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
fun writing nuts
I do have fun writing, and a long time ago, I told myself, 'You got to have fun at this, or it'll drive you nuts.'
writing narrative jazz
I'm very much aware in the writing of dialogue, or even in the narrative too, of a rhythm. There has to be a rhythm with it … Interviewers have said, you like jazz, don’t you? Because we can hear it in your writing. And I thought that was a compliment.
writing important sound
My most important rule is one that sums up the 10: If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.
jobs may good-times
I always felt, you don’t have a good time doin crime, you may as well find a job.
character writing thinking
I've quit writing screenplay [adaptations]. It's too much work. I don't look at writing a novel as work, because I only have to please myself. I have a good time sitting here by myself, thinking up situations and characters, getting them to talk - it's so satisfying. But screenwriting's different. You might think you're writing for yourself, but there are too many other people to please.
reading writing years
There are some people who have been reading me for years, and they keep saying kind things about the writing. That's what you're writing for, to get people to respond to it.
writing exclamation-points two
Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.
sound doe make-sense
It doesn't have to make sense, it just has to sound like it does.
writing needs information
All the information you need can be given in dialogue.
men thinking two
A man can be in two different places and he will be two different men. Maybe if you think of more places he will be more men, but two is enough for now.
fun book writing
A friend of mine who is in the publishing business knew I was writing a book, and he said, 'Have you said anything yet about the good guy? Because I know you spend so much time with the bad guys.' Because they're fun. So then you have to make the good guy fun, in order to compete. That's the challenge.
annoying prologue introduction
Avoid Prologues. They can be annoying, especially a prologue following an introduction that comes after a foreword.
writing people trying
Try not to write the parts that people skip.
writing good-day four
I used to be able to write five pages a day, every day, no problem. Now a good day is five or four pages, and that's from 9:30 A.M. until 6 P.M.