tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post6555152904013290068..comments2024-03-28T08:30:37.763-04:00Comments on Dystel & Goderich Literary Management: Elmore Leonard tells you how to writeDGLMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03594925221862242748noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-56875851313755375552010-02-24T23:09:26.838-05:002010-02-24T23:09:26.838-05:00I revisit Leonard's list every two or three mo...I revisit Leonard's list every two or three months. Every time I do, I go back over two or three months of work, and scrap about 90 percent of my adverbs, and change "guessed," "replied," and "chuckled" to "said." I consider it Cialis for my writing.<br /><br />I enjoy his work so much I'd be a fool not to listen.michael gavaghenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00209555723658389015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-71628331689256890572010-02-23T02:08:35.143-05:002010-02-23T02:08:35.143-05:00don't agree with Leonard's 'he said/ s...don't agree with Leonard's 'he said/ she said' rule. it has to be annoying over the course of a novelEeleen Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15221723342556515161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-32214115138146410932010-02-22T20:35:22.994-05:002010-02-22T20:35:22.994-05:00I have to admit, I agree with both of them.
As yo...I have to admit, I agree with both of them.<br /><br />As you say problem with choosing sides on this kind of advice is that that writers do not all write the same way. Our weaknesses differ. Some writers are overly descriptive. Some of us tend to cut to the chase too fast. We all have our own cliches - such as "suddenly" or "then all hell broke loose." <br /><br />When I see this kind of advice, I read it all, and I value it all, but the point is to understand it, not to slavishly follow it.The Daring Novelisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01676188266569869059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-40393331684682582302010-02-22T19:35:19.280-05:002010-02-22T19:35:19.280-05:00See, if they had just handed out this list in 10th...See, if they had just handed out this list in 10th grade English, I'd already be swimming in a bathtub of my own published books. Brilliant summation; thanks for sharing!Delilah S. Dawsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17209307430010071265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-43539869724281957552010-02-22T17:24:10.491-05:002010-02-22T17:24:10.491-05:00"If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.&quo..."If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it."<br /><br />Ok, I've been told by agents and editors that my writing is beautiful, but I haven't found representation yet. Are they trying to tell me I sound like I'm writing?Victoria Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14012092208934951963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-31037727472433176282010-02-22T16:09:16.900-05:002010-02-22T16:09:16.900-05:00Anonymous, I'd argue that the opening of Neuro...Anonymous, I'd argue that the opening of Neuromancer is a great sentence but an eye-roller of an opening. 1984? I'll give you that one.<br /><br />As I said, "rules are made to be broken," but it's a rare writer who can make opening with the weather seem anything other than lazy and pedantic.<br /><br />-JimDGLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03594925221862242748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-90495163786902618422010-02-22T15:50:35.141-05:002010-02-22T15:50:35.141-05:00I was nodding my head in agreement with all of the...I was nodding my head in agreement with all of them, until I got to #6. One of my characters says "all hell broke loose". Which leads me to wonder if it is okay since my character said it, not the narration. Hmmm.<br /><br />I agree the most with #9, which for me often becomes #10. Anne Rice (especially "The Vampire Chronicles") is one of my all-time favorites. But when she begins to describe how the bougainvillea wraps itself around the wrought iron gates and up the exterior walls ... I know I can pretty much skim over the next page or two, until the character steps in the house and the action picks up again.Tracyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03726858055689145824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-24521835153137734172010-02-22T14:25:00.763-05:002010-02-22T14:25:00.763-05:00Never open with weather?
The first line from Wili...Never open with weather?<br /><br />The first line from Wiliam Gibson's Neuromancer:<br />The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel<br />(1984) - and coincidentally, George Orwell's 1984: It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen"<br />(1949)<br /><br />There are no absolute rules in writing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com