Dialogue Rules

Ten Rules for Writing Dialogue:
1. Put quotes in quotation marks.
2. Capitalize the first letter of the direct quote.
3. In a split quote, the second part of the quote does not need to be capitalized.
4. In a split quote, a comma follows the first part and another comma follows the speak tag.
5. When a quote begins the sentence, a comma, exclamation point, or question mark comes before the speaker tag. NEVER A PERIOD!
6. If the speaker tag comes at the beginning, a comma follows it.
7. A period and a comma always go in the quotation.
8. Each new quote begins a new paragraph. It should be on a new line and indented.
9. Do not overuse quotations.
10. Give each quote purpose--dialogue should not be boring and pointless.