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He since published
it in book form as Elmore Leonard’s 10
Rules of Writing, which you can get here on Amazon.
Leonard got his start by scraping out a living writing short
stories and westerns (one of which, Valdez
is Coming, is now considered a classic of the genre). He grew up in the
Detroit area, and it’s only natural that he transitioned to writing crime
fiction, where he displayed an unmatched virtuosity in capturing authentic
street characters and slang in his novels.
Over 20 of his stories have been made into movies or TV
shows. Westerns: Hombre and Joe Kidd, starring Paul Newman and Clint
Eastwood, respectively, and more recently 3:10
to Yuma starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Crime: Get Shorty starring John Travolta and
Gene Hackman; Out of Sight starring
George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez; Killshot
starring Mickey Rourke and Diane Lane; the FX series Justified starring Timothy Olyphant; and so on.
Leonard didn’t achieve that kind of
success because he was lucky; he earned his chops the hard way, from the ground
up, and as he says about his little book: “These are the rules I've
picked up along the way to help me remain invisible when I'm writing a book, to
help me show rather than tell what's taking place in the story.”
Anyone who writes fiction, or aspires to, will benefit from the
advice based on his experience.
Here it is in summary form:
1. Never open a book with weather.
2. Avoid prologues.
3. Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue.
4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said” . . .
5. Keep your exclamation points under control.
6. Never use the words “suddenly” or “all hell
broke loose.”
7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.
8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.
9. Don't go into great detail describing places
and things.
10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.
I encourage you to read what he has to say about each of
those rules, sparing as it is.
I keep a hardcover copy in my living room so I can read
it from time to time. I find it always helps keep me on track.
