writers_loft | Writing a novel.

Hello! (:
First, I’d like to say thank you to the creator of this community! Creating this community was an excellent idea, because I think
writers can communicate with other writers and definitely learn new things to improve their writing skills. Kudos, my friend.

Okay, now to introduce myself.
My name is Darshee, fifteen, from Malaysia. I'm currently half-way through finishing a fantasy-genre novel. However, I myself have noticed that I have problems with grammar and similar ballparks. In where I'm living, they don't teach us stuff like this, so I rely on dictionaries and reading. Therefore, please excuse my wrong usage of language. I'm still learning! Hahaha.

What I really want to know, right now, is the main and most important rules on writing a novel.

For example:

"Thank you." He said?
"Thank you," he said with a smile?

I'm confused, and was hoping someone could explain the whole concept to me.
Thank you so much!

Darshee.