I know that the general rule is that each person's speech should start a new indented paragraph. But if you have a character speaking, then some narrative, then the character starts to speak again, does this have to be a new paragraph? For example...

[indent] 'How strange to see you here,' Michael said. He stood and walked to the desk to pick up a thick file. 'It must be two years since we last met.'

Should the piece of dialogue starting 'It must be two years...' be on a new line, or is it correct as above? And what if the narrative separating the two pieces of dialogue is much longer? Should (or could) the next piece of dialogue be a new paragraph?

James

James, I would do as you have, and just run the whole thing on; starting a new para suggests that it's someone else speaking. If the intervening non-dialogue is so long - and diverts from the speaker's actions or PoV enough - that the reader might lose track of who's saying the second bit of dialogue, then I'd be inclined possibly to start a new para, and certainly to put in a 'he said' or something else to keep the reader straight.

Emma

I generally agree with Emma on this. The essential element is that the appearance or 'look' on the printed page must be easy to read.

Short paragraphs with the same person speaking will look unusual even if you use 'Michael continued' or 'Michael added' - even 'Michael said'. However a monologue-type speech, with, breaks for descriptive words would need stronger and more definite verbs, such as 'continued', 'added' in order to ensure that the reader is still with Michael.

I feel that the continued use of 'said Michael' or 'Michael said' in such circumstances could well be a stopper to the reader's eye.

If you wish a single speaker to continue the monologue over a number of paragraphs then you may like to consider
using phrases or sentences that add colour to the story or provide an insight to some characteristics of Michael.

For example:- Michael turned to the window and emitted a long, sad sigh. 'Speech continues...'

A cold, hard stare came into Michael's eyes. 'Speech continues...'

A broad grin spread across Michael's face. 'Speech continues...'

There are many ways in which you can make this work.

Len

Emma, Len,

Thank you both for your useful comments. Have a better idea of how to lay out dialogue...now I just have to worry about the content!

James

Cymro,

I meant to add that it is not necessary to use indents before one starts a speech at the beginning of a paragraph.
I am sure I never use indents.

The double-line spacing between paragraphs is, in my opinion, sufficient to signify the end of something and the beginning of something else whether it be narrative or speech.

Some years ago when writing correspondence the use of the indent was almost mandatory - not so any longer.

Len

If you've got a double spacing only between paras, Len's right - the extra line is enough, but for manuscripts of course you've got double-line spacing throughout, and then you do need to indent the first line of each para, whether or not it's speech, otherwise you can't tell where the para starts.

Emma