Dialogue -- the conversation between two or more characters in a book, play, or movie. It's when a character speaks; the character doesn't necessarily have to be conversing with another character.

We show that someone is speaking by using quotation marks ( " " ) at the beginning of speech and at the end to show when it ends and begins. Or you can use the less common version of just apostrophes ( ' ' ).

Example:
"I saw him go down the road with a baseball bat in hand."

If it's a new sentence, then you start the dialogue as such by using a capital letter even if there were words before.

Example:
He cried, "We could've stopped him, but we couldn't bring ourselves to do it!"

You're also supposed to put a comma after the dialogue tag if you put it before the actual dialogue. A dialogue tag indicates who's speaking such as "he said" or "she said".

That brings us to another point on how to use punctuation within the quotation marks.

If you're going to write the dialogue tag after the dialogue, then you do not use a period to end that speech. Instead, you use a comma ( , ). Similarly, you use a comma after the dialogue tag if you put it in the beginning.

Example:
"It's alright. We're done with questioning," the interrogator said tersely.

Example:
The obviously distressed man cried as he asked quietly, "Okay. . . . So I can go home now?"

More examples:

Incorrect:
"You can go home." He said tersely.

Correct:
"You can go home," he said tersely.

If you use punctuation other than than a period and you still add on to that sentence, then you DO NOT capitalize the next word if it's NOT a proper noun.

Example:
"Run!" he yelled.

Or:
"What did he tell you?" she asked worriedly.

However it can also look like:
"Run!" I yelled.

Or:
Run!" Thalia shouted.

Dialogue is also arranged a certain way as well. To represent when a new person is speaking, we use paragraphs to separate the pieces of text. By using these paragraphs, we split the text up to make it easier to read and more understandable. Without using them, you run the risk of your writing being hard to understand or confusing. They become especially useful when you're writing a conversation with anonymous speakers.

Example:
"You got the money?"

"Yeah. You get the stuff?"

"Yeah. Was anyone following you?"

"I don't think so."

"I don't think so's not good enough! Was someone following you, yes or no?!"

"I SWEAR NO ONE WAS FOLLOWING ME SO PUT THE GUN AWAY!"

"Take this."

"Oof!"

"I hope that hurt! Next time, get the job done easier . . . or I might not let you off the hook so easily."

"Yessir."

"Get outta my sight, scumbag."

Here is an example of a written conversation with specified speakers and actions in between:

"Was there . . . something you wanted to talk about?" I asked quietly. The way she'd suddenly called had scared me slightly, prompting the soft tone of my voice. Inside, I was steeling myself up for bad news.

"Rose! I'm so glad you picked up! Listen, I've got big news to tell you," she squealed ecstatically. "Hey wait, why do you sound so sad? I promise it's good news."

"Oh, I'm fine," I lied. "What's the big news? If it's so great then why haven't you told me already?"

"Well . . . you know that college I applied to earlier this spring?"

I felt my stomach lurch. "You-- you mean that one in England?"

"Yeah! Well, guess what!"

I doubted I needed to guess. "You got accept--"

"I GOT ACCEPTED!"

I hung up and slammed the phone down on the receiver.

If there're any questions, you may PM me or simply put them in the comments section. Any requests for different topics can also be put in the comments section or you may PM me.

-Rose B