Direct speech and organising a story

Punctuating speech

Put the exact words inside inverted commas, start them with a capital letter, and separate them from the rest with a comma: Nam said, ‘I am tired.’ If the speech comes first, the comma goes inside: ‘I am tired,’ said Nam.

Better verbs than said

shouted, whispered, replied, asked, explained tell the reader how it was spoken, which saves a whole sentence of description.

Story shape

A story has a beginning that sets the place, the time and the characters; a middle with a problem; and an end where the problem is solved. Sequence words — First, Then, After that, Suddenly, In the end — show the reader where they are.