write great dialogue in 9 steps:

1. Use quotation marks to signal speech

2. pace dialogue lines by three , 3. use action beats , 4. use ‘said’ as a dialogue tag  , 5. write scene-based dialogue, 6. model any talk on real life , 7. differentiate character voices, 8. "show, don't tell" information in conversation , 9. delete superfluous words, which dialogue tag are you.

Find out in just a minute.

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Alfred Hitchcock once said, “Drama is life with all the boring bits cut out.”

Similarly, I could say that good dialogue in a novel is a real conversation without all the fluff — and with quotation marks. 

Imagine, for instance, if every scene with dialogue in your novel started out with:

'Hey, buddy! How are you doing?"

“Great! How are you?""

'Great! Long time no see! Parking was a nightmare, wasn’t it?"

Firstly, from a technical perspective, the quotation marks are inconsistent and incorrectly formatted. To learn about the mechanics of your dialogue and how to format it, we also wrote this full post on the topic that I recommend reading.

Secondly, from a novel perspective, such lines don’t add anything to the story. And finally, from a reading perspective, your readers will not want to sit through this over and over again. Readers are smart: they can infer that all these civilities occur. Which means that you can skip the small talk (unless it’s important to the story) to get to the heart of the dialogue from the get-go.  

For a more tangible example of this technique, check out the dialogue-driven opening to Barbara Kingsolver's novel, Unsheltered .

Screenwriter Cynthia Whitcomb once proposed an idea called the “Three-Beat Rule.” What this recommends, essentially, is to introduce a maximum of three dialogue “beats” (the short phrases in speech you can say without pausing for breath) at a time. Only after these three dialogue beats should you insert a dialogue tag, action beat, or another character’s speech.

Here’s an example from Jane Gardam’s short story, “Dangers”, in which the boy Jake is shooting an imaginary gun at his grandmother:

How to Write Dialogue | Example from Dangers by Jane Gardam

In theory, this sounds simple enough. In practice, however, it’s a bit more complicated than that, simply because dialogue conventions continue to change over time. There’s no way to condense “good dialogue” into a formula of three this, or two that. But if you’re just starting out and need a strict rule to help you along, then the Three-Beat Rule is a good place to begin experimenting.

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Let’s take a look at another kind of “beats” now — action beats.

Action beats are the descriptions of the expressions, movements, or even internal thoughts that accompany the speaker’s words. They’re always included in the same paragraph as the dialogue, so as to indicate that the person acting is also the person speaking.

On a technical level, action beats keep your writing varied, manage the pace of a dialogue-heavy scene, and break up the long list of lines ending in ‘he said’ or ‘she said’.

But on a character level, action beats are even more important because they can go a level deeper than dialogue and illustrate a character’s body language.

When we communicate, dialogue only forms a half of how we get across what we want to say. Body language is that missing half — which is why action beats are so important in visualizing a conversation, and can help you “show” rather than “tell” in writing.

Here’s a quick exercise to practice thinking about body language in the context of dialogue: imagine a short scene, where you are witnessing a conversation between two people from the opposite side of a restaurant or café. Because it’s noisy and you can’t hear what they are saying, describe the conversation through the use of body language only.

Remember, at the end of the day, action beats and spoken dialogue are partners in crime. These beats are a commonly used technique so you can find plenty of examples —  here’s one from  Never Let Me Go  by Kazuo Ishiguro . 

If there’s one golden rule in writing dialogue, it’s this: ‘said’ is your friend.

Yes, ‘said’ is nothing new. Yes, ‘said’ is used by all other authors out there already. But you know what? There’s a reason why ‘said’ is the king of dialogue tags: it works.

Pro-tip: While we cannot stress enough the importance of "said," sometimes you do need another dialogue tag. Download this free cheatsheet of 270+ other words for said to get yourself covered!

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Upgrade your dialogue with our list of 270 alternatives to “said.”

The thinking goes that ‘said’ is so unpretentious, so unassuming that it focuses readers’ attention on what’s most important on the page: the dialogue itself. As writer Elmore Leonard puts it: 

“Never use a verb other than ‘said’ to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But ‘said’ is far less intrusive than ‘grumbled,’ ‘gasped,’ ‘cautioned,’ ‘lied.’”

