Quotes within quotes

louisgodwin · Mar 26, 2007

I know I've seen Anne Rice do this countless times in her Vampire Chronicles, but I don't have any of those books to reference anymore.

This piece I'm writing is being told in the third person. A supporting character begins telling the lead character a story in which the supporting character quotes other characters that are in his story. If I remember correctly, the format goes something like this.....

"And it was then that Ben cried out, 'You son of a bitch!'"

Is this the correct way to do this?

DeadlyAccurate · Mar 26, 2007

Yes, that's correct.

TsukiRyoko · Mar 26, 2007

Yup, you got it correct.

louisgodwin · Mar 26, 2007

Cool. Thank you! Just one more thing.

If a paragraph ends with a quote within a quote, does it end with just the apostrophe ' and then the new parapraph starts with a quote " ?

The way I remember seeing it done is like this:

.....and I saw the world for the first time through vampire eyes.'

"'I awoke well after dusk the next evening to find two mangled corpses lying outside my coffin.'"

TsukiRyoko · Mar 26, 2007

louisgodwin said:
Cool. Thank you! Just one more thing.

If a paragraph ends with a quote within a quote, does it end with just the apostrophe ' and then the new parapraph starts with a quote " ?

The way I remember seeing it done is like this:

.....and I saw the world for the first time through vampire eyes.'

"'I awoke well after dusk the next evening to find two mangled corpses lying outside my coffin.'"

Actually, I think it goes like this, but I could be wrong:

"Blah blah blah blah blah, blah blah. Blah blach jdklgfjklgs jklfdsk;grjwkl kl;ewjgkl.

"Blah blah blah blah blah."

maestrowork · Mar 27, 2007

louisgodwin said:
"And it was then that Ben cried out, 'You son of a bitch!'"

Is this the correct way to do this?

Some house styles suggest a space between the single and the double quotation marks.

louisgodwin said:
.....and I saw the world for the first time through vampire eyes.'

"'I awoke well after dusk the next evening to find two mangled corpses lying outside my coffin.'"

It's probably correct, although I have never seen this before. I've never seen a paragraph that ends with a quote within quote.

Quotes within quotes

louisgodwin

Back from the dead

DeadlyAccurate

Absolutely Fazed

TsukiRyoko

Forced into cell phone life

louisgodwin

Back from the dead

TsukiRyoko

Forced into cell phone life

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray