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Last updated on Jul 24, 2023
6 Unbreakable Dialogue Punctuation Rules All Writers Must Know
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Martin Cavannagh
Head of Content at Reedsy, Martin has spent over eight years helping writers turn their ambitions into reality. As a voice in the indie publishing space, he has written for a number of outlets and spoken at conferences, including the 2024 Writers Summit at the London Book Fair.
View profile →Dialogue punctuation is a critical part of written speech that allows readers to understand when characters start and stop speaking. By following the proper punctuation rules — for example, that punctuation marks almost always fall within the quotation marks — a writer can ensure that their characters’ voices flow off the page with minimal distraction.
This post’ll show you how to format your dialogue to publishing standards.
6 essential dialogue punctuation rules:
- 1. Always put commas and periods inside the quote
- 2. Use double quote marks for dialogue (if you’re in America)
- 3. Start a new paragraph every time the speaker changes
- 4. Use dashes and ellipses to cut sentences off
- 5. Deploy single quote marks used for quotes within dialogue
- 6. Don’t use end quotes between paragraphs of speech
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.”
As you’ll know, the most common way to indicate speech is to write dialogue in quotation marks and attribute it to a speaker with dialogue tags, such as he said, she said, or Margaret replied, or chirped Hiroko. This is what we call “attribution” when you're punctuating dialogue.
Q: What are some techniques authors can use to introduce characters naturally through dialogue?
Suggested answer
When you're going to create a character through dialogue, what you want to do is provide the reader with information about this individual without interrupting the action for exposition.
One good way to do that is to think about how actual people reveal themselves in conversation: through what they say, the cadence of their speech, and what they focus on. Instead of telling us about what a character is sure, nervous, or resentful of, you can make those qualities evident in what they say.
A certain sort of character might answer quickly or deflect, while an unsure one might lie or offer more questions than answers. You can also include context of hinting—perhaps another character does something in response to an unexpected comment, or someone uses a nickname that suggests history. This allows the dialogue not just to define who the character is, but also how they exist in relationships with the world around them. It's generally more engaging to give little hints than to tell everything.
By piling personality, background, and relationships onto conversations, you create a sense of authenticity so that readers feel they're reading about a real person rather than getting a synopsis.
John is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
Dialogue is one of the most powerful ways to introduce your characters and bring them to life for readers. When done well, it reveals personality, relationships, and motivations—all in a way that feels natural and engaging. Here are a few techniques to make character introductions through dialogue memorable, with examples from authors I’ve worked with.
Show personality through speech patterns
The way a character speaks—their tone, choice of words, and rhythm—can reveal a lot about who they are. In Losing Juliet by June Taylor, the dialogue between two adult female characters is a perfect example. One character is guarded and precise, while the other’s tone is more casual and assertive. This contrast instantly tells us about their personalities and sets up their complex dynamic. When editing, I often help authors create unique speech patterns that make each character’s voice distinctive.
Reflect relationships through dialogue
How characters speak to each other reveals their relationship dynamics. In Losing Juliet, Taylor uses subtle hints in the dialogue to convey past secrets and tension without spelling it all out. Readers sense the history and conflict between the characters, making the dialogue feel rich and layered. When I work with authors, I encourage exploring these nuances in relationships, showing rather than telling.
Reveal motivation through subtext
Great dialogue often goes beyond what’s explicitly said. In The Hanged Man Rises by Sarah Naughton, the children’s dialogue is filled with innocence and curiosity, yet it often hints at deeper fears and uncertainties. This subtle layer adds intrigue without needing direct exposition. I frequently work with authors to find opportunities for subtext, letting readers read between the lines to discover characters’ hidden motivations.
Show conflict and tension
Conflict in dialogue can reveal a character’s core traits. In The Hanged Man Rises, Naughton’s children’s dialogue shows both their vulnerability and resilience, heightening the story’s suspense. In Losing Juliet, conversations between the protagonists highlight simmering anger and unresolved issues, offering readers a glimpse of what drives each character. When editing, I encourage authors to think about how characters might speak differently under pressure—revealing who they are when emotions run high.
Balance dialogue with actions and reactions
Dialogue is most impactful when paired with physical cues. In Losing Juliet, Taylor often uses gestures and subtle actions to deepen the impact of what’s said (or left unsaid). These small cues add depth, creating a more immersive experience. I often advise authors to integrate these details, as they can make dialogue feel more real and relatable.