It might be tempting at times to turn towards other words for ‘said’ such as ‘exclaimed,’ or ‘declared,’ but my general rule of thumb is that in 90% of scenarios, ‘said’ is going to be the most effective dialogue tag for you to use while writing dialogue.

So now that we have several guidelines in place, this is a good spot to pause, reflect, and say that there’s no wrong or right way to write dialogue. It depends on the demands of the scene, the characters, and the story. Great dialogue isn’t about following this or that rule — but rather learning what technique to use when . 

If you stick to one rule the whole time — i.e. if you only use ‘said,’ or you finish every dialogue line with an action beat — you’ll wear out readers. Let’s see how unnaturally it plays out in the example below with Sophie and Ethan: 

How to Write Dialogue | Example of Repetitive Dialogue Tags

All of which is to say: don’t be afraid to make exceptions to the rule if the scene asks for it. The key is to know when to switch up your dialogue structure or use of dialogue tags or action beats throughout a scene — and by extension, throughout your book.

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Dialogue isn’t always about writing grammatically perfect prose. The way a person speaks reflects the way a person is — and not all people are straight-A honor students who speak in impeccable English. In real life, the way people talk is fragmented, and punctuated by pauses.

That’s something that you should also keep in mind when you’re aiming to write authentic dialogue.

It can be tempting to think to yourself, “ Oh, I’ll try and slip in some exposition into my dialogue here to reveal important background information.” But if that results in an info-dump such as this — “ I’m just going to the well, Mother — the well that my brother, your son, tragically fell down five years ago ” — then you’ll probably want to take a step back and find a more organic, timely, and digestible way to incorporate that into your story.

How to Write Dialogue | Example from The Godfather

Kay Adams is Michael’s date at his sister’s wedding in this scene. Her interest in his family is natural enough that the expository conversation doesn’t feel shoehorned in. 

A distinctive voice for each character is perhaps the most important element to get right in dialogue. Just as no one person in the world talks the same as each other, no one person in your book should also talk similarly.

To get this part of writing dialogue down pat, you need to start out by knowing your characters inside out. How does your character talk? Do they come with verbal quirks? Non-verbal quirks?

Jay Gatsby’s “old sport,” for example, gives him a distinctive, recognizable voice. It stands out because no one else has something as memorable about their speech. But more than that, it reveals something valuable about Gatsby’s character: he’s trying to impersonates a gentleman in his speech and lifestyle.

Likewise, think carefully about your character’s voice, and use catchphrases and character quirks when they can say something about your character. 

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“Show, don’t tell” is one of the most oft-repeated rules in writing, and a conversation on the page can be a gold mine for “showing.”

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Authors can use action beats and descriptions to provide clues for readers to read between the lines. Let’s revisit Sophie and Ethan in this example:

How to Write Dialogue | Example of Show, Don't Tell

While Sophie claims she hasn’t been obsessing over this project all night, the actions in between her words indicate there’s nothing on her mind  but  work. The result is that you show , through the action beats vs. the dialogue, Sophie being hardworking—rather than telling it.

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Show, Don't Tell

Master the golden rule of writing in 10 five-minute lessons.

As always when it comes to writing a novel: all roads lead back to The Edit, and the dialogue you’ve written is no exception.

So while you’re editing your novel at the end, you may find that a “less is more” mentality will be helpful. Remember to cut out the unnecessary bits of dialogue, so that you can focus on making sure the dialogue you  do  keep matters. Good writing is intentional and purposeful, always striving to keep the story going and readers engaged. The importance lies in quality rather than quantity. 

One point I haven’t addressed yet is repetition. If used well (i.e. with clear intention), repetition is a  literary device  that can help you build motifs in your writing. But when you find yourself repeating information in your dialogue, it might be a good time to revise your work. 

For instance, here’s a scene with Sophie and Ethan later on in the story: 

How to Write Dialogue | Example of Unnecessary Repetition

As I’ve mentioned before, good dialogue shows character — and dialogue itself is a playground where character dynamics play out. If you write and edit your dialogue with this in mind, then your dialogue will be sharper, cleaner, and more organic. 

I know that writing dialogue can be intimidating, especially if you don’t have much experience with it. But that should never keep you from including it in your work! Just remember that the more you practice — especially with the help of these tips — the better you’ll get.

