Question about dialog.

[human_male]

Hello there.

When I write dialog I usually start a new paragraph. But what about with something like...

He grabbed her arm and yelled "Come on, run!"

Is that right? And period or no period after the yelled?

Or do you start a new paragraph there too, so...

He grabbed her arm and yelled

"Come on, run!"

Which is the correct or at least most accepted way?

Ta very much.

 

[Liar]

All I know is that in the second option, I'd want to add a colon.


He grabbed her arm and yelled:

"Come on, run!"

But I'd probably toss it around so that the line came first.

 

[impressive]

Hello there.

When I write dialog I usually start a new paragraph. But what about with something like...

He grabbed her arm and yelled "Come on, run!"

Is that right? And period or no period after the yelled?

Or do you start a new paragraph there too, so...

He grabbed her arm and yelled

"Come on, run!"

Which is the correct or at least most accepted way?

Ta very much.

I'd write it (in your words):

He grabbed her arm and yelled, "Come on! Run!"

In mine, I'd probably lose the tag 'cause the arm grabbing and the exclamations make the "yelled" unnecessary.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

You always set off an "attributive" (a "he said" or "said Mary") with some punctuation. A comma is usual.

Some authors will use a colon when the attributive comes first, as in He snatched up the gun and said: "You lied to me!", but that's only when you really want to call attention to the set-up and delivery. You'd never write, Jack said: "Hi, there!"

Most editors don't like colons or semicolons. Colons these days are used only to introduce lists (They had all sorts of weapons: knives and clubs and spears) and the em dash has largely replaced the semicolon.

That's too bad, because the colon and the semi are quite useful and we could use all the punctuation help we could get. I'm for more punctuation marks, not less.

My rule for paragraphing is usually one speaker or actor per paragraph.

So:

Mary snatched up the gun.

"Drop it," John said.

Not:

Mary snatched up the gun. "Drop it," John said.

But

Mary snatched up the gun. "Get your hands up," she snarled.

Not:

Mary snatched up the gun.

"Drop it," she snarled.

But my other rule is: when in doubt, start a new paragraph. Everyone loves white space.

 

[Alex De Kok]

I'm with the good Doctor M.

Alex