tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post6644557207832664683..comments2023-04-18T00:44:59.351+10:00Comments on A dead man fell from the sky...: Elmore Leonard's Rules of Writing: an historical perspectiveGary Corbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-2053719977293530062013-09-03T18:55:33.663+10:002013-09-03T18:55:33.663+10:00It was on a dark and rainy night, that Elmore Leon...It was on a dark and rainy night, that Elmore Leonard gave us advice on writing. First, there was the prologue, but soon, he exclaimed – just use ‘said’! With this, all hell broke loose, we were braying our britches, as they say in Yorkshire …ThereseTaylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07371074569885310714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-53602758071569876242013-08-25T14:06:24.219+10:002013-08-25T14:06:24.219+10:00I did quite like your thoughts on Leonard's ru...I did quite like your thoughts on Leonard's rules, though. You thought about them more carefully than most readers do.Peter Rozovskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09977933481463759162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-6450563287799125502013-08-25T14:05:35.838+10:002013-08-25T14:05:35.838+10:00I think it's because the Onion sets high stand...I think it's because the Onion sets high standards. I can't believe that anyone interested in reading such a piece would not already have been familiar with Leonard's word and, hence, found the piece wince-makingly obvious.Peter Rozovskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09977933481463759162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-57527962399653262522013-08-25T14:02:19.836+10:002013-08-25T14:02:19.836+10:00Hi Peter! Maybe it's because by profession yo...Hi Peter! Maybe it's because by profession you're a top of the line proofreader? I'm guessing a lot of people didn't get the joke until they were halfway through, whereas you spot that sort of bad practice in a microsecond.<br />Gary Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-71988985490933760812013-08-25T07:57:07.032+10:002013-08-25T07:57:07.032+10:00Gary, I'll have to read that Onion piece about...Gary, I'll have to read that Onion piece about Leonard again. I've read nothing but praise for it, but I thought it might be the first unfunny thing the Onion had ever published. Why? Because it was so obvious.<br />=======================<br /> Detectives Beyond Borders<br />"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"<br /> <a href="http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com</a>Peter Rozovskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09977933481463759162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-3697685074664027502013-08-24T13:46:19.532+10:002013-08-24T13:46:19.532+10:00I have a sneaking fondness for prologues...at leas...I have a sneaking fondness for prologues...at least when they're necessary. I have an as-yet-unpublished alternative history manuscript where the "alternative" piece is that I kill off a major historical figure a good 15 years before he was all that major and 25 years before he died in real life. So my prologue is a brief deathbed scene, and then we skip forward a few decades to a point where the world has gone noticeably askew.<br /><br />Now, maybe the reason I still haven't found a publisher for this particular story is that it has a prologue...but I doubt it. I've had the pleasure of watching a few people read the prologue, and when they hit the last line and discover who the dying man is, their eyes go wide, they say, "Oh, SHIT," and they scramble to Chapter 1.<br /><br />I'm also fond of a well-chosen adverb to modify "said," though I always make myself cut at least 75% of the ones in my first drafts.Susanna Fraserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16149293228696867804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-77438753471931923702013-08-22T19:29:54.519+10:002013-08-22T19:29:54.519+10:00Often Gibson manages to be stupid about technology...Often Gibson manages to be stupid about technology in just the right way at just the right time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-85296194825100088472013-08-22T10:57:56.428+10:002013-08-22T10:57:56.428+10:00Jon, they're warnings about possible problems ...Jon, they're warnings about possible problems for sure, not hard and fast rules. <br /><br />I like Neuromancer too. It's exceptional in many ways, unsurprisingly since it's the type model for cyberpunk. Have a look at how much stolen RAM Case is carrying in scene 1. It's less than you've got in your microwave oven. Yet where the book stays vague in details it works to this day.<br />Gary Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-53869484294577069502013-08-22T10:43:25.205+10:002013-08-22T10:43:25.205+10:00Hi Deadly. Yes, it was gorgeous! I laughed all th...Hi Deadly. Yes, it was gorgeous! I laughed all the way through it!<br /><br />Sorry about having to block links in comments, btw. It's an anti-spammer necessity.<br /><br />Gary Corbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14759372069119740227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-74862832994096790452013-08-22T00:06:25.642+10:002013-08-22T00:06:25.642+10:00Did you see The Onion's obituary of Leonard? h...Did you see The Onion's obituary of Leonard? http://www.theonion.com/articles/elmore-leonard-modern-prose-master-noted-for-his-t,33559/DeadlyAccuratehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08361707307035259942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-524039117682127217.post-42997178334844935102013-08-21T21:32:13.757+10:002013-08-21T21:32:13.757+10:00I think all of these rules tend to be more flags o...I think all of these rules tend to be more flags of "here are things people do when they're being lazy or putting the focus on the wrong thing, check if you are doing so", rather than rules.<br /><br />I can think of a great opening that starts not only with weather, but with rather boring weather:<br /><br />"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."<br /><br />What makes Neuromancer's opening line so great isn't that it's a great description of weather (unlike the likes of Barry Lopez that Leonard explictly makes an exception to), but that it's an okay description of weather and minimal description of setting (the main reason writers are tempted to have a narrator viewpoint comment on the weather) that's a great introduction to the thought processes and mental metaphorical vocabuary of the protagonist.<br /><br />I likewise agree with your defense of "I lied", but would take more convincing about "he whined"; in general (and the whole point here is that the specific cases can always be an exception) telling me a character lied is likely to show me more than telling me they whined.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com