Writing and Punctuating Dialogue

1. Writing and Punctuating Dialogue

2. What is dialogue? • Dialogue is conversation between characters that helps drive the plot and indirectly describes the characters.

3. How do you punctuate dialogue? Ex. “Hey there, friend!” Ex. “I need help,” said Mark. Mark said, “I need help.” “How can I help you?” the waiter asked. “Ouch!” she yelled. **There is always punctuation placed inside the closing quotation marks in dialogue. • You enclose dialogue in quotation marks (“Hey there, friend!”) • Dialogue is set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma, a question mark, or an exclamation point, but not a period!

4. How do you use capitalization in dialogue? Examples: Brandon shouted, “Let’s go!” *When the expression identifying the speaker interrupts the dialogue, the second part of the quotation begins with a lowercase letter. “Gee,” Joe said, ”he looks like my brother.” 1. You always capitalize the first word in dialogue.

5. How do you paragraph dialogue? “Is anybody home?” Sally called as she peered around the cracked door. “Hello?” a quavering voice inquired from somewhere within the depths of the house. “Hello—it’s Sally, Mrs. Kemp.” “Oh, Sally dear, I’ll be there in a minute,” Mrs. Kemp called. Sally could hear her begin to shuffle down the dark hallway. “Let me get the lights,” Sally said, reaching for the light switch inside the door. • When you write dialogue, you begin a new paragraph each time you change speakers. • As you read the dialogue, pay attention to the use of indirect characterization and how the verb choices and description help to create a mood.