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Topic : Re: Should I start a new paragraph after a dialogue if the action is being taken by a new person? I am currently editing an original work of fiction, and one of the things I'm having the most - selfpublishingguru.com

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It's considered normal to start a new paragraph when somebody new speaks; however, it's not essential. I've read more than a few books where dialogue from two people happens in the same paragraph. When done correctly, it can be done without any confusion.

The main point, however, is that it needs to be made clear who's speaking.

Switching to a new paragraph is a stylistic way of indicating that the speaker has changed. But just switching paragraphs may not be enough. For example, there could be more than two characters. Switching to a new paragraph will likely not be sufficient to indicate that the conversation has switched out of an alternating discourse between two people and it's now a third or fourth character interjecting themselves into the dialogue.

What can also be disconcerting is when the same character is speaking in a new paragraph. This is normally indicated with the lack of a closing quotation mark at the end of the previous paragraph. Nonetheless, that may not be easily spotted—and if it's missed, it can cause confusion.

Whether it's different people in the same paragraph, different people in alternating paragraphs, or the same person in multiple paragraphs, narrative markers can be very helpful. If it's not clear (no matter what the format), break the speech to identify the speaker in some way.

Incidentally, regardless of the paragraph breaks, it's not clear who is speaking the second line of dialogue in the passage you've provided.

It's likely Oddie—but it could also be Nat. (It could even have been Arden, continuing on from the previous paragraph, if different words had been spoken.)

Unless the speaker is clear when viewing the passage from its larger context, I would say you should give some kind of explicit indication of who that second line of dialogue is coming from.


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