And once you’re confident with the conversational content you can conjure up, follow along to the next part of our guide to see how you can punctuate and format your dialogue flawlessly .

Tom Bromley

As an editor and publisher, Tom has worked on several hundred titles, again including many prize-winners and international bestsellers. 

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As Biden’s memory issues draw attention, neurologists weigh in

Since a report released on Thursday by special counsel Robert Hur described President Joe Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory,” there have been significant misperceptions about the cognitive changes associated with aging, neurologists say.

The report on Biden’s handling of classified documents noted that the president hadn’t remembered the exact time frame that he served as vice president and was struggling to recall the period when his late son, Beau Biden, had passed away. Biden defiantly rejected the changes in a press conference late Thursday , saying “my memory’s fine.”

There’s also been scrutiny of other recent events when the 81-year-old president mixed up names of foreign leaders .

However, neurologists say blanking on the names of acquaintances or having difficulty remembering dates from the past, especially when under stress, can simply be part of normal aging.

“If you asked me when my mother passed away, I couldn’t necessarily tell you the exact year because it was many years ago,” Dr. Paul Newhouse, clinical core leader for the Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, said.

Almost every older patient has trouble remembering people’s names, Newhouse said. 

“I think it’s by far the most universal complaint of every person as they age,” Newhouse said.

In Newhouse's experience, this type of forgetfulness doesn’t actually predict who ends up having memory disorders. Only a person’s doctor or neurologist can make that diagnosis, not outside observers, brain experts say.

Dr. Dennis Selkoe, co-director of the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, agreed that forgetting names doesn’t actually provide much insight into potential memory problems. In fact, stress and a lack of sleep, can interfere with memory, no matter how old someone is.

“Naming proper nouns is not an adequate basis to make a conclusion about whether an individual has a more consistent and more concerning substantive progressive memory disorder,” Selkoe said.

What are normal memory changes?

It’s normal for older brains to have more difficulty retaining new information and then retrieving the information, but mental processes like decision-making and judgment can actually improve with age, said Dr. Thomas Wisniewski, director of NYU Langone Health’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and its Center for Cognitive Neurology.

“Although the raw power of memory has some degree of decline, perhaps wisdom can increase because the individual has a greater backlog of experiences and different situations as to what is the best thing to do,” Wisniewski said.

The problem isn’t having trouble remembering names or calling someone by the wrong name, but when someone’s memory is fuzzy about recent or past experiences, said Newhouse. Issues with episodic memory — memory for events in time or if a person doesn’t remember going shopping, for example — can be a sign of a progressive disorder, but not always.

Wisniewski said he becomes concerned when people don’t even recognize that they are forgetting things.

“They forgot that they went shopping and they’re unaware that they’ve forgotten,” he said.

Overall, neurologists tend to worry less about a patient’s ability to remember remote memories from many years ago and more troubled by an inability to recall more recent events. That’s because dementia first affects the part of the brain that’s responsible for short-term memories, as opposed to long-term memories, said Newhouse.

“What I’m more concerned about is, can you remember what happened yesterday? Or an hour ago?” Newhouse said.

While the conversation surrounding aging is often framed around a person’s diminishing memory or executive functioning, there are cognitive benefits that come with growing older, Selkoe said.

“There is a type of emotional intelligence and ability to handle many different kinds of experiences in life that come with greater longevity,” he said. “People can make decisions more carefully and more rationally.”

rules of writing speech in a story

Akshay Syal, M.D., is a medical fellow with the NBC News Health and Medical Unit. 

rules of writing speech in a story

Ghael Fobes is an Associate White House Producer with the NBC News White House Unit in Washington, D.C.

Reporter Rachael Riley: Why I wanted to cover the world's largest military installation

rules of writing speech in a story

When I was in the second grade pronouncing my name "Wachael Wiley," I never conceived of a career beginning with the letter R. 

Decades later, here I am — speech impediment conquered, and almost 15 years as a reporter.  

I started at papers across my home state of Texas in the mid-2000s, moved to North Carolina in September 2016, and have been at The Fayetteville Observer since July 2018.  

I’m frequently asked what brought me to Fayetteville, and my response is “to write about the military.”  

