New writers often struggle to properly format dialogue. The rules are strict and different than prose, but easily mastered. Whether you are writing a short story, full novel or anything in between, the way you format dialogue is the same. The examples below demonstrate how to properly format dialogue in various situations. However, writing dialogue in the proper format and composing effective dialogue are two different things. Be sure to check out my tips and examples on how to write engaging dialogue . Rules to Format Dialogue 1. Enclose the spoken words with double quotation marks. “I love it when that happens.” Note: The British use single quotation marks. 2. Dialogue tags (the he asked/she said portions) stay outside the quotes and get separated by a comma. Sam said, “I’ll never do that again.” “Don’t be a sissy,” said Bill. “Let’s get back in line and ride this beast again.” Note: When dialogue ends in a question or exclamation mark, tags that f...
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