WRITING TIPS: LEAVE OUT THE PART READERS SKIP

Elmore Leonard has 10 Rules for Good Writing, but they can almost all be summed up in his 10th rule: Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

Here they are:

1. Never open a book with weather.
2. Avoid prologues.
3. Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue.
4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said”…he admonished gravely.
5. Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.
6. Never use the words “suddenly” or “all hell broke loose.”
7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.
8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.
9. Don’t go into great detail describing places and things.
10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

All of Elmore Leonard’s rules are worth following but they basically boil down to eliminating wasted words on paper.

We all know that person at work that wants to comment on the weather. We awkwardly agree and move on to someone more interesting. Weather feels integral to setting a scene, but it’s not a hook and will likely seem more cliche.

Prologues can be great, I’d argue, but most of the time, it’s backstory that could be placed more efficiently elsewhere in the story.

The “SAID” dialogue tag is one I’ve seen before, and it IS a word people skip. Because it becomes punctuation. This is a good thing, because it only qualifies who is speaking vs. slowing down the dialogue.

Others might argue against #8 & #9, but they aren’t saying not to descibe these things. We don’t need to know ever button on their shirt or the number of potholes on a street. Striking imagery is often one or two sentences that generate an image in the reader’s mind.

To each their own on what a reader skips, but I think generally, it’s the things as writers we overlook because we’re trying to sell ourselves on the idea that every word we write is important.

I can’t enjoy a story I’m reading once I realize I’m skimming or skipping. It means I’m not really reading it. Details should be important. So make sure they are.