How would this line work: Sarah said “Yes,” and Colin nodded. Is that grammatically correct? For context: “You guys just want to order a bucket of wings?” Sarah said “Yes,” and Colin nodded.
Yes, it is. Normally you would separate Sarah said and "Yes" with a comma, but in this case it's not necessary because Sarah's speech is very short. In the UK, if you were following traditional Oxford style, you'd also move the comma after "Yes" outside the quotation marks. Sarah said “Yes”, and Colin nodded. But in the US and international English in general, your version is correct.
It depends on the larger context. Is Colin nodding significant? Or is it just that he happens to nod? Is him nodding is significant, I'd say go with one that says "just" in it to emphasize that he is nodding. But otherwise, I'd go with with what @ShannonH said.
I may have misunderstood, but I thought the OP asked a question about grammar not style. I'm not trying to single you out, Oscar, by quoting you here; it's just that you and all the posters above have made good style suggestions, which may be much better for the piece, but I didn't think they answered the original question.
Yes, you're right. The line is gramatically correct as it is! That is the grammar verdict. But frankly that's the boring bit.
Tell that to your editor at the publishing house. EDIT: You know, I've agonized over which emoticon to put here. I was trying to convey the idea that I'm bantering with you and not trying to get into a fight. Those little smiley bastards really don't cut it sometimes.
Not saying it's irrelevant, Just that it's black-and-white and emotionless. It's necessary but not entertaining to fix grammar. Making meanings out of sentence structure is more interesting that making them correct. And I gave an answer anyway.
I made an edit in my post above. I don't know if you read it before posting your last. Anyway, putting my serious hat back on, I disagree with you on every point you've made above. Grammar is meaning not some abstract thing that you can separate and consider simply mechanics. You play with grammar, you change the meaning; you change the meaning, you change the grammar. Yin and Yang, my friend. Yin and Yang. *Takes a long drag of his herbal cigarette*