Proper Dialogue Format

In memoir and fiction writing, the use of dialogue is a crucial tool in showing information about characters, creating conflict and providing background information. To use dialogue effectively, it's important to understand and incorporate it using the proper format.

Dialogue Format

1. The text and punctuation must be in quotes, particularly of the speaker isn't identified.

Examples

"I am hungry."

"Are you going to the movie with us?"

"This is absolutely ridiculous!"

2. If the speaker is being identified and what he/she is saying is a statement, use a comma at the inside the quotation mark.

Examples

"I am hungry," Sara said.

"This might be a problem," he admitted.

3. If the speaker is asking a question or saying something emphatically, use proper punctuation inside the quotation marks and a period at the end of the sentence.

Examples

"Are you kidding?" she asked.

"That is fantastic!" Mark said.

4. In most instances, a new piece of dialogue means a new paragraph. Examine the following example:

The storm moved closer. Martin looked at the horizon with concern. The clouds grew darker and darker and he moved onto the porch where Melanie stood waiting for him.

"That looks bad," she said.

"You think?" he asked.

"I do," she answered. "The wind is picking up, too. I remember that last storm."

"But that was different."

"How?"

Martin stood still he shrugged and looked inside, thinking of the house they had lived in, the tornado that had flattened it only two years before.

"How?" Melanie asked again.

"It was just different."

Notice how, once the two speakers have been established, it doesn't include a he said or she said after each line of dialogue.