How do you format your dialogue tags correctly? Not the most exciting topic, but super relevant! I see a lot of people get this wrong, especially newer/more inexperienced writers.

I'll talk about the literal grammar rules for dialogue and the best practices for dialogue and action tags. Tip: You should use /"said/" 90% of the time! Please!

I should mention! I only mentioned /"he/she/I said/", but of course you'll be using character names a lot. I forgot to mention that you should be careful about using character names *too* often in dialogue tags: everything in moderation!

As promised, here are some concrete examples:

WRONG (comma placement):
“That’s not fair,” said George, looking visibly uncomfortable.
CORRECT:
“That’s not fair,” said George, looking visibly uncomfortable.

FALSE (Action Tag):
“Maybe I’ll confiscate your supplies,” Jatinder waggled his eyebrows.
CORRECT:
“Maybe I’ll confiscate your supplies.” Jatinder waggled his eyebrows.

Example of a longer paragraph of text with variations of dialog tags and action (note that not every line has a tag):
"You're the one who wanted to come to this," I said, grabbing the bottle so he could take a break.
"My uncle made me do it." He leaned against me, his body warm against mine. "This Mason guy is here for inspection. He wants to ground us, which I'm fine with, but the captain insists on being nice and begging for a few more years' reprieve."
“Maybe your uncle is right,” I said.
"You're my date. You should agree with me." He pouted, a little drunk.
"We're here as friends, remember? What if I were your date? I wouldn't agree with you just to make you feel better."
I was rewarded with a smile. “That’s why I like you, Stella.”

Mentioned in the video – my video on White Room Syndrome: https://youtu.be/6RnMSC8U4Qk

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