Category: Writing Tips

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.

The ‘or don’t’ is the important part. Writing a sequel is something most writers wonder about, plan for, or find sneaking up on them, but one can actually start a brand-new story as if it were the sequel (see George Lucas’s A NEW HOPE . . .).

By treating your new story as the sequel to another story, you are catching up a reader on the world you have created, as well as creating mysteries and allusions to events and actions that should spark your reader’s interest.

Alternatively, if the story you have planned but are struggling to write, perhaps you avoid its obstacles by making it the past and forging ahead with the aftermath of that adventure.

Another great example of a sequel-type story that isn’t a sequel is FRIEREN BEYOND JOURNEY’S END, which sees an elf joining a new party of adventures while reconciling and recollecting her previous party, which defeated the Demon King.

By embracing the idea that your characters and world have already experienced some great adventure, you create a shorthand of world-building and depth to call upon, just like much of current history is informed by the past.

Sometimes a scene in a story can take on a life of its own. You might get carried away with dialogue or details, but when you read it over it becomes a slog. There are many ways to shorten the scene to improve pacing and reader interest.

1. Use an arbitrary word count and trim until you reach that total. While this can work, it won’t necessarily make the scene more engaging.
2. Eliminate the beginning. Drop us into the dialogue or details. Try cutting the first page out entirely and then look for the most interesting line to begin the new scene on.
3. Reduce the chapter to three sentences. What? That’s not all. Once you rewritten the scene in 3 sentences to convey the purpose, seek out the parts in the scene that convey those three points without repeating them.
4. Use a different narrator or point of view. Certain characters see the world differently and are likely to relay their view of what occurs more succinctly than others.
5. End it sooner. You might have the perfect ending, or that perfect ending is hidden within the scene. Try cutting the final three paragraphs and keep going until you reach the most impactful line to transition to the next scene or chapter.

I deal in a lot of placeholders, often writing INSERTWORD or naming a character after their role such as: VILLIAN. READ MORE HERE. But sometimes I do have the names when I start. I might not be entirely sold on the character’s name, but inevitably come to know them as such after spending months calling them that.

This creates a perception of that character in me that can blind me to what a reader reads. What is actually there about the character? What is missing, stuck in my head but attached through this name?

One way to check for this is to rename the character (and let the story rest for a month or so). When I return, this name sneaks up on me. Who is this character that I now feel like I’m meeting for the first time?

You can always change the name back if you prefer the previous name, but this will hopefully allow you to see your story through a new lens.

Ever read something that reads like a screenplay… or worse, you’re the guilty writer?

While I often have fun creating dialogue-only short stories, and this style can teach you how to include critical physical details in speech, sometimes our characters talk too much. Creating either an exchange that should be cut or feels directionless to the reader.

Other times it seems logical at first to relay information from one character to the next, but if the reader has read it before, they shouldn’t have to reread it.

Beyond simply deleting what is said you have options I call it: SPIT.

1. SUMMARIZE
   • Have your narrator sum up what is said, i.e. “Bill told Dan everything that happened the night before.”
   • In first person, you could sum it up, “I listened to him rattle on about a strange night. I laughed when he mentioned the fish people.”
2. PARAPHRASE
   • Have the narrator explain what is told, using less conversational language– yes, this is an info dump, and I am often surprised by really well-written infodumps that didn’t waste my time with banter or were overly descriptive.
3. IMPLY
   • By jumping forward in a conversation, you can imply that things were said. Whether it’s the end of the conversation or moments later.
   • You can also jump ahead and have a character ask if the other heard anything they said, and then shift to a paraphrase or a ‘I stopped listening once you said . . .’
4. TRIM
   • Cut out every other response or really edit the conversation down to what needs to be there. In our everyday lives, people talk too much too often, and it can be enticing to mirror that in our writing, but when people ramble, so do the readers’ minds.

Either way, it’s a good idea to strike a balance between dialogue and description. And sorry for the acronym, but it should make it memorable . . . right?