Reflect character growth in speech
As characters evolve, so should their dialogue. In The Hanged Man Rises, Naughton’s young characters’ dialogue changes as they face challenges, reflecting their growth over the course of the story. This shift makes their journey feel authentic, and I often encourage authors to consider these changes as they develop characters’ arcs.
Shelley is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
How much or how little a character "speaks" says a lot about them. A dialect can also reveal where they are from. Broken English or a stutter can also say a lot. Dialogue is a great way to "show" and not "tell."
Melody is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
The main thing to get across when introducing characters through dialogue is to write it so it feels natural. Constantly ask yourself if the way you're making them speak is the way regular people in those circumstances would speak. If it sounds too stilted or infodump-y, that's going to distance your reader from the character because they'll feel unreal, manufactured—just there to move the plot along.
Brett is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
Insert a comma inside the quotation marks when the speaker is attributed after the dialogue.
Example: “Come closer so I can see you,” said the old man.
If the speaker is attributed before the dialogue, there is a comma outside the quotation marks.
Example: Aleela whimpered, “I don’t want to. I’m scared.”
If the utterance (to use a fancy linguistics term for dialogue 🤓) ends in a question mark or exclamation point, they would also be placed inside the quotation marks.
Exception: When it’s not direct dialogue.
You might see editors occasionally place a period outside the quotation marks. In those cases, the period is not used for spoken dialogue but for quoting sentence fragments, or perhaps when styling the title of a short story.
Examples:
Mark’s favorite short story was “The Gift of the Magi”.
My father forced us to go camping, insisting that it would “build character”.
Now that we’ve covered the #1 rule of dialogue punctuation, let’s dig into some of the more nuanced points.
2. Use double quote marks for dialogue (if you’re in America)
In American English, direct speech is normally represented with double quotation marks.
Example: “Hey, Billy! I’m driving to the drug store for a soda and Charleston Chew. Wanna come?” said Chad
In British and Commonwealth English, single quotation marks are the standard.
Example: ‘I say, old bean,’ the wicketkeeper said, ‘Thomas really hit us for six. Let’s pull up stumps and retire to the pavilion for tea.’
If you’re writing for publication in the United States, refer to the widely accepted standards set by the Chicago Manual of Style. Every editor will know its rules (and many will keep a copy within arm’s reach).
3. Start a new paragraph every time the speaker changes
This is one of the most fundamental rules of organizing dialogue. To make it easier for readers to follow what’s happening, start a new paragraph every time the speaker changes, even if you use dialogue tags.
Example:
“What do you think you’re doing?” asked the policeman.
“Oh, nothing, officer. Just looking for my hat,” I replied.
The new paragraph doesn’t always have to start with direct quotes. Whenever the focus moves from one speaker to the other, that’s when you start a new paragraph. Here’s an alternative to the example above:
“What do you think you’re doing?” asked the policeman.
I scrambled for an answer. “Oh, nothing, officer. Just looking for my hat.”
💡Pro tip: Imagine you’re watching the conversation play out in front of you in real life. Every time you feel like you would turn your head and look at a different character, either because they’ve started to speak, or you're anticipating their reply, that’s when you would start a new paragraph.
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4. Use dashes and ellipses to cut sentences off
So far, all of the examples we’ve shown you are of characters speaking in full, complete sentences. But as we all know, people don’t always get to the end of their thoughts before their either trail off or are interrupted by others. Here’s how you can show that on the page.
Em-dashes to interrupt
When a speaking character is cut off, either by another person or a sudden event, use an em-dash inside the quotation marks. These are the longest dashes and can be typed by hitting alt-shift-dash on your keyboard (or option-shift-dash for Mac users).
Q: Which authors are known for exceptional dialogue, and what techniques set them apart?
Suggested answer
I like Nick Hornby for providing realistic dialogue for male characters. He can get into the male mind and convey what men are thinking, in an honest and real way.
Melody is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
You can't go wrong with Robert B. Parker's sharp, punchy dialogue. Chuck Palahniuk is also very good at keeping dialogue crisp. For both of these writers, they don't tend to use a ton of attributive dialogue tags—especially when there're only two people in a scene—and accompanying actions while dialogue is occurring is kept to a minimum, which retains that punchiness.
