Laura’s Blog

Yesterday, I challenged you to figure out what’s wrong with the way an author used attribution tags in her novel.

Now, let’s talk about where you should put attribution tags (said so-and-so) and how to punctuate them. (Note: this information comes in handy when you’re writing blog posts that tell a story or re-create a conversation.)

Short quotes:

• Place the attribution tag at the end, so your reader pays attention to the quote itself.
  • “I’m feeling confident about how to punctuate direct quotes,” Sheila said.

Longer quotes:

• Put the attribution at the first natural pause, or at the end of the first sentence, so the reader knows who’s talking.
  • “I went to the mall to buy my dad a gift,” she said, “but I got a flat tire on the way.”
  • “I went to the mall to buy my dad a gift, but I got a flat tire on the way,” she said.

Notice how the attribution tags in both of the above examples are set off by commas:

• …gift,” she said, “but…
• …on the way,” she said.

And where is the comma at the end of the quotation located?

• INSIDE the quotation marks!

How to structure an attribution tag

• In most cases, place the speaker’s name first, followed by the attribution word:
  • Sheila said
    NOT said Sheila

• When using a pronoun to refer to the speaker, always place the tag after the pronoun:
  • He said
    NOT said he (unless you’re trying to sound stuffy and Victorian)

Which tag to use

Said.

Need I say more? Said (or says) is invisible.

It’s simple.

It carries no emotional connotations.

It forces the writer to show emotions, through descriptive language, as opposed to telling via the attribution tag.

Examples:

• Wrong: “I hate punctuation rules!” Laura sighed.
• Right: Laura tossed the The Chicago Manual of Style into the recycling bin. “I hate punctuation rules,” she said.

P.S. “I would never toss my The Chicago Manual of Style,” Laura said. “That book cost me $34.65 on Amazon.”