A Guide to the Beginning Fan Work Author

Dialogue

To get straight to the point, dialogue is supposed to be separated from the paragraph. It was a mistake I had made during my first works as an author. Dialogue can be hard to read and difficult to understand who says what when the dialogue is clustered together in a massive pile of text.

Instead of this:

She smiled. "Well that's life for you." "Yeah, it really is a wild trip," said her sister. "I can't believe I've gotten this far. I'm kinda lucky."

Do this:

She smiled. "Well, that's life for you." 

"Yeah, it really is a wild trip," said her sister. "I can't believe I've gotten this far. I'm kinda lucky."

Separating dialogue will make discerning who said what a lot easier and make it look more organized. Just like you separate ideas as a paragraph, you need to separate dialogue. 

On the topic of dialogue punctuation, the first line of dialogue will end in a comma when it is a statement.

For example,

"I am so tired," he said softly.

Further more, the statement between dialogue will not be capitalized, unless it is a proper noun, ex. a name. Any dialogue following the first line will be punctuated normally. The only exemption from first line dialogue punctuation is if it is a exclamation or question. 

Ex. 

"I hate you!" she screamed, throwing down her cup.

"Why?" he said, anger and hurt lining his brow. "Haven't I given you everything?!"

The portion that is not dialogue will always be lowercase, so long as it is not a proper noun! Remember that! Names are to be capitalized at all times.

If you plan on adding an action between dialogue as the action occurs as the character says something, use a dash.-

Ex.

"How could you do this?!" Carol screamed, tears streaming down her face. "He was"-she grabbed a nearby vase and chucked it at him- "my friend! You monster!"

The dash effect can work if the character is thinking something between dialogue or to make a quick statement that cannot be placed at the end.

Ex. 

"How could you do this?!" Carol screamed, tears streaming down her face. "He was your  best friend"-at least that's what she thought- "and you betrayed him! You monster!"

Dialogue has another way of being presented, such as at the end. If you want to put it at the end of a sentence, place a comma instead of a period. 

Bowing his head, he swallowed thickly and whispered, "I had no choice."

Carol cackled hysterically, jerking back in an unnatural way.

"Yeah, right!" she screeched, tears falling down her face. "You sick, twisted beast!"

Dialogue is a very important part of the story. It is needed to convey characters thoughts and feelings to each other, deliver gut wrenching lines, and can be used to even end the conflict. Bad dialogue can wreck a story and needs to be given the best treatment. Have characters deliver proper lines that fit with their personality and be wise with how you deliver it.