Here are a few of the other top questions I’ve been asked during the past five years I’ve lived here.

More Observer staff: Photographer Andrew Craft: A Q&A with the man behind the lens at The Fayetteville Observer

Do you have a spouse in the military?  

No. I have no immediate connection to the Army, which helps me to remain neutral in my reporting. Indirectly, like a lot of people here, I've had multiple family members who served including my dad, who was in the Navy decades before my existence; a cousin who served in the Marine Corps; another cousin who served in the Air Force; an uncle who served in the Arkansas National Guard; and my maternal grandfather who served in the Army — more about him in a later response.  

Why did you want to cover the military?  

Bear with me, because this is a long response. At the first two newspapers I worked at, I gravitated toward veteran stories. There were Larry Thomas, a Korean War veteran who I spent four hours with during an interview in Crockett, Texas, and veterans Douglas Morton and Don Jarrell in Henderson, Texas.  

Jarrell didn’t serve with Morton when they were in the military, but after meeting Morton years after their military service, Jarrell traveled to Washington, D.C. to advocate for Morton’s Purple Heart.  

The third paper I worked at was four hours away from where I’m from, but was in my mom’s hometown — Killeen, Texas, near then-Fort Hood. 

By then, I knew I wanted to cover the military.

Being a city government reporter, I was ready to trade long city council budget meetings for seeing military training in action.  

It took time and leaving Texas, but what better place to start than the most populated U.S. military installation in the world, the home of the airborne and Special Forces, known locally as “the center of the universe.”  

What’s the hardest part about covering the military?  

It’s the same as writing about non-military stories — death. Grief is different for everyone.  

On a personal level, my cousin, Ross Riley, was a state trooper and medic who died during a training exercise Nov. 20, 2013, in Letchworth State Park, New York. I learned about his death by reading the headlines. My aunt and uncle, who were waiting to meet with Ross’ wife, were still processing what had happened and hadn’t had time to call my father.  

There’s also the grandfather I never knew — Sgt. 1 st Class William Rasdon — who was a military police officer killed breaking up a bar fight in Germany three months before my mother was born. 

I always tell families I don’t want to add to their grief. I am ready to listen when it’s on their terms. 

What have you learned or enjoyed writing about Fort Liberty?  

I’m still learning. There are too many stories to list, but seeing paratroopers jump from "a perfectly good aircraft" never gets old. Having the opportunity to sit down in the home of retired Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth “Rock” Merritt , the 18th Airborne Corps’ first-ever senior enlisted leader, stands out as a favorite, as does the 82nd Airborne Division’s Immediate Response Force's New Year’s Day 2020 no notice deployment to the Middle East, or the 3rd Special Forces Group’s memorial workouts .

They’re always mentioned at ceremonies on post, but I will always make time for a Gold Star family, and those who I’ve spoken to or met have stood out. There’s Mary Herrema, the mother of Sgt. 1 st Class Richard "Rick" Herrema, who has a special way of interacting with other military families when she visits a Fayetteville military retreat named after her son; Mary Tator, who’s connected with nonprofits and veteran organizations in her home state of New York to honor the memory of her daughter, Spc. Abigail Jenks also shares Abby’s artwork with others; Heather Baker , who's spoken to members of Congress about her son, Pvt. Caleb Smither; Britt Harris , who maintains a close relationship with her mother-in-law, and is often seen paying tribute to her late husband, Spc. Chris Harris, at Fort Liberty ceremonies, while also having adventures of her own; or the Gold Star kids who run to honor their fallen parents each Memorial Day.  

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at [email protected] or 910-486-3528.

San Diego cracks down on street vendors with stricter rules for impoundment, free speech

Vendors sell their wares along the sidewalk at and around Ellen Browning Scripps Park, July 27, 2023.

City Council unanimously revises 2022 law that had free speech loophole, allowed rogue vendors downtown

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San Diego cracked down Tuesday on “rogue” sidewalk vendors in downtown and other vendors in parks and beaches who use free-speech claims to skirt city restrictions on where they can operate.

The City Council unanimously approved a complex and comprehensive enforcement framework that city officials say will help restore the look and feel of many popular tourist areas flooded with vendors in recent years.

