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So, here’s how to punctuate dialogue in fiction properly, from the basics to some next-level tips (and yes, these apply to non-fiction writers too). 

Which quote marks to use?

Do I have to use quote marks?

How to punctuate dialogue with a speech tag

How to punctuate dialogue with action beats

Action beats show how a character is moving or reacting during dialogue. They’re similar to speech tags in that they indicate who is speaking, but they add a little extra characterisation that allows the author to ‘show’ rather than ‘tell’, so they’re a great device to use in fiction.

To punctuate dialogue with an action beat instead of a speech tag, use a full stop before the closing quote mark instead of a comma. The action beat is in bold in the examples below. (Note: I’ll use single quotes for the rest of these examples – the punctuation is exactly the same when using double quote marks.)

• ‘Amber, I love your shoes.’ Violet crouched down for a closer look.
• ‘Really? Thank you.’ Amber glowed with pleasure at the compliment.

If the speech ends with a question mark or exclamation mark, use that as your terminal punctuation instead of a full stop.

• ‘Thanks, Violet!’ Amber blushed.

Keep an eye out for action beats masquerading as speech tags. For instance, laugh, smile, frown, sigh, wink and yawn are actions, not speech. So, if you catch something like:

• ‘Amber, I love your shoes,’ Violet smiled.
• ‘Thanks,’ Amber winked.

Change the comma to a full stop, as you would when using an action beat:

• ‘Amber, I love your shoes.’ Violet smiled.
• ‘Thanks.’ Amber winked.

If you want to combine a speech tag with an action beat, use a comma to separate the speech tag from the action beat, like this:

• ‘Amber, I love your shoes,’ Violet said, crouching down for a closer look.
• ‘Thanks,’ Amber replied, twisting her ankle to show off the strappy heel.

How to punctuate dialogue interruptions and trailing off

To show someone’s voice trailing off, use an ellipsis inside the quote marks. No other terminal punctuation is needed. For bonus points, avoid telling the reader that the speaker’s voice has trailed off. The ellipsis does that work for you.

• ‘Could I borrow them?’ Violet asked.
• ‘I guess …’ Amber said.

(Try to avoid writing: ‘I guess …’ Amber said, trailing off.)

Here’s another example:

• Wrong: ‘I wonder if …,’
• Right: ‘I wonder if …’

If you want to show speech that has been interrupted, use an em dash at the end of the interrupted sentence. No full stop or comma is needed after the dash, just your closing quote mark:

• Right: ‘Wow, those shoes are—’ 
• Wrong: ‘Wow, those shoes are—.’

How to differentiate speakers

Remember when I said above that you don’t always need to use a speech tag to tell a reader who is saying what? The conventional way to indicate different speakers in a conversation is to put each speaker’s dialogue on a new line. This is a tried-and-true format that makes dialogue easy to follow without too many overt cues.

Even if the speaker isn’t speaking but simply reacting to something that the other character has said, put that action on a new line too. Otherwise you risk confusing your reader. For example, if you wrote:

• ‘Wow, those shoes are amazing,’ Violet said. ‘I know.’ Amber looked smug.

The reader will likely be confused for a second, because with both speakers’ dialogue and Amber’s reaction on the one line, it’s hard to differentiate between who said what. Instead, place Amber’s response and reaction on a new line to avoid confusing readers even for an instant.

• ‘Wow, those shoes are amazing,’ Violet said.
• ‘I know.’ Amber looked smug.

How to punctuate dialogue that’s broken up with a speech tag or action beat

Say you want to break up one character’s dialogue with a speech tag. This can be helpful to break up long stretches of dialogue and to enhance characterisation. Here’s how you’d do it if you were placing a speech tag between two complete sentences:

• ‘I don’t care what you think,’ he said. ‘Your opinion doesn’t matter to anyone.’

In this case, I don’t care what you think and Your opinion doesn’t matter to anyone are separate sentences, so you simply punctuate the first sentence with a comma as you would any other dialogue. There’s no need to add a speech tag to the second sentence because it’s already clear who’s speaking, so a full stop before the closing quote mark is all that’s needed.

If you’re inserting an action beat between two complete sentences, there’s no need for a comma at the end of the first sentence because, as discussed above, it isn’t followed by a speech tag. So a full stop before the closing quote mark in both sentences is all that’s required. Take a look at this example:

• ‘I didn’t want you to come.’ Joan crossed her arms. ‘I just want to be alone.’

If your speech tag interrupts one sentence rather than two complete sentences, use a comma after the speech tag and a lower case letter in the next clause to indicate the sentence is continuing. Here are a couple of examples:

• ‘I don’t care what you think,’ he said, ‘because your opinion means nothing to me.’
• ‘We went to the shops,’ she said quickly, ‘then the pool, then the library.’

What about if you want to break up the sentence with an action beat rather than a speech tag? This can be a great way to add tension or emotion to a scene. In this case, use dashes outside the quote marks to separate the speech from the action. No commas are needed.  Take a look at these examples:

• ‘I told you’ – Amy jabbed a finger at his chest – ‘I’m not giving up.’
• ‘What if he’s not guilty? What if he really is’ – Aaron swallowed roughly – ‘innocent?’

If you’re using em dashes, it would look like this:

• ‘I told you’—Amy jabbed a finger at his chest—‘I’m not giving up.’

Remember, if the action is related to another speaker, it needs to be treated carefully. Ideally you’d put it on a new line, otherwise it can look like the speech is coming from a different character to the one you intended. Consider this line of Amy’s from above, interrupted with an action from Aaron and punctuated as though it were a speech tag:

• ‘I don’t care what you say,’ Aaron glanced at her, shocked, ‘I’m not giving up.’

It reads as though Aaron is speaking, right? That’s because the commas before the quote marks signal to your practiced reader eye that a speech tag is coming. Using a speech tag or adding dashes and tweaking the action beat to include Amy would fix it:

• Speech tag: ‘I don’t care what you say,’ Amy replied, and Aaron glanced at her, shocked. ‘I’m not giving up.’
• Dashes: ‘I don’t care what you say’ – Amy narrowed her eyes as Aaron threw her a nervous glance – ‘I’m not giving up.’

If the action interrupting dialogue is related to a different character and is followed by their speech, place the action and speech on a new line. In this example, Aaron follows his glance with dialogue:

• ‘I don’t care what you say!’ Amy replied.
• Aaron glanced at her. ‘It’s dangerous, Amy. I think you should reconsider.’
• ‘I’m not giving up.’

Common dialogue punctuation mistakes

Let’s rehash. Dialogue punctuation is super important because getting it right guides your reader and helps them to stay immersed in the story. There are lots of nuances to dialogue punctuation, but I’ve covered the most common ones fiction writers are likely to encounter here.

The dialogue mistakes I regularly see in fiction and non-fiction manuscripts:

• – Using quote marks inconsistently
• – Placing commas or full stops outside the closing punctuation mark
• – Using a full stop after a question mark or exclamation mark.

Getting a handle on these will give your manuscript a professional edge and mark you as a serious writer. And even better, when you know how to punctuate dialogue properly, you can focus on making that dialogue shine.

If you have any more questions about punctuating dialogue in fiction, drop me a line! And if you’d like help wrangling your manuscript’s grammar, get in touch with me to chat about a line and copyedit for your project. I offer a free sample edit so you can see exactly how copyediting will enhance your storytelling and clarify your message.