Quotation Marks in Dialogue “Freeze, mister, police!” one officer barked. I didn’t freeze. “Davis, FBI,” I said, surprised at my own coolness and the firmness of my voice.

Using Quotation Marks in Dialogue One of the easiest ways for writers to tell about the characters in a story is through dialogue. But, when you write dialogue you need to ensure it is clear. Consider the following: ▫Who is talking? ▫To whom are they talking? ▫How many people are involved in the conversation? ▫How and with what emphasis are the words being spoken? ▫How does the character look or move while speaking?

Rule #1: Use quotation marks to indicate words which are spoken by characters. “Rosalie,” I said, and I was surprised at my calmness and composure. “I need to tell you something, and I want you to try and understand. If I didn’t love you so much, I wouldn’t tell you this at all, for I’ve never told anyone what I’m going to tell you.”

Rule #2: Use dialogue tags when needed to show who is speaking Identify who is speaking by including a dialogue tag: Example: Place a phrase like John said at the beginning of the quotation or yelled John at the end. You don’t need a speech tag for every line of dialogue. When you include speech tags, use a variety of verbs instead of always using ‘said’. The important thing is that the reader is always intuitively aware of who is speaking.

Example: “Rosalie,” I confessed. “I am not a pilot for Pan American. I’m not twenty-eight, Rosalie. I’m nineteen. My name is not Frank Williams. My name is Frank Abagnale. I’m a crook, Rosalie, an imposter and a check swindler, and I’m wanted by the police all over the country.” She looked at me, shocked. “Are you serious?” she finally blurted. “But I met you at the airport. You have a pilot’s license. I’ve seen it!”

Rule #3: Always start a new paragraph when changing speakers. You cannot have two people speaking in the same paragraph. She laughed nervously. “You’re kidding me, Frank!” I shook my head. “No, Rosalie, I’m not. Everything I’ve said is true,” I said, and laid it all out for her, watching her face. “Let’s go back home, Frank,” she said quietly.

Rule #4: Use correct punctuation, capitalization and spacing. Use a comma between the dialogue and the dialogue tag Example: “I’m sure your mother will want to have a hand in this wedding, Frank, ” said Rosalie’s mother. Lying, I said, “I’m sure she would.”

Periods and commas go inside the quotation marks. Example: “Don’t say anything until I get there. When your parents learn about this, I want them to hear it from me. Promise me that, Rosalie, ” I begged. She nodded and replied, “I promise, Frank. ”

When a tag line interrupts a sentence, it should be set off by commas. Note that the first letter of the second half of the sentence is in lower case. Example: “You go on, Rosalie,” I said, “and I’ll be there shortly, but I need to be alone for awhile.”

Rule #5: Add additional details to make the characters come to life She buried her hands in her hair and wept uncontrollably for what seemed an eternity. Then she took my handkerchief, wiped her eyes and face and stood up. “Let’s go back home, Frank,” she said quietly.

All quotations above were adapted from Frank Abagnale’s Catch Me if You Can