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Grammar resource: Formatting dialogue - Long speeches

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It is unusual for a character to orate in a long, uninterrupted monologue, but if you do need to write this, follow these guidelines.

Long speeches

If a piece you’re writing calls for a speech spanning more than one paragraph, then an opening quotation mark should be placed at the start of each new paragraph the speaker continues into. But only one closing quotation mark is used, at the end of the speech.

 

Example

    “Claire took a deep breath and began. “I hope you have found this handout on formatting dialogue useful. To summarise the things we’ve covered here: we began with single versus double quotation marks, then looked at paragraphing before moving on to direct and indirect dialogue. We also considered dialogue tagging before getting into how to punctuate and format dialogue and action.

    “It might seem like a lot to take in, but if you start making this part of your regular practice, it’ll soon become second nature.”