The new legislation fundamentally changes the city’s 2022 street vendor law, making it easier to impound the carts of rule-breaking vendors and limiting where free-speech vendors can operate.

The legislation also carefully defines which kinds of vendor activities have free-speech protections, such as political efforts, selling art a person made themselves, fortune telling, face painting and making balloon sculptures.

SAN DIEGO, CA - JULY 27: Street vendors continue to sell their wares along the sidewalk at and around Ellen Browning Scripps Park in La Jolla, July 27, 2023, not far from Coast Boulevard, although they are violating the city laws preventing it. Vendors are being allowed to violate those laws because the City of San Diego is worried the laws might violate first amendment free speech rights. (Howard Lipin / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)

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A council committee OK’d a comprehensive framework allowing the city to shut down rogue downtown vendors and making it harder for beach and park vendors to use free speech claims to skirt rules

Oct. 5, 2023

The revised law makes it clear that singing and street performing are also protected activities, which means those activities are exempt from many vendor restrictions but may be restricted to special free-speech zones.

Activities that lack free speech protections include selling food, clothing, jewelry, soaps, oils and creams. In addition, yoga, exercise classes and dog training are not protected.

SAN DIEGO, CA - JULY 27: Street vendors dot the sidewalk along Ellen Browning Scripps Park in La Jolla, not far from Coast Boulevard, July 27, 2023, although they are violating the city laws preventing it. Vendors are being allowed to violate those laws because the City of San Diego is worried the laws might violate first amendment free speech rights. (Howard Lipin / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Does the First Amendment protect street vendors? Fears it might are holding up city crackdown

But some coastal leaders contend the concerns are ‘a joke’ and are frustrated by the slow pace of enforcement

July 29, 2023

However, the legislation says almost any activity could potentially be eligible for free-speech protections if it is “inextricably intertwined” with political, religious or ideological messages.

Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, who spearheaded the initial legislation and these revisions, said the new legislation strikes the right balance.

“These amendments aim to create an environment where permitted vendors can continue to thrive and provide valuable services to our residents,” said Campbell, whose district includes Mission Beach and Ocean Beach. “They also create a balance between protecting constitutional rights, like free speech, and maintaining public order.”

The Coastal Coalition, a group of community leaders representing the city’s coastal neighborhoods, expressed opposition based on concerns the law doesn’t specify the locations of the free-speech zones and lobbied city officials to add them.

“Without these changes, the city does not have to create the zones and can expand the number of zones without any community input,” said Larry Webb, a coalition member and leader of the Mission Beach Town Council.

He said the coalition and city officials agreed on specific locations for three free-speech zones in both La Jolla and Mission Beach, and two free-speech zones in both Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach.

Venus Molina, Campbell’s chief of staff and the primary author of the legislation, said making the city’s rules too specific could limit flexibility when it comes to making changes.

Webb also said the new legislation’s attempt to crack down on amplified music could work in Balboa Park, but will be unenforceable in beach communities.

“Don’t destroy a good day at the beach by allowing loud-amplified music,” he said.

The legislation limits decibel levels to 65 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and to 55 the other half of the day.

Most other local organizations and public speakers expressed strong support for the revisions.

Merchants in downtown, East Village, Little Italy and the sidewalks around Petco Park say those areas get flooded each weekend by food vendors who have been accused of threatening and intimidating other vendors and operators of brick-and-mortar businesses.

The revisions give police and park rangers broad latitude to immediately impound carts when they believe vendors are breaking city rules, obstructing sidewalks or creating unsanitary conditions.

“These vendors exploit the lack of enforcement, jeopardizing patrons and the well-being of law-abiding establishments,” said Michael Trimble, executive director of the Gaslamp Quarter Association.

Diana Puetz, vice president of public affairs for the Padres, said the revisions are urgently needed with the team’s opening home game scheduled for March 28.

“We’ve consistently voiced our concerns about the hazardous conditions caused by certain vendors in the ballpark district,” she said. “We’ve experienced multiple incidents involving explosions and fires.”

Fred Tayco, executive director of the San Diego County Lodging Association, also expressed support for the new rules.

“Illegal sidewalk vending continues to present challenges in areas that are often frequented by visitors,” he said.

