punctuating dialogue and interior monologue
When you write dialogue or interior monologue, you must make sure that you are punctuating it correctly. Read the slides below in order to edit any dialogue or interior monologue you have in your narrative!
Note: The rules above apply for interior monologue as well.
when to start a new paragraph
- When you skip to a new time (e.g. later that day, the next morning, etc.)
- When you skip to a new place (e.g. if the setting is different)
- When a new person begins to speak in dialogue (even if it is only one word the person says!)
- When you want to produce a dramatic effect or want a paragraph to stand out
****
Here is an example of paragraphing, excerpted from the novel Kate Macready and the Pirates. They are color-coded when possible to show which type of paragraph break is being used: yellow for new topic, red for new time, purple for new place, light blue for new speaker, purple for an action that takes the place of some dialogue, and green for dramatic effect.
The one good thing I could see was that the water was so shallow where the Narwhal went down that, once I broke clear of the ship, I didn't have far to go to reach the surface.
It was long enough, though.
By the time I broke the surface, I had almost given up hope, but I found myself in the air and took a huge, gulping gasp. I splashed around, happy just to be alive. That's when the hand reached down and grabbed me.
Before I had a chance to think, I had been hauled into a small boat and dumped there like a load of fish. I opened my eyes and was surprised--and happy--to see Jeremy staring down at me.
"You made it," he said.
I nodded.
"Did you get the map?" he asked.
I sat up, outraged. "Is that all you can think about?" I demanded.
"No. Of course not. But did you get it?"
I pulled the map, now waterlogged, from the folds of my shirt and tossed it to the floor of the boat. Jeremy looked visibly relieved.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"I--I think so," I said.
"What happened to...uh, to Diablo?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't see him."
There was a pause.
Here is an example of paragraphing, excerpted from the novel Kate Macready and the Pirates. They are color-coded when possible to show which type of paragraph break is being used: yellow for new topic, red for new time, purple for new place, light blue for new speaker, purple for an action that takes the place of some dialogue, and green for dramatic effect.
The one good thing I could see was that the water was so shallow where the Narwhal went down that, once I broke clear of the ship, I didn't have far to go to reach the surface.
It was long enough, though.
By the time I broke the surface, I had almost given up hope, but I found myself in the air and took a huge, gulping gasp. I splashed around, happy just to be alive. That's when the hand reached down and grabbed me.
Before I had a chance to think, I had been hauled into a small boat and dumped there like a load of fish. I opened my eyes and was surprised--and happy--to see Jeremy staring down at me.
"You made it," he said.
I nodded.
"Did you get the map?" he asked.
I sat up, outraged. "Is that all you can think about?" I demanded.
"No. Of course not. But did you get it?"
I pulled the map, now waterlogged, from the folds of my shirt and tossed it to the floor of the boat. Jeremy looked visibly relieved.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"I--I think so," I said.
"What happened to...uh, to Diablo?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't see him."
There was a pause.