: The main thing you need to keep in mind is your readers. I know a couple of people personally who chose not to read one or more of McCarthy's books for this very reason (their loss). Most

@Turnbaugh521

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The main thing you need to keep in mind is your readers. I know a couple of people personally who chose not to read one or more of McCarthy's books for this very reason (their loss). Most readers are going to expect to see quotation marks at the very least, and they may feel disoriented or become easily confused by the dialog without them. McCarthy got around this in "The Road" by minimizing the dialog. He is also very good at pulling readers in with a very good story. This works for him because he has such talent as a storyteller.

I would recommend that if you are going to try this, you should make sure that your story is very, very good. Try running it by a couple of beta readers to get their feedback. Make sure that they are able to follow the story and keep track of the dialog between characters. If they are, then you'll be much more likely to get away with this.

Ultimately, though, this is a matter of personal preference. You can choose to do this, but be aware that you are likely to be compared to McCarthy as a result. If you are compared to him because your story flows just as well or is just as engrossing, then that is a good thing. If you are compared just because readers see you as a derivative copycat, that isn't a good thing!

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