Punctuation of direct speech, edge cases?

Question

I recently learned that I have developed a consistent, but entirely wrong approach to punctuating direct speech in fiction. I am in the unenviable position of trying to relearn. Previously I wrote such things as: > "I'm done." She said. when the quoted speech was definitely, absolutely the end of a sentence. So now I know I need. > "I'm done," she said. This follows the rule that a period is only allowed when the end of the spoken sentence is also the end of the sentence in the narrative. For example: > "I'm done." She slammed the door on the way out. So, it now looks odd to me when there are multiple sentences in the speech: > "I can't take her. I'm done," she said. Can you reassure me that is correct, or give the correct form? Please don't suggest rewriting the sentence to put 'she said' in the middle - I'm aware of that: I'm specifically asking about the punctuation rules. The other odd case is speech ending with an ellipsis. Do sentence terminating ellipses (four periods normally) become: > "I can't take her. You know, ...," she said, nodding towards Jane. If so, are non-terminating ellipses dealt with the same way? > "I can't take ...," she nodded towards Jane, "any more!" or can non-terminating ellipses be used unadorned? > "I can't take ..." she nodded towards Jane, "any more!" I'd be very grateful if you could point me at references as well as answers. For the record I am a British writer writing for both British and US publication, so any variation is also interesting to me!

Answer 1

Up to the point where you ask for reassurance, you are correct. It probably only looks strange to you because you were previously doing it wrong. Of course, I'm American, so sorry, but I can't give you insight into any difference in British rules. I like to use the Owl at Purdue website when searching for punctuation rules. Your second question is a little more difficult. I couldn't answer you quickly, and out of curiosity, began to search for an answer. What you might want to search for is the use of ellipses in narration or in dialogue because the ellipses in academic writing indicates that part of a cited passage has been left out. In narrative writing, ellipses are used to indicate a pause, generally in dialogue. Here is a link that discusses the different punctuations and different uses for them. You will notice that it mentions a difference between British and American rules. It also gives many examples. https://fandom-grammar.livejournal.com/86156.html

As far as the punctuation of ellipses, a period or a comma would follow the three dots. In reference to the specific example you gave in your question, I would not separate the quotation as you have, not because you can't, but because it just reads rather strangely. But look at the examples, and you should get a better feel for how to use them.