The legislation continues to make the Gaslamp a no-vending zone year-round and beach areas no-vending zones from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

The new impound rules are modeled after a similar crackdown in Orange, a city near Anaheim that had been dealing with the same kinds of scofflaw vendors for years.

The proposal eliminates warnings for first offenses and moves directly to fines and impounding. A first offense is now $100 for someone with a vendor permit and $250 for someone without a permit.

Criteria for impounding includes failing to provide identification, failing to remove sale items that violate city rules, blocking pedestrian pathways, creating unsanitary or unsafe conditions and not having a health permit, vending permit or business license.

Alliance San Diego, a local nonprofit focused on inclusive democracy, criticized the crackdown for wiping out small gains made by sidewalk vending entrepreneurs under a 2018 state law, SB 946, that gave them more rights.

Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, whose district includes downtown and Balboa Park, said he thinks the revisions manage to effectively thread the needle between vendor rights and needed enforcement.

“I feel these amendments strike the right balance,” he said.

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rules of writing speech in a story

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  2. Speech Writing: Outline, Tips, and Examples

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  3. how to properly write speech in a story

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  4. Learn How to Punctuate Dialogue in Fiction Writing

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COMMENTS

  1. How to Format Dialogue in Your Novel or Short Story

    1. Use Quotation Marks to Indicate Spoken Word Whenever someone is speaking, their words should be enclosed in double quotation marks. Example: "Let's go to the beach." 2. Dialogue Tags Stay Outside the Quotation Marks Dialogue tags attribute a line of dialogue to one of the characters so that the reader knows who is speaking.

  2. How to structure and punctuate direct speech in fiction

    Play 01:15 Learn how to correctly structure and punctuate direct speech when writing fiction Speech marks Punctuation is used in direct speech to separate spoken words, or dialogue, from...

  3. 6 Unbreakable Dialogue Punctuation Rules All Writers Must Know

    1. Always put commas and periods inside the quote The misplacement of periods and commas is the most common mistake writers make when punctuating dialogue. But it's pretty simple, once you get the hang of it. You should always have the period inside the quote when completing a spoken sentence. Example: "It's time to pay the piper."

  4. How to Format Dialogue in a Story: 15 Steps (with Pictures)

    3. Vary the placement of your dialogue tags. Instead of starting every dialogue sentence with "Evgeny said," "Laura said," or "Sujata said," try placing some dialogue tags at the end of sentences. Place dialogue tags in the middle of a sentence, interrupting the sentence, to change the pacing of your sentence. Because you have to ...

  5. How to structure and punctuate direct speech in fiction

    Direct speech should sit inside speech marks. Direct speech must be carefully structured and punctuated to clearly separate it from the rest of the text. Play 01:15 Learn how to correctly...

  6. Writing Dialogue In Fiction: 7 Easy Steps

    "You bet. Let's dive right in." How To Write Dialogue In 7 Simple Steps: Keep it tight and avoid unnecessary words Hitting beats and driving momentum Keep it oblique, where characters never quite answer each other directly Reveal character dynamics and emotion Keep your dialogue tags simple Get the punctuation right Be careful with accents

  7. How to Write Dialogue: Rules, Examples, and 8 Tips for ...

    Rules for writing dialogue Before we get into how to make your dialogue realistic and engaging, let's make sure you've got the basics down: how to properly format dialogue in a story. We'll look at how to punctuate dialogue, how to write dialogue correctly when using a question mark or exclamation point, and some helpful dialogue writing examples.

  8. How to Write a Story In 6 Steps: A Complete Step-By-Step Guide to

    Some writers work straight through from beginning to end. Others work in pieces they arrange later, while others work from sentence to sentence. Whether you're writing a novel, novella, short story, or flash fiction, don't be afraid to try out different voices, and styles.

  9. How to Format Dialogue in a Story: 10 Dialogue Rules to Follow

    Quotation marks for long dialogue. 7. Start a new paragraph each time a new character speaks. 8. Continue interrupted speech with a lowercase letter. 9. Use an em-dash to indicate interruption. 10. Use an ellipsis to indicate speech trailing off.

  10. How to Write Dialogue in a Story: 7 Rules, 5 Tips & 65 Examples

    3. Every new speaker gets a new paragraph. Every dialogue begins with a new paragraph. Each time a character says something, even if it is only a word, the dialogue should begin on a new paragraph. Here's a dialogue writing example: "Don't worry, the information they have of our whereabouts is misleading.".

