Dialogue and Quotes

Some basics about the mechanics of quotes:

1. "Leave me alone," he screamed. [Notice the comma, as well as most punctuation marks go inside the quote marks.]

2. He screamed, "Leave me alone." [Notice the first word of the quote is capitalized.]

3. Often in dialogue, writers start a new paragraph each time the speaker changes. This helps readers follow the to and fro of the dialogue:

       "Leave me alone," he screamed.
       "I will not, you beast," she shouted.
       "Why must you torment me?" he wailed.
       "Because you've broken my heart." she muttered.

4. When dialogue is going back and forth quickly, you can dispense with the he saids and she saids, as long as the reader doesn't get confused:


       "Leave me alone," he screamed.
       "I will not, you beast," she shouted.
       "Why must you torment me?"
       "Because you've broken my heart."