Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing

by Leonard, Elmore

• ISBN13: 9780061451461
• ISBN10: 0061451460
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-01-01
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

"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."-Elmore Leonard For aspiring writers and lovers of the written word, this concise guide breaks down the writing process with simplicity and clarity. From adjectives and exclamation points to dialect and hoopetedoodle, Elmore Leonard explains what to avoid, what to aspire to, and what to do when it sounds like "writing" (rewrite). Beautifully designed, filled with free-flowing, elegant illustrations and specially priced, Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing is the perfect writer's-and reader's-gift.

Excerpts

Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing

Chapter One

Never open a book with weather

If it's only to create atmosphere, and not a character's reaction to the weather, you don't want to go on too long. The reader is apt to leaf ahead looking for people. There are exceptions. If you happen to be Barry Lopez, who has more ways than an Eskimo to describe ice and snow in his book Arctic Dreams, you can do all the weather reporting you want.

Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing. Copyright © by Elmore Leonard. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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Excerpted from 10 Rules of Writing by Elmore Leonard
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