Invitation to Notice Dialogue Conventions

When writers use dialogue, they add voice to the story. There are many conventions to be aware of when using dialogue in our own writing, including: quotation marks, commas, paragraphing, end punctuation, and capital letters. Writers can study dialogue published in books as models for good writing patterns and strategies:

"Well you were brave, too," Laura said. "Even if it was only a stump, you thought it was a bear. You'd have hit him on the head with a club, if he had been a bear, wouldn't you, Pa?"
"Yes," said Pa, "I would. You see, I had to." Little House in the Big Woods, pg. 115