All Comments on 'Dialog Punctuation Tips for Authors'

Question mark (?), exclamation point (!), and (...) belong in the same category. You should address these too to complete your tutorial, which be the way, is excellent!

End of Stephen speaking. Who is speaking there, where did that come from? I thought Bob was speaking.

Skip all the use of "word...word, word ... word, word - word, and don't forget all the use of misspelling of word by adding extra letters (i.e. ahhhhh).

Your understanding is my understanding too.

Excellent examples showing how to use commas in sentences. I think the other punctuation marks would be a 2nd lesson after the lesson about commas has been learned.

The ">>>" confused me. That is not something that was seen in paper books 20 years ago. Perhaps you had typed "..." and it got changed by a computer? Also, it might have been good to show the two paragraphs together and then put the explanation for the grammar at the end of the example. Just a thought for when you do your next chapter.

With question marks, if the dialog is a question, then the marks takes the place of the comma.

<P>

"Why are you here?" Becky asked.

Another part of that is that when one paragraph ends with a quote and the very next one starts with a quote, that the writer's way of indicating that the character speaking has changed.

Correctamundo! And, for the record, punctuation is for a logical reason: to clarify and facilitate the reader's understanding. Every comma inserts a mental pause, as does every paragraph break. All those rules mentioned, plus all the others (like these parentheses & the upcoming comma), really do make sense - they're not just a way your teachers got their sadistic jollies.

While we are at it,

i.e. stands for the latin "id est," or "that is...," which precedes other words meaning the same thing. "Ed was the fastest runner. I.e. He won the race." Two sentences.

E.g. stands for the latin "e(x) gratia," or "by my grace," and is used prior to citing an example. "Ed had several setbacks during his day, e.g. when he ran out of gas and found his phone had gone dead." One sentence.