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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of authenticity in writing by not taking oneself too seriously.
Elmore Leonard reflects on the artistic process, suggesting that when a writer becomes overly self-aware or self-critical, it can undermine the natural flow of creativity. By keeping a light-hearted attitude toward his work, he believes he produces more genuine and engaging prose. If he recognizes moments where he is too focused on showcasing his craft, he chooses to revise those parts to maintain authenticity.
Themes
WritingAuthenticityCreativityProseHumor
In practice
Example use cases
In a workshop on creative writing, you might share this quote to encourage students to embrace a relaxed approach to their own 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
There are some people who have been reading me for years, and they keep saying kind things about the writing. That's what you're writing for, to get people to respond to it.
Elmore LeonardRead
Similar quotes
No eyes that have seen beauty ever lose their sight.
Jean ToomerRead
Magic becomes art when it has nothing to hide.
Ben OkriRead
In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications must remain in the dark. An invented figure like Anna Karenina or Emma Bovary emerges fully into the light of understanding, which brings with it identification, sympathy and pity.
John UpdikeRead
Everything that an artist does is a risk. Some people want you to stay the same. If you want to evolve, they want to keep you in a certain place.
Gloria EstefanRead
It is the duty of the younger Negro artist . . . to change through the force of his art that old whispering "I want to be white," hidden in the aspirations of his people, to "Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro - and beautiful!"
Langston HughesRead
When I was a kid I drew like Michelangelo. It took me years to learn to draw like a kid.
Pablo PicassoRead