Q&A With Novelist Elmore Leonard
Friday, October 26th, 2007Advice from a master at page turners: Keep it simple
By Rick Newman
U.S. News article
Elmore Leonard’s 42nd book is his shortest, by far. And that’s the point. After penning numerous page turners later adapted for the screen, like Three-Ten to Yuma, Rum Punch, Get Shorty, and Be Cool, Leonard gave a speech in which he listed 10 pithy guidelines for writers. The list gained a following, and a revised version became Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing. In a recent chat with U.S. News, Leonard, 82, discussed his rules—which include “keep your exclamation points under control” and “try to leave out the parts readers tend to skip”—along with his views on writing, movies, and modern technology: (more…)
