The Illustrated Library 4
This book was a very decadent purchase. 91 pages, and well, there ain't a whole heck of a lot of text on those 91 pages. But the text that is there, is good. (Note that I did not say very good, 'cuz I think Elmore Leonard would not like that description. He's not big on hooptedoodle when it comes to writing). And yes, there are illustrations, too, 'cuz well, I did put it in the category of The Illustrated Library, didn't I? This beautiful hard-bound book (with a lovely leather and cloth cover, no less!) is illustrated by the very clever Joe Ciardiello.
Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing is (according to the description on the back of the book) the indispensable guide (and gift) for every reader and writer. Leonard is all about keeping it simple. So I guess it would only make sense that he keep his rules clean and simple, too, right? In Leonard's brief introduction he writes:
These are rules I've picked up along the way to help me remain invisible when I'm writing a book, to help me show rather than tell what's taking place in the story. If you have a facility for language and imagery and the sound of your voice pleases you, invisibility is not what you are after, and you can skip the rules. Still, you might want to look them over.
Here are some samples of Leonard's rules:
1. Avoid Prologues
They can be annoying, especially a prologue following an introduction that comes after a foreword.
But these are ordinarily found in nonfiction. A prologue in a novel is backstory, and you can drop it in anywhere you want.
There is a prologue in John Steinbeck's Sweet Thursday, but it's okay because a character in the book makes the point of what my rules are all about. He says:
"I like a lot of talk in a book and I don't like to have nobody tell me what the guy that's talking looks like. I want to figure out what he looks like from the way he talks...figure out what the guy's thinking from what he says. I like some description but not too much of that."
The Steinbeck character goes on to say, "Sometimes I want a book to break loose with a bunch of hooptedoodle....Spin up some pretty words maybe or sing a little song with language. That's nice. But I wish it was set aside so I don't have to read it. I don't want hooptedoodle to get mixed up with the story."
5. Keep Your Exclamation Points Under Control
You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose. If you have the knack of playing with exclaimers the way Tom Wolfe does, you can throw them in by the handful.
6. Never Use The Words "Suddenly" or "All Hell Broke Loose"
Some damn fine advice to live by.
