Dialogue Paragraphing
The convention of starting a new paragraph each time the speaker changes.
In English prose fiction, each new speaker gets a new paragraph. The rule is old and nearly universal, and it does silent work: it lets readers track alternating dialogue for many lines without a single "he said".
A related convention governs long speeches. When one speaker continues across several paragraphs, each paragraph opens with a quotation mark but only the final one closes — the missing close mark signals that the same voice continues.
Action beats belonging to a speaker stay in that speaker's paragraph. Putting one character's gesture in another character's paragraph is the most common source of confusion about who just spoke.
Common mistake: two speakers in one paragraph. Even with attribution tags it forces re-reading, and in fast exchanges it collapses the rhythm the convention exists to create.
“"You're late." "The train stopped." "It always stops."”
Keep reading the glossary
The short attributive phrase — 'she said', 'he replied' — that identifies the speaker of a line of quoted dialogue.
The verb that introduces a quotation and colours how the reader hears it — 'said', 'claimed', 'insisted', 'conceded'.
How to mark a character's unspoken thought: italics, quotation marks, or nothing at all.
A dash placed at the start of a line to mark the opening of direct speech, used in French, Spanish, and other European typographic traditions.