Where to break paragraphs in dialogue?

Question

I'm going through an editing something I wrote and am stuck on where to break paragraphs containing dialogue. I know I need to break when a new character speaks, but I'm not sure where to start a new paragraph when there is description mixed with dialogue.For example:> He nodded. "Thank you for returning the bicycle. You see it was my son's and he would love to ride it one more time."¹ My heart pained at this, and I looked up at my dad who seemed unmoved.² I looked back at Mr. Houston.³ "Of course. I apologize I didn't give it back in time. I was scared."Where is the best place to split this paragraph?1. After the first speaker finishes2. Between the two non-dialogue sentences3. Just before the second speaker begins4. Somewhere else?

Answer 1

Hello,

Good question. The formatting of your paragraph didn't come through as I believe you intended, so I'll reply assuming that the provided dialogue is one paragraph.

When figuring out how to 'break up' dialogue, I suggest feeling for the shifts in it, spoken or unspoken. For instance, was there a shift of feeling that you want to convey between "...I looked up at my dad who seemed unmoved." and "I looked back at Mr. Houston."? If so, you might want to test out separating the dialogue there, and see how that reads for you.

It's okay that dialogue and non-dialogue share the same paragraph. In fact, often they need each other. For instance, think about how your own dialogue and your non-verbal communication give different messages sometimes, but need each other to express a complete point.

Try not to fixate on this, though. Things like where the dialogue should split up are edits that can be focused on in the final editing process (i.e., it won't hurt your ideas).

Hope this helps.

S

Answer 2

I would say, anywhere where your characters bring up new ideas in conversation is where you should break paragraphs. If any of your character's actions are significant--leading to a transition in conversation, plot, or character entrances/exits from the scene(s), then they too should receive breaks in paragraphs. Otherwise, if the character's actions are taking place while the character is speaking, the descriptive language can be contained within the same paragraph as the character dialogue, without a break. Basic narration of characters and events within a plot sequence should be written as their own separate paragraphs.