Formatting Dialogue (3)

Can you spot the mistake in the following block of text?

Little Bear blew the horn. The warriors gathered. Running Coyote was annoyed and said to Little Bear, "Why did you blow the horn, Little Bear? Do you need some instruction on how to hunt for buffalo? The first rule is to not make any loud noises when we are sneaking up on a herd." He laughed at his own joke. Little Bear ignored him. He had no mind to entertain Running Coyote's derision at this time. "No, Running Coyote, it is about the truce. Some say that there has been an attack on the village." Running Coyote's face sobered. He no longer felt like joking. "Who says this, Little Bear?" Running Coyote asked. Little Bear replied, "The Chief says this."

The mistake is in the last paragraph. This paragraph includes the words of both Running Coyote and Little Bear, and that's a violation of our rule:

• One person, one paragraph.

To correct the mistake, we need to split up that last paragraph, like this:

Running Coyote's face sobered. He no longer felt like joking. "Who says this, Little Bear?" Running Coyote asked. Little Bear replied, "The Chief says this."

Instructions for the Quiz

Each question consists of several paragraphs of dialogue. Your job is to determine whether the paragraphs are formatted correctly.

Caution: A few of the dialogues include "action paragraphs" like this:

Agnes played the guitar. Shawn played the tambourine. Helen clapped her hands and sang.

This paragraph doesn't "belong" to anyone because no one is saying anything. In an action paragraph, you can include the actions of several people, and it's perfectly all right.

But if it's a paragraph that includes dialogue, it should not include the thoughts, actions, words, or feelings of more than one person. (If it does, then the paragraph is not formatted correctly).

Quiz