As an editor, I find that most writers understand how to write dialogue, but they often struggle with how to punctuate and format. This is particularly true when it comes to a few obscure dialogue conventions. When I pull those out of my editor’s toolkit, many authors are convinced I’ve made a mistake. I promise I haven’t! Dialogue punctuation has a few quirks that can look surprising if you’ve never noticed them before.
In this article, I explain the essentials of dialogue punctuation and formatting. We’ll start with the foundational rules most of us learned in school, and then I’ll blow your mind with some lesser-known punctuation and formatting conventions.
Punctuation Rules Most of Us Know
Begin a new paragraph with each speaker
Every time you switch speakers, start a new paragraph. Press “Enter” and “Tab” to create the indent. Avoid using the space bar to indent. You could also use the “Paragraph” settings to set the indentation. This will save you headaches later, during the final, pre-publication format.
Dialogue tags and commas
If a sentence is followed by a dialogue tag (such as he said), end the sentence in the dialogue with a comma and the tag with a period:
“I love this rule,” he said.
If the dialogue tag interrupts the sentence, place a comma after said and continue the sentence beginning with a lowercase letter:
“I love this rule,” he said, “no matter how complicated it seems.”
Ellipsis vs. em dashes
Use an ellipsis ( . . . ) to show when a character’s voice trails off:
“I don’t know . . .”
Use an em-dash when a character is interrupted mid-sentence:
“What do you—”
“I don’t.
The Dialogue Conventions That Surprise Writers
Multi-paragraph dialogue
Sometimes a character speaks for more than one paragraph. In that case, omit the closing quotation at the end of the first paragraph, begin the next paragraph with an opening quotation mark, and do not add the final closing quotation mark until the character has finished speaking.
“I don’t know, Meta. I mean, I’m really at a loss here.
“On another note, let’s go swimming.”
This formatting tells the reader that the same speaker is continuing, even though a new paragraph has begun.
Em dashes
Writers are often surprised to learn that em dashes can also be used when the narrative interrupts the dialogue and the interruption is not a dialogue tag.
“I want to learn the rules”—she shook her head—“but I’m really so confused.”
Notice that “shook her head” is an action and not a dialogue tag like “she said,” so commas would be incorrect here.
Key Takeaways
Dialogue is a powerful tool for moving your plot forward, and strong formatting can make it more effective. Clear, consistent dialogue punctuation helps readers follow the conversation effortlessly, keeps the pacing smooth, and allows your characters’ voices to take centre stage. When dialogue is formatted well, readers stop noticing the mechanics and become fully immersed in the story.
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