Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard
Elmore John Leonard, Jr.was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth11 October 1925
CityNew Orleans, LA
CountryUnited States of America
reading writing verbs
Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue... I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with "she asseverated" and had to stop reading and go to the dictionary.
writing paper matter
A pen connects you to the paper. It definitely matters.
book writing winning
I don't judge in my books. I don't have to have the antagonist get shot or the protagonist win. It's just how it comes out. I'm just telling a story.
advertising havens left
I left advertising as fast as I could in 1961. And I haven't ever thought about going back.
guy want want-to-be-happy
I never see my bad guys as simply bad. They want pretty much the same thing that you and I want: they want to be happy.
home writing want
I once saw Dizzy Gillespie at a live show, and it made me want to go home immediately and start writing.
pay bills frightened
I don't get in a position to be frightened. I don't do anything dangerous, and I always pay my bills.
use hell broke
Never use the words 'suddenly' or 'all hell broke loose.'
book weather pages
I won't read a book that starts with a description of the weather. I don't read books over 300 pages, though I'll make an exception for Don Delillo.
thinking style
I don’t think writers compete, I think they’re all doing separate things in their own style.
writing use way
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. The writer is now exposing himself in earnest, using a word that distracts and can interrupt the rhythm of the exchange.
writing stories sense-of-humor
I started out of course with Hemingway when I learned how to write. Until I realized Hemingway doesn't have a sense of humor. He never has anything funny in his stories.
guy four twenties
Bad guys are not bad guys twenty-four hours a day.
mother thinking worry
Don't worry about what your mother thinks of your language.