10 Tips on Writing, as per Elmore Leonard

I was watching the news last night and heard about the passing of an author by the name of Elmore Leonard.  Unfortunately for me, I had never heard of him before this news announcement and after hearing about him, I wish I had.  He was an American author who wrote novels and screen plays for TV and movies.

What interested me most was his 10 Tips on Writing.  And for a matter of record, I am going to post them here (originally copied from an article on The Globe and Mail):

1. Never open a book with weather. If it’s only to create atmosphere, and not create a character’s reaction to the weather, you don’t want to go on too long.

Notice how he immediately gets the focus where it belongs: on character. We read not to learn that it’s a glorious day but to understand how a character feels when the day of her lover’s funeral is the kind of sultry day they loved best.

2. Avoid prologues.

Here, Mr. Leonard immediately breaks his own rule, citing a prologue that serves a purpose:

“There is a prologue in John Steinbeck’sSweet Thursday, but it’s okay because a character in the book makes the point of what my rules are all about.”

3. Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in.

Amen!

4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said” … he admonished gravely. To use an adverb this way (or almost any way) is a mortal sin.

Amen again!

5. Keep your exclamation marks under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.

Whoops!

6. Never use the words “suddenly” or “all hell broke loose.”

7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.

Mr. Leonard suggests writers notice the way Annie Proulx “captures the flavour of Wyoming voices in her book of short stories Close Range.” Again, a very sensible recommendation. However, this particular rule is worth questioning. While it is difficult for writers to use regional dialect without appearing to condescend to their characters, there are exceptions. James Lee Burke’s use of Cajun dialect in his Dave Robicheaux novels both brings his characters to life and honours them. I expect Elmore Leonard would give him a pass on this rule.

8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters. In Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants, what do the “American and the girl with him” look like? “She had taken off her hat and put it on the table.” That’s the only reference to a physical description in the story, and yet we see the couple and know them by their tones of voice, with not one adverb in sight.

Again, note that Mr. Leonard always chose exactly the right piece to illustrate his point.

9. Don’t go into great detail describing places and things.

10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

Mr. Leonard concluded his rules by citing his most important rule – the one that sums up all of the rules:

If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.

I think I am going to look up some of his books and read them for myself to see what his writing style was like.  All in all, I'm happy to learn from him.