Writing Secrets: How to leave out the bits that readers skip
I was listening to someone quoting Elmore Leonard the other day – and then she laughed. And she’s right: he is funny. I mean, “Leave out the bits that readers […]
Monday Motivation: How not to write the bits that readers skip
Elmore Leonard said: “Don’t write the bits that readers’ skip.” One reader* asks the obvious question: What are the bits that readers skip? On the face of it, it’s obvious: […]
Writing Secrets: Write with more flow – use a character
New writers often write too formally – as we were taught to write at school. Remember those ghastly business letters? They certainly couldn’t be accused of demonstrating any kind of […]
Writing Secrets: Don’t neglect the most evocative of the senses
When new writers are “using all their senses” to show us a person or landscape, they often neglect smell. And yet, it’s the most evocative of our sensory experiences. Emotions […]
Monday Motivation: Dialogue and the human condition
What do I love about Elmore Leonard’s dialogue? It’s terse, it’s droll, it’s economical. It punches above its weight. Take this sentence speech from Bandit: Jack said, “I’ve been to […]
