Attribution

To know how to properly format dialogue, I will first brief you on attributions. I will explain further regarding attributions in the next part.

Basically, attributions are the words that go with the quoted dialogue that tell the reader who's talking, and even sometimes how they're talking. Attributions are also known as dialogue tags.

Take this conversation for example:

"Let's play at the blackjack table first," Hermes said.

"How much are you willing to wager?" the dealer asked.

"One-hundred thousand," Hermes said.

"Are you sure, Hermes? That seems like an awful lot to start out with," Claire questioned.

All attributions are underlined. They tell the reader who said what.

Commas in Dialogue

You usually use commas to introduce attribution such as he said and she asked. For example:

"I'm feeling exceptionally lucky tonight, Claire," Hermes said.

The only other time you don't use a comma is when the dialogue ends in a question mark or an exclamation mark. For example:

"Are you sure?" Claire asked again.

"Yes!" he said.

Formatting Attribution

Notice how in the previous example the 'he' in 'he said' is lowercase. An attribution is an addition to the dialogue, so it should be lowercase.

Never should you have the following dialogue:

"Were you dealt a good hand?" She asked.

"It looks like luck is on my side," He said.

Those should be lowercase. However, if the attribution begins with a name, it is uppercase:

"Oh, wow!" Claire said.

An easy way to process this is the attribution is in the same sentence as the dialogue, so it should be lowercase.

Formatting Dialogue

When a character imitates another in dialogue, you format it in single quotation marks. For example:

"And never ask if I was 'dealt a good hand.' It could risk my chances," Hermes said.

I'd also like to point out that the period is inside the quotation mark.

When you are writing a character stuttering or taking long pauses in dialogue, you may use ellipses or em dashes.

"I... I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"I—I didn't know. I'm sorry."

When formatting with ellipses, make sure there are three (3) periods and a space after before the next word.

When formatting with em dashes, there are no spaces between the words and em dashes.

Placement of Attribution

Attribution can be placed at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of dialogue. For example:

She said, "I can't believe it! You just won that round."

Because the attribution is in the beginning, it is uppercase. It is also introducing the dialogue, so it is followed by a comma.

"I can't believe it," she said, "You just won that round."

The attribution here breaks up the dialogue and is framed by commas.

"I can't believe it! You just won that round," she said.

Lastly, the attribution is put at the end, almost like an end thought. It also requires a comma inside the double quotation mark, because it is still part of the sentence. Remember, she is also lowercase.

Where the attribution is added is up to you and is a stylistic choice.

Formatting Dialogue

From the previous examples, you can see that each line of dialogue stands on its own. When the speaker changes, so does the line of dialogue by breaking it up into another paragraph. For example:

"Took you two long enough," Leb muttered as Sowa and Fig descended the narrow stairway of their underground home.

"Sorry," Fig responded sarcastically, "we were just busy feeding the entire village."

"Excuses," he pouted playfully, folding his scrawny arms over his chest. "Did you happen to forget someone?"

"Oh, shut up," Fig chuckled as she swatted at the tiny, pesky creature she called a friend.

- Excerpt from kario12's "Fig" - chapter 1.

Kari adds a break after each character's line of dialogue, making it easier for the reader to understand who is speaking and what is happening.

There are some writers that combine their dialogue with action and exposition. Done so expertly, the reader can still understand who is speaking and what is happening. For example:

"Jack, could you look any more suspicious if you tried?" Gene asked, standing up and shoving his hands into his pockets. Evelyn couldn't help but think that he was right as she stood up and put her hands under her armpits. Looking at him right now, Evelyn couldn't possibly see how anyone could look at him and not think that he looked like he was up to no good.

Jack looked down at his clothes, then back up at them. "What's wrong with it? At least I don't stand out like you guys."

"All he's saying is that you look like you're up to something in all black," Evelyn said. "If this does go south, it would be easier to blend in and disappear when you look more like everyone else does." They began walking down the road and towards the street corner that Dericourt told them to go to. Nobody was on the streets other than the three of them. Evelyn found it to be a little odd that there weren't at least a few German soldiers on patrol, but she didn't think much of it; they must have been concentrated in another part of town for some reason.

- Excerpt from SicSemperT-Rex's "Prosper" - chapter 19.

From Sybil's excerpt, you can see dialogue mixed in with exposition. She does so in a way that the reader can easily differentiate between dialogue, the action of dialogue, and exposition.

Is Your Dialogue Too Long?

Dialogue is best when it's kept relatively short. Not only does it make it easier on the eyes, but easier for the reader to process what is happening.

"Not only did I win, but I won double what I bet! Claire, we have two-hundred thousand dollars! We can finally buy that storefront for our cupcake business. Our business will boom. Everyone will know our names and our business. They'll be asking for us at weddings and events and all kinds of occasions! Having a storefront will bring in those impulse-craving customers too. Claire, our whole lives have just turned around for the better. We can finally do the things we've been dreaming of for years! Claire, can you believe it? We've made it!" Hermes said.

Here are some ways to keep your dialogue short:

• Break up the dialogue with action.

• Break up the dialogue with snippets of setting.

• Instead of a monologue, have two characters talk back and forth, and add conflict to make it more interesting.

• Summarize parts of dialogue—however, if done incorrectly, this can be confused as telling.

"Not only did I win, but I won double what I bet!" Hermes threw his hands up in the air.

"Claire," he turned to look her way. "We have two-hundred thousand dollars! We can finally buy that storefront for our cupcake business. Our business will boom."

Claire's eyes were wide with shock as she watched as Hermes stood up from his stool. He began pacing.

"Everyone will know our names and our business. They'll be asking for us at weddings and events and all kinds of occasions! Having a storefront will bring in those impulse-craving customers too." He was grinning at her.

Claire's heart was beating out of her chest; she couldn't believe it.

"Claire, our whole lives have just turned around for the better. We can finally do the things we've been dreaming of for years! Claire, can you believe it? We've made it!" Hermes said.

Perhaps you'll snatch a struck of luck like Hermes did and remember all these notes the first time around. Perhaps you'll have to go back when editing and revising to properly format your dialogue, and that's okay. Do what works for you, as long as, in the end, your dialogue is properly formatted.

Please give this part a vote!