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

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.
Topics: Writing , Author , Novel , Self-Editing , Elmore Leonard