WIST Quotations

Leonard, Elmore -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 05:17:09 +0000

It doesn’t have to make sense, it just has to sound like it does.

Elmore Leonard (1925–2013) American novelist and screenwriter
(Attributed)

Leonard, Elmore -- Darryl, Be Cool (1999)

Dave — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 13:22:42 +0000

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)

Leonard, Elmore -- Split Images, ch. 1 (1961)

Dave — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 16:41:19 +0000

If work was a good thing the rich would have it all and not let you do it.

Elmore Leonard (1925–2013) American novelist and screenwriter
Split Images, ch. 1 (1961)

Leonard, Elmore -- In “Ten Rules for Writing Fiction,” The Guardian (20 Feb 2010)

Dave — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 13:39:04 +0000

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)

Leonard, Elmore -- In “Ten Rules for Writing Fiction,” The Guardian (20 Feb 2010)

Dave — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:11:27 +0000

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)

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).

Leonard, Elmore -- In Newsweek (22 Apr 1985)

Dave — Thu, 22 May 2014 12:12:35 +0000

If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.

Elmore Leonard (1925–2013) American novelist and screenwriter
In Newsweek (22 Apr 1985)