Elmore Leonard
You were
The crime writing
Equivalent of sci-fi’s
Phillip K Dick,
In terms of
Films based on
Your books
Your guide for
Would be writers
Is something everyone
Should pay attention to:
Never start with the weather:
That’s good advice,
Particularly not
“It was a dark and stormy night”
Avoid prologues:
There’s no need
Get stuck straight in
Never use a verb
Other than ‘said’
To carry dialogue:
Even then it’s
Often obvious who is
Speaking, making the
“Said Jack”
Redundant
Never use an adverb
To modify “said”:
Is just another
Form of the rule
Above
Keep your exclamation
Marks under control:
My old rule was
Never!
But that’s slipped
Somewhat.
Elmore’s was no more
Than two for every
100,000 words.
I’ll go back to
My old strict ways,
I think
Never say:
“Suddenly” or
“All hell broke loose”
Use regional dialect
Sparingly: this does
Not apply to
Obviously
Avoid detailed
Descriptions of characters
Places and things:
Letting them develop in the
Readers’ minds
Is a better way
Leave out the parts
Readers tend to skip:
Or: if they ‘aint
Gonna read it,
Not much point
Writing it
Then the overriding rule:
“If it sounds
Like writing
Rewrite it”
Where will
For Police procedurals,
And tales of the
Underworld?
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