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- Elmore Leonard (4)
- Stages of Creativity (4)
- Control (3)
- All I Need to Know (2)

First Time Author Examiner
Showing entries for Category: SelfEditing

Elmore Leonard's Rules For Writing: Rules #8-10

POSTED May 29, 3:04 PM

So here are the last three of Elmore Leonard's Rules for Writers. I absolutely promise 100% that this is the last rule-oriented post I'm going to do. I don't relish being told how to do my job, just as I imagine the rest of you don't. But I do find it interesting when someone has written 100+ novels and decides to tell everyone else how he thinks it should be done.

Frankly, if I'd just started writing when I read these, I would have been very confused. My commentary on each rule is merely meant to decrypt what is actually being said to those of you who are either interested or as confused as I would have been.

With that being said, here are the last three:

8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.

I agree in part. Some description helps paint a picture. However, the less work you do to force the reader to see the character exactly like you do, the happier everyone will be. Trust your reader's imagination. If you have a beautiful heroine, keep her description brief and the reader will conjure their own ideal of beauty.

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

Sort of the same as #8. Unless a feature of a place figures into your writing, it's probably best to leave the details to the reader's imagination.

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

I found this rule rather perplexing at first. I don't generally skip paragraphs when reading. But what he's basically saying is, "Cut the fat out of the your writing." If something is superfluous, either get rid of it or trim it down. And a good rule of thumb: If you're bored reading it, why would you think the reader would be interested in it?

My previous post on Self-Editing figures nicely into this particular rule.

Categories: Writing , Author , Novel , Self-Editing , Elmore Leonard

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Elmore Leonard's Rules For Writing: Rules #5-7

POSTED May 28, 5:22 PM

The next three "rules" help keep your writing clean and effective. I'm not a fan of using the word "never" when talking about an artistic craft, because it assumes that there's no possible way to do something.5. Keep your exclamation... Read More

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Elmore Leonard's Rules For Writing: Rules #2-4

POSTED May 21, 2:49 PM

2. Avoid prologues.Prologues have generally gone out of fashion. They're still here and there in Fantasy and Science Fiction as a means of giving a quick insight into the past, but otherwise they can slow you down.3. Never use a verb other than “said”... Read More

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A Grim Sacrifice: Editing and Pacing

POSTED May 12, 5:30 PM

One of the most likely and difficult things an author is asked to do is to cut either entire scenes or sections of text to "tighten" up the writing and increase the pacing. When first asked to do this, most authors balk, and understandably... Read More

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The Awful Truth About Authorship

POSTED April 23, 6:17 PM

A recent reader's comment brought up this very important and seldom discussed topic. Authorship (for those of you who might call it something else) is simply the idea that your ideas belong to you because you created them. (It may be over-simplifying,... Read More

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Printing and Paper

POSTED April 23, 12:32 PM

Novels are big. Even small novels translate into lots of pages coming out of your printer. Often many, many times. My novel is a monster in terms of size. At the moment it's approximately 170,000 words, which translates into hundreds of pages.I try not... Read More

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The Importance of the Read-Through

POSTED April 22, 5:44 PM

Few experiences are more intellectually painful than reading your own novel. It's almost impossible not to self-edit every decision you've made. Now, this is occasionally balanced by a deft turn of phrase or a particularly brilliant insight, but not... Read More

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Guy Incognito
Got a manuscript? So does Guy - a great one, or so say his editors. Follow along as he shares the experience of writing and publishing a book with you from manuscript to book tours and, hopefully, sequels.