Fifty Eight

New dialogue, new paragraph.

Don't start your story with dialogues. A single line is okay, but large dialogues are ineffective if readers have no idea who the speakers are.

Dialogues usually end with commas, followed with the speaker's verbal action. Example:"You're an idiot," she explained. = Yes!"You're an idiot," she sat down. = No. What would be correct is: "You're an idiot." She sat down.

Don't use dialogues to explain things readers already know.

Always make sure that your dialogue moves the story forward. If the dialogue is unnecessary and does literally nothing for the plot, remove it. You don't need it.