Hello, everyone!
This may seem like a silly issue. I've looked everywhere and can't find information as to whether I use a comma in a particular setup. I'll give an example:
"Does anyone know how to use this comma correctly," he shrugged "because I don't have the foggiest clue?"
First off, I know that is a terrible bit of writing. But I'm tired and wanted to get the point across as quickly as possible. I"m just not sure if there should be a comma after the word shrugged in a setup like this. As in, do you add a comma when breaking up a single line of dialogue? Or is it acceptable to leave the comma out, especially if the break comes in the dead center of a spoken sentence?
Anyway, just want to say thank you in advance. Everyone is so helping on here and I truly appreciate all the help I've been given up to this point. To show how hillbilly I can be: I hope y'all have have a wonderful evening. Take care!
There should be a comma after the word shrugged, yes. 
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Thank you so much!
I agree that grammatically you would want to use a comma after shrugged. But given that you can't shrug speech, I think
"Does anyone know how to use this comma correctly?" He shrugged. "Because I don't have the foggiest clue."
is better. The shrugging needs to be distinct from the speaking, so it should be a new sentence. It's not properly a dialog tag at all.
Incorporating a non-dialog tag action within the middle of a sentence of dialog is kind of cumbersome, but you sometimes see:
"Does anyone know how to use this comma correctly"--he shrugged--"because I don't have the foggiest clue?"
If we have a miraculous species that shrugs to talk (and thus "he shrugged" is a dialog tag), an alternative would be:
"Does anyone know how to use this comma correctly?" he shrugged. "Because I don't have the foggiest clue."
The point is that as long as the dialog tag breaks up a single sentence of dialog, you need commas before and after the tag. If it's at the end of a sentence of dialog, you don't need the comma after the tag.
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"Deymons" in Mysterion: https://www.mysteriononline.com/2024/02/deymons.html
"Every Me Is Someone Else" in Diabolical Plots: https://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fiction-103a-every-me-is-someone-else-by-andrew-dibble/
What Andy says is my understanding. If the action isn't directly referencing the speech e.g. she said/he mumbled, then there should be a full-stop before the action. Not a great example, but:
Wrong:
"I can jump this fence," he tripped and hit his head.
Correct:
"I can jump this fence." He tripped and hit his head.
35: - R R R | 36: R HM R R | 37: HM HM HM SHM | 38: HM HM HM HM | 39: HM HM HM SHM | 40: HM R SHM SHM | 41: R HM SHM R
5 SHM / 13 HM / 9 R
