Since most keyboards use straight quotes, and is the default for many programs, you will have to change them to smart quotes manually. How to Change Straight Quotes to Curly Quotes John said, “I just like to write books, okay?”Ĭurly quotes are more common in publishing, fiction, and are generally considered the standard when doing dialogue. These are placed directly before and after the dialogue spoken by your character.įurthermore, the quotation marks are placed around any punctuation, such as a comma, question mark, or exclamation mark. The Correct Use of Quotation Marksįor American writing, you will use a set of quotation marks (” “). Let's dive into each of these one by one… 1. Using quotation marks with direct dialogue vs reported dialogue.Using quotation marks with direct dialogue versus indirect dialogue.Breaking dialogue into multiple paragraphs.The correct use of em-dashes and ellipses.The correct use of question and exclamation marks.To punctuate dialogue correctly, there are a few rules you should know: Now that you have these basics in mind, let's dive into the specific rules of grammar and punctuation for formatting dialogue. Any punctuation that is part of the dialogue should be kept within the quotes. Quotation marks go around the dialogue: use quotation marks at the beginning and end of your character's dialogue.There are small exceptions, such as at the beginning of a chapter or scene break. Indent each paragraph: as with any paragraph, you should indent it.This is true, even if your character is alone and talking out loud, or even if all they say is one word. New speaker, new paragraph: whenever a new person speaks, you should start a new paragraph.The following are some of the very basic instructions you will need to follow: There are some basic rules that most people are aware of, but still need to be mentioned in an article about formatting dialogue. You can get my free editorial test to pick the right editor for you, and never have to worry about overpaying an editor again. That's why it's important to hire an editor. Best Practice: Formatting Inner Dialogueīonus offer: even if you get everything right with the dialogue format, there are usually a few small punctuation errors that need to be fixed.Best Practice: Using Beats to Break up Your Dialogue.If dialogue is interrupted by just an action….If dialogue is interrupted by a tag and action….Best Practice: Formatting Interruptions.How to Change Straight Quotes to Curly Quotes.Using Quotation Marks With Direct Dialogue vs Reported Dialogue.Using Quotation Marks With Direct Dialogue vs Indirect Dialogue Breaking Dialogue Into Multiple Paragraphs The Correct Use Of Em-Dashes And Ellipses The Correct Use of Question and Exclamation Marks
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