At the time I begin writing a novel, the last thing I want to do is follow a plot outline. To know too much at the start takes the pleasure out of discovering what the book is about.
Elmore LeonardRead
My most important piece of advice to all you would-be writers: when you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Focus on clarity and brevity in writing to engage readers effectively.
Elmore Leonard emphasizes the importance of concise and engaging writing. He advises aspiring writers to avoid unnecessary details that might cause readers to lose interest, suggesting that the best writing is that which captures attention and maintains engagement throughout.
Themes
WritingClarityEngagementReadersConciseness
In practice
Example use cases
During a writing workshop, a mentor could quote Leonard to stress the importance of clear writing.
More from Elmore Leonard
All quotes βIf you take a few days to write an outline, you're just making up scenes that you think will work, that you think will be interesting. But as you write it, other ideas occur - better ideas that have to do with what you're writing.
Elmore LeonardRead
A friend of mine who is in the publishing business knew I was writing a book, and he said, 'Have you said anything yet about the good guy? Because I know you spend so much time with the bad guys.' Because they're fun. So then you have to make the good guy fun, in order to compete. That's the challenge.
Elmore LeonardRead
Really, when I write a book I'm the only one I have to please. That's the beauty of writing a book instead of a screenplay.
Elmore LeonardRead
Sometimes female characters start out as the wife or girlfriend, but then I realize, 'No, she's the book,' and she becomes a main character. I surrender the book to her.
Elmore LeonardRead
I really - I don't take my work that seriously, and I think that's what keeps me loose. If I try to write, if I catch myself trying to write, I'll fall right on my face. I'll see it. If I see in the prose that I'm - 'Boy, look at me writing,' I rewrite it. I rewrite it because I don't, because I think it's distracting.
Elmore LeonardRead
Similar quotes
The first is that good writing consists of mastering the fundamentals (vocabulary, grammar, the elements of style) and then filling the third level of your toolbox with the right instruments. The second is that while it is impossible to make a competent writer out of a bad writer, and while is equally impossible to make a great writer out of a good one, it is possible, with lots of hard work, dedication, and timely help, to make a good writer out of a merely competent one
Stephen KingRead
The book must of necessity be put into a bookcase. And the bookcase must be housed. And the house must be kept. And the library must be dusted, must be arranged, must be catalogued. What a vista of toil, yet not unhappy toil!
William E. GladstoneRead
A parent or a teacher has only his lifetime; a good book can teach forever.
Louis L'AmourRead
You're never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child.
Dr. SeussRead
Woe be to him that reads but one book.
George HerbertRead
Instead of becoming a great shikari, as my mother and stepfather might have wished, I had become an incurable bookworm and was to remain one for the rest of my life.
Ruskin BondRead