12 Rules for Punctuating Dialogue Like a BOSS

12 Rules for Punctuating Dialogue Like a BOSS How to Punctuate Dialogue: A Guide for Writers Do you use single or double quote marks for dialogue? Find out here. The rules of punctuating dialogue, whether in fiction or non-fiction, are tricksy little creatures. Despite our exposure to hundreds of thousands of dialogue lines, writers aren’t always familiar with how to punctuate a scene where characters are speaking to each other. But this, of course, is by design.With well-written dialogue,  readers shouldn’t notice the periods and quote marks. Their function is to make the words easier to read and disappear into the background. In this post, we’ll take you through the basics of how to punctuate dialogue. By the end, you can be sure that your dialogue never trips over its own commas ever again. Rule #1: Should you use double or single quotation marks?In American English, direct speech is normally represented with double quotation marks:â€Å"It’s time to pay the piper.†You might see British editors occasionally place a period (or full stop, as they say) outside the quote marks. But in those cases, it is not used for spoken dialogue but for quoting "sentence fragments", or perhaps when styling the title of a short story like "The Gift of the Magi". If you have any thoughts or questions, leave a message in the comments below.