World Famous Comics: Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing
Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing
By: Elmore Leonard Publisher: William Morrow Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: William Morrow Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 96 Publication Date: November 01, 2007 Release Date: October 30, 2007
"These are the 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."—Elmore Leonard
For aspiring writers and lovers of the written word, this concise guide breaks down the writing process with simplicity and clarity. From adjectives and exclamation points to dialect and hoopetedoodle, Elmore Leonard explains what to avoid, what to aspire to, and what to do when it sounds like "writing" (rewrite).
Beautifully designed, filled with free-flowing, elegant illustrations and specially priced, Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing is the perfect writer's—and reader's—gift.
No Unless you are a huge fan of Elmore Leonard and want to own a copy of everything he has written, Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing will surely disappoint.
What you will get is an essay of about maybe 700 words printed on 60 bond paper with lots of white space and some rather good caricatures of Leonard and other famous authors. However, other writers have expounded on the ten rules with greater aplomb and for a far less monetary investment.
If you seriously must have a copy, there is an edition published as a smaller art book that retails for $14.95.
If you seriously want to become a good writer, instead of Leonard's book, I suggest Stephen King's On Writing or Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing. Please read my reviews of them both for greater detail and caveats.
Know what you're getting This is not a comprehensive manual for writing, but rather a quick burst of inspiration. You can read through it in ten minutes if you take your time. I like to read it before I sit down to write. My girlfriend checked it out at the library for me and I liked it so much I bought myself a copy.
A book is a book is a book The rich simplicity of this attractive book's witty economical exercise exemplifies how "to leave out the part that readers tend to skip" (rule #10).
Personally, I would purchase this elegant volume only if I were a huge admirer of Elmore Leonard, or wanted to enjoy the drawings again and again, not for its sensible but minimal information.
However, as I took in Leonard's cogent ideas, nodding at his props to fellow writers, I savored the experience of handling and reading this artful object, and appreciated how successfully it was conceived and produced.
The misplaced expectations of those not open to a similar sort of experience will not be met.
Elmore Leonard's rules for writng like Elmer Leonard This book is considered by many readers a rip-off, a magazine article bloated into a book. My own thought upon reading the rules themselves is that they are simply Leonard's rules for describing his own successful form of mystery story - telling. His rules are primarily rules for what not to do, rules for making the writing economical, for making the story move without distraction. Do not open the story with descriptions of the weather: Do not write a prologue: Never use a verb for dialogue other than 'said': Avoid detailed description of characters: Don't go into detail describing places and things: If it sounds like 'writing' correct it i.e. He explains that 'writing' is that too complicated in which one begins sentences with dependent clauses. All in all a quite meager recipe although it does describe Leonard's practice. If one wants to read something wonderful although a bit unkind on rules and writing one should look at Mark Twain's great essay on the errors in the writing of Fenimore Cooper.
Kindle Rip Off The 10 rules of writing take less than 10 minutes to read. At nearly $10 for the Kindle edition that is $1/minute. Spendy! The rules are informative. The writing, what there is of it, is witty. The illustrations are all but invisible on the Kindle. Sadly, unlike the print edition, you can't get your money back.
Ironically, virtually the entire contents of this "book" were in the review I read in my local newspaper. Amazon should be embarassed to offer this Kindle edition.
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