Elmore Leonard's Rules of Writing

[Grouch]

This week's "Writers on Writing" feature in the NY Times (a terrific series of essays by writers on their craft) features Elmore Leonard and is one of those wonderful manifestos that you (at least, I) want to print out and tack on the wall beside your writing desk.

Rule #1: Never open a book with weather.
Rule #6: Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose."
Rule #10: Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

And so on.
You read the whole thing here (requires FREE registration with the NY Times)

[jankp]

What's that first one mean? You don't begin a book talking about the atmosphere like 'it was a dark and stormy night'? Haven't popular writers like King done that?

Jan

[KristenNC]

That article is AWESOME.

My first writer's group was so embarrassing. The first question asked was "why do you have a prolouge?" My answer, "uh, I don't know." My favorite line personally is "What the writer is doing, he's writing, perpetrating hooptedoodle, perhaps taking another shot at the weather, or has gone into the character's head, and the reader either knows what the guy's thinking or doesn't care. I'll bet you don't skip dialogue."

Thanks, David. That helps.

[Grouch]

Originally posted by jankp
What's that first one mean? You don't begin a book talking about the atmosphere like 'it was a dark and stormy night'? Haven't popular writers like King done that?

Jan

Sorry about that. On reflection, it does look a little vague. But trust me, it makes sense in the essay.
Here's Leonard's elaboration:
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 to describe ice and snow than an Eskimo, you can do all the weather reporting you want.

[KristenNC]

Haha. I'm such a fan of Stephen, I've been sitting here trying to figure out all of his first lines - not an easy task as all of my hardcover books are in boxes.

Bag of Bones starts out: "On a very hot day in August of 1994, ..."

Carrie starts out: "News item from the Westover (ME) weekly Enterprise, August 19, 1966: 'Rain of Stones Reported: It was reliably reported by several persons that a rain of stones fell from a clear blue sky on Carlin Street in the town of Chamberlain on August 17th.'"

Cycle of the Werewolf starts out: "Somewhere, high above, the moon shines down, fat and full -- but here, in Tarker's Mills, a January blizzard has choked the sky with snow."

Gerald's Game starts out: "Jessie could hear the back door banging lightly, randomly, in the October breeze blowing around the house."

Rage (as Bachman) starts out: "The morning I got it on was nice; a nice May morning."

Dead Zone starts out: "By the time he graduated college, John Smith had forgotten all about the bad fall he took on the ice that January day in 1953." (which kind of mentions weather)

The Regulators starts out: "Summer's here."

The Running Man starts out: "She was squinting at the thermometer in the white light coming through the window."

--------------------

I guess Steve missed the article, huh? 'Course even with his style, it was enough to get him this house.

[jankp]

OK, I'll read the article like a good girl. Thanks.

Jan

[jankp]

Kristen, that's a hoot! I haven't read much of King, so I was really just guessing based on his style of writing. Thanks for sharing that. Grouch, I read that article and I have one comment. Didn't Steinbeck use hard language to get the 'tone' across?

Jan

[pageclot[$]]

I personally like it when the writer dispenses with "said" altogether, and sets out lines of dialogue apart from the rest of the text. Joyce did it. I think Ondaatje does it every once in a while, for effect.

Writing about the weather reminds me of a writer describing the way British sportswriters write:
(Can't believe I actually wrote a sentence with 4 instances of the word, or variations of the word "Write")

"On this peaceful cloudy morning, shot through with glimpses of a pale limpid sky above, the grounds were wreathed in a close mist, hanging low above the cricket pitch. In some glorious way, this overweening mist was symbolic, for it was on this day that Curtis Edmonds, callow youth, but wise beyond his years star bowler for the Glastonbury squad, was ubiquitous. ...."

where an American sportswriter might write:

"Jacksonville clobbered Jersey 6-1, Edmonds taking the win with 8 strong innings".

Leonard's rules are like any other, to be ignored if you feel you have the cojones.

p

[Grouch]

I'm still reeling from the fact that you used "callow" and ubiquitous" in the same sentence as Curtis Edmonds.