Should I start a new paragraph after a dialogue if the action is being taken by a new person?
I am currently editing an original work of fiction, and one of the things I'm having the most trouble with is dialogue and paragraphs after certain character's actions. I know it sounds a little confusing, but I'll try my best to explain.
In this example paragraph, there are three characters: Nat (the narrator), Oddie, and Arden.
Would it be written:
“We can just call her Rose,” Arden suggests, leaning back on his hands, any leftover semblances of sleep wiped clear from his face.
“I thought you said that name was already taken?”
He shrugs, toeing the remnants of his cloak over his lap. I throw my arms in the air, exasperated.
or,
“We can just call her Rose,” Arden suggests, leaning back on his hands, any leftover semblances of sleep wiped clear from his face.
“I thought you said that name was already taken?” He shrugs, toeing the remnants of his cloak over his lap. I throw my arms in the air, exasperated.
Basically, I'm wondering if I should start a new paragraph after the dialogue if the action is being taken by a person other than the one who just finished talking.
I know it sounds a bit confusing. I'm very sorry if I don't explain myself well. Still, I hope someone will be able to help me, as I'm having some trouble with this. The second option seems right to me, but in writing it like that, I'm afraid the reader might get confused about who's doing what.
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/41261. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
2 answers
Yes. Not only should you start a new paragraph for every character, but you need to be clear about who is saying or doing what.
You mention the excerpt involves 3 characters. We know the first person part is Nat, the narrator. And of course the parts you label as being from Arden are from that character. But where is Oddie? Is he the speaker in the middle? If so, try this:
“We can just call her Rose,” Arden suggests, leaning back on his hands, any leftover semblances of sleep wiped clear from his face.
Oddie looks up. “I thought you said that name was already taken?”
Arden shrugs, toeing the remnants of his cloak over his lap.
I throw my arms in the air, exasperated.
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I would say it is definitely a new paragraph if only to indicate 'he' didn't say 'I thought ...'.
I teach that you start a new paragraph when you change speaker, place, time or character. Here the change is character.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41263. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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