  11. Writing a Story Dialogue Rules to Use

    When writing a story, dialogue rules change depending on the medium the story is written for. This page will focus on how to follow rules for writing a narrative for a book. How to format dialogue in a story. 1. Quotation marks or inverted commas are used to indicate spoken words. These should be double when indicating direct speech. For example:

  12. A Guide to Writing Dialogue, With Examples

    Write with Grammarly What is dialogue, and what is its purpose? Dialogue is what the characters in your short story, poem, novel, play, screenplay, personal essay—any kind of creative writing where characters speak—say out loud. For a lot of writers, writing dialogue is the most fun part of writing.

  13. How To Write Dialogue In A Story (With Examples)

    Internal vs External Dialogue. Direct vs Indirect Dialogue. 20 Tips For Formatting Dialogue in Stories. How to Write Dialogue in 5 Steps. Step 1: Use a Dialogue Outline. Step 2: Write down a script. Step 3: Edit & review your script. Step 4: Sprinkle in some narrative. Step 5: Format your dialogue.

  14. How to Write Dialogue: Formatting, Examples, & Tips

    Say the dialogue out loud. Cut small talk when writing dialogue. Keep your dialogue brief and impactful. Give each character a unique voice. Add world-appropriate slang. Be consistent with the characters' voices. Remember who they're speaking to. Avoid long dialogue paragraphs. Cut out greetings.

  15. Here's How to Write a Perfect Speech

    1 Tips to write (and live) by Let's start with the 30,000 foot, big-picture view. These are the tenets that will guide you in your speech writing process (and pretty much anything else you want to write). Know the purpose: What are you trying to accomplish with your speech? Educate, inspire, entertain, argue a point?

  16. How To Format Dialogue (includes examples) • First Manuscript

    Dialogue Format Rules. If you are writing dialogue in a manuscript, then the first line of each paragraph is indented. (The same as every other paragraph in the manuscript.) See our article on Proper Manuscript Format for full details on manuscript formatting. 1. Enclose the spoken words with double quotation marks. "I love it when that ...

  17. 7 Rules for Writing Dialogue

    Here are 7 rules for writing dialogue: Make your dialogue imitate life One of the first things to remember about writing dialogue is that it should capture the essence of how people speak without actually copying the exact way that people phrase things. That's because people often interject pauses and words like "um."

  18. When to indent text: Laying out narrative and dialogue in fiction

    22 Comments This post explains when and how to indent your narrative and dialogue according to publishing-industry convention. The purpose of first-line indents Each new paragraph signifies a change or shift of some sort ... perhaps a new idea, piece of action, thought or speaker, even a moderation or acceleration of pace.

  19. When Writing a Story Dialogue Rules to Use

    1. Quotation marks or inverted commas are used to indicate spoken words. These should be double when indicating direct speech. For example: "I'm starting to learn how to write dialogue" she said. 2. A dialogue tag is the part of the sentence that indicates how and who says something within the story.

  20. Write Like a Pro! Master The Rules of Dialogue in Writing

    1. Make it a real speech. 2. Have him write a letter. 3. Break it up with interjections that further the narrative and/or develop character or relationships at the same time. 4. Consider why it's necessary for this information to be imparted this way. If it's important, perhaps it should be done in a scene.

  21. How to Write Fabulous Dialogue [9 Tips + Examples]

    Here's how to write great dialogue in 9 steps: 1. Use quotation marks to signal speech. 2. Pace dialogue lines by three. 3. Use action beats. 4. Use 'said' as a dialogue tag.

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  25. Writing a Story Dialogue Rules to Use

    When writing a story, dialogue rules change depending on the medium the story is written for. This page will focus on how to follow rules for writing a narrative for a book. How to format dialogue in a story. 1. Quotation marks or inverted commas are used to indicate spoken words. These should be double when indicating direct speech. For example:

  26. Rachael Riley: Fayetteville Observer military reporter on her career

    Chris Harris, at Fort Liberty ceremonies, while also having adventures of her own; or the Gold Star kids who run to honor their fallen parents each Memorial Day. Staff writer Rachael Riley can be ...

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