It doesn’t have to make sense, it just has to sound like it does.
Elmore Leonard (1925–2013) American novelist and screenwriter
(Attributed)
Quotations by:
Leonard, Elmore
What do you tell a man with two black eyes? Nothing, he’s already been told twice.
Elmore Leonard (1925–2013) American novelist and screenwriter
Darryl, Be Cool (1999)
If work was a good thing the rich would have it all and not let you do it.
Never use the words “suddenly” or “all hell broke loose”. This rule doesn’t require an explanation. I have noticed that writers who use “suddenly” tend to exercise less control in the application of exclamation points.
Elmore Leonard (1925–2013) American novelist and screenwriter
In “Ten Rules for Writing Fiction,” The Guardian (20 Feb 2010)
(Source)
Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip. Think of what you skip reading a novel: thick paragraphs of prose you can see have too many words in them.
Elmore Leonard (1925–2013) American novelist and screenwriter
In “Ten Rules for Writing Fiction,” The Guardian (20 Feb 2010)
(Source)
A frequent piece of advice from Leonard, e.g.:
- "I leave out the parts that people skip." When asked about the popularity of his detective novels. Quoted in William Zinsser, A Family of Readers (1986)
- "Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip." In "Making It Up as I Go Along," AARP Magazine (Jul/Aug 2009).
If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.
Elmore Leonard (1925–2013) American novelist and screenwriter
In Newsweek (22 Apr 1985)