Brett is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
Examples:
“Captain, we only have twenty seconds before—”
A deafening explosion ripped through the ship’s hull. It was already too late.
Or…
“Ali, please tell me what’s going—”
“There’s no use talking!” he barked.
You can also overlap dialogue to show one character speaking over another.
Example:
Mathieu put his feet up as the lecturer continued. "Current estimates indicate that a human mission will land on Mars within the next decade—"
"Fat chance."
"—with colonization efforts following soon thereafter."
Sometime people won’t finish their sentences, and it’s not because they’ve been interrupted. If this is the case, you’ll want to…
Trail off with ellipses
You can indicate the speaker trailing off with ellipses (. . .) inside the quotation marks.
Example:
Velasquez patted each of her pockets. “I swear I had my keys . . .”
Ellipses can also suggest a small pause between two people speaking.
Example:
Dawei was in shock. “I can’t believe it . . .”
“Yeah, me neither,” Lan Lan whispered.
💡Pro tip: The Chicago Manual of Style requires a space between each period of the ellipses. Most word processors will automatically detect the dot-dot-dot and re-style them for you — but if you want to be exact, manually enter the spaces in between the three periods.
5. Deploy single quote marks used for quotes within dialogue
In the course of natural speech, people will often directly quote what other people have said. If this is the case, use single quotation marks within the doubles and follow the usual rules of punctuating dialogue.
Example:
“What did Randy say to you?” Beattie asked.
“He told me, ‘I got a surprise for you,’ and then he life. Strange, huh?”
But what if a character is quoting another person, who is also quoting another person? In complex cases like this (which thankfully aren’t that common), you will alternate double quotation marks with single quotes.
Example:
“I asked Gennadi if he thinks I’m getting the promotion and he said, ‘The boss pulled me aside and asked, “Is Sergei going planning to stay on next year?”’”
The punctuation at the end is a double quote mark, followed by a single quote mark, followed by another double quote. It closes off:
- What the boss said,
- What Gennadi said, and
- What Sergei, the speaker, said.
Quoting quotes within quotes can get messy, so consider focusing on indirect speech. Simply relate the gist of what someone said:
“I pressed Gennadi on my promotion. He said the boss pulled him aside and asked him if I was leaving next year.”
So far, all our examples are for short sharp bursts of dialogue. But what happens when our characters start monologuing?
6. Don’t use end quotes between paragraphs of speech
In all the examples above, each character has said fewer than 10 or 20 words at a time. But if a character speaks more than a few sentences at a time, to deliver a speech for example, you can split their speech into multiple paragraphs. To do this:
- Start each subsequent paragraph with an opening quotation mark; and
- ONLY use a closing quotation mark on the final paragraph.
Q: What are the most common craft mistakes new authors make?
Suggested answer
One of the biggest mistakes I see from new authors is that they finish writing their manuscript and then they think they are done and ready for an editor to go through and review.
Writers need to be their own editors first. Because there are so many potential new authors every day, it's imperative that writers go back and edit their work thoroughly. That means reading, and rereading what they've written to understand how their characters develop through their novel, or how the topics that they brought up in chapter two are refined and built upon in chapter nine. Through that reading process, writers should be editing their work as they find pieces that aren't strong enough or need to be altered to make a better overall manuscript.
Matt is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
The most common writing mistake I see from first-time authors is cramming too much into the first chapter. Your first chapter is a meet and greet, where you establish credibility, likability, and optimism that the book is worth the reader's time. Hook the reader, show your personality, but don't dump all your knowledge on them at the beginning of the book. Take them on an interesting, helpful journey,
Mike is available to hire on Reedsy ⏺
Example:
"Would you like to hear my plan?" the professor said, lighting his oak pipe with a match. "The first stage involves undermining the dean's credibility: a small student protesst here, a little harassment rumor there. It all starts to add up.
"Stage two involves the board of trustees, with whom I've been ingratiating myself for the past two semesters."
Notice how the first paragraph doesn't end with an end quote? This indicates that the same person is speaking in the next paragraph. You can always break up any extended speech with action beats to avoid pages and pages of uninterrupted monologue.
Want to see a great example of action beats breaking up a monologue? Check out this example from Sherlock Holmes.
Hopefully, these guidelines have clarified a few things about punctuating dialogue. In the next parts of this guide, you’ll see these rules in action as we dive into dialogue tags and look at some more dialogue examples here.
