1. lameri

    lameri New Member

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    Punctuation in dialogue

    Discussion in 'Dialogue Development' started by lameri, Feb 15, 2012.

    Hello, what do you do when a character reads aloud something inside of a dialogue--do you use both double (for the dialogue) and simple (for the reading) quotes? From my manuscript:
     
  2. shadowwalker

    shadowwalker Contributor Contributor

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    That's basically what I would do; perhaps add a space between " and '. Or you could use italics for the inscription. (Oh, and I think you've got an extra in here: "“’I’m)
     
  3. madhoca

    madhoca Contributor Contributor

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    I always try to avoid quotes in speech, so I wouldn't bother with them. I'd probably do something like:

    "I have something for you," William said.
    "What?"
    "Happy anniversary!" He handed her the card.
    "I’m so happy we found each other, I love you," Ann read out aloud. She looked up. Smiled. “Thank you. I feel the same way.”
     
  4. Backbiter

    Backbiter Member

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    I agree with madhoca's reasoning that it's probably best to avoid them. There are definitely ways around it.

    However, if I came to a point where it was necessary, I would probably do the same as you suggested.
     
  5. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    If you want to keep the written quotation distinct from speech, you could use a block quote, which is an indented paragraph, or group of paragraphs, without quotation marks. This may help: He said, she said - Mechanics of Dialogue
     

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