Writing Tips From Elmore Leonard

Received this in an email from Gotham Writers' Workshop: 10 writing tips from crime writer Elmore Leonard (Glitz, Get Shorty). They first appeared in The New York Times, Easy on the Adverbs, Exclamation Points, and Especially Hoptedoodle.

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.

My most important rule is one that sums up the 10.

If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.

You have to decide for yourself what works for you, but there's some very good advice here. It's terse, pithy, and to the point. But then what else would you expect from Elmore Leonard?

Glens Falls CYA

There's been talk of the Glens Falls Children's & Young Adult Writers Group reforming. This group, much like its parent group, welcomes writers of all levels, with one caveat -- they must only submit books for children. We will consider picture books, mid-grade, and young adult.

The format will remain the same, that is, taking works home to critique them. How often and where we meet is up in the air and will be determined by members' needs. This group will benefit from at least two writers experienced in children's literature, notably picture books and YA.

Anyone interested in joining the GFCYA or getting more information should email me at johnthobriggs@yahoo.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

Third Thursday Review

Our Third Thursday gathering was a built larger than our First Thursday two weeks ago. Kay once again took the reins and I took my proper seat to her left. We critiqued Zack's latest addition to The Dead Machine and Kay's short-story turned likely novel (as yet untitled). One sci-fi, one murder-mystery, and a lot of action on the pages in-between. We also welcomed two newe members (and our first husband-and-wife team in quite awhile), Leslie and Web.

Our topic for the night was book promotion, largely an outgrowth of Zack's time promoting Frostie the Deadman. Insights into that will appear in an upcoming post, but Zack did send along this comprehensive link. Primarily, we talked about book signings and other events, but also how to find a hook that allows you to use alternative venues for promotion. One key, as Sandy pointed out, is NEVER be afraid to mention you have a book for sale, and ALWAYS be ready to discuss it. Have an answer to the question, "So what's your book about?" and make sure you have a quick, catchy, answer.

Next meeting we'll be critiquing work from novel entries from Zack and Billy, and a picture book piece from me.

Next Meeting: Thursday, September 2nd, 7-pm, Holden Room, Crandall Library, Glens Falls.

See you there!

Third Thursday Preview

Tomorrow's meeting will see the return of Kay and critiques of her murder-mystery Massachusetts Heat Wave, Zack's The Dead Machine, and Amanda's Questionable Morality. It's going to be a meeting filled with a look at the novel, as opposed to the short story.

Our topic is as yet undecided, but something regarding the group's interest in longer works may be good. Bring your questions or suggestions to fill up our first half hour.

See you there!

Details: August 19th, 7-9pm, Holden Room, Crandall Library, with optional social afterwards.

Overcoming Story Block

When most people think of the frustrated writer pulling out hair and pacing the floor, they think "Writer's Block." But there's a subtle form of that I call Story Block, when words will come but are adrift, off-course, off-kilter, adding nothing to the story of any consequence.

How does a writer regain direction?

Zack offered the idea of simly writing through it, of letting the story go where it will and returning to judiciously edit later, to precisely cut those parts that are distracting and disturbing. Other suggestions include:

1. Review your outline. Find a moment where the story has gone awry. This doesn't mean destroy what you've written while pledging fealty to your outline. Maybe your outline is the problem. If you eventually decide that, no, the outline is fine, then rewrite or remove what you've written.
2. Reread your story. Problems don't usually begin where you're struggling. They often begin 30 pages before you've written yourself into a corner. Begin rewriting from where the problem begins.
3. Review your characters. Do they still fit? Have their personalities changed? Are they unfamiliar to you? If you like where they've gone, let the story change to fit them. If not, consider their new roles and places in your story.
4. Write an entirely unrelated scene. Take your characters and create a scene not found in your outline or story. Something entirely new. Perhaps you may find that it fits your story. If not, it may give you new direction or insight into your characters and still push your story forward. If nothing else, you get to have fun with these people you've created and taken a fresh approach to your novel.
5. Find the next plot point. A plot point is that moment when your story takes an unexpected or significant turn. Tell yourself you're going to write until you make it to the next plot point. Don't worry about the story as a whole. Focus on this one small section. Write this way until you feel you're making progress.
6. Skip ahead. Write a scene you expect to occur in just a few pages or the start of the next chapter. See if you can link where you are now to that not-too distant point.
7. Write your ending. If you know your ending, write it out. This doesn't mean in great detail, and don't worry about getting every word right. After all, it's only a first draft. But writing your ending can give you hope and direction and remind you why you're writing. It gives you a defined literary and personal goal.
8. Ask questions. Question everything: Your characters' motivations. A scene's tension. Obstacles to overcome. Setting. Dialogue. Ask questions of your characters and plot -- and then adding those answers to your story. Soon you'll find the stumbling block(s) slowing or stopping your story.

Just remember, Writer's Block and Story Block are different, but still complements of the other. The best advice of all is to just keep writing. Something will come to you. Something will push you on and make sense of your story in the end.

If you have any tips for overcoming story block, add them to the comments section. We'd love to hear them.

First Thursday Review

We had a small but productive group last Thursday as I took the helm for the first time in a long time while Kay visited relatives in Reno. Billy opened the meeting with more questions about writers conferences, i.e., how to pick one that's right for you. This led to a discussion on genre conferences vs. broader conferences, the art of networking, receiving critiques, and cost of attendance.

From there, we moved to critiques, reviewing three novels: Billy's contribution to his The Voyage of the (Unpronounceable), Amanda's Questionable Morality, and Zack's The Dead Machine. A large part of the conversation focused on structure, making a story smooth by removing exposition and redundant scenes. We also covered rules about e-submissions and putting your name on your work. Don't make me bring back my third grade teacher!

The meeting ended with a conversation on the night's topic: overcoming story block. Not writer's block (where words fail to come), but story block, where a story gets lost, bogged down, stopped. Zack suggested simply writing through it and cleaning it up with editing. Additional suggestions included reviewing your outline, rereading your work to see where it went off-track, focusing on the next plot point, creating additional scenes, and experimenting with characters.

Next meeting we'll delve deeper into Amanda's and Zack's novels, and a new contribution from Kay (submitted in late July). See some of you there.

Details: August 19th, 7-9pm, Holden Room, Crandall Library, Glens Falls.

First Thursday Preview

Our usual meeting structure stays in place as Kay takes a much-deserved break to visit family in Reno. We'll open with a discussion on the business. Our topic is overcoming a dead end in a story, or finding new ways to push a story forward. We'll also have a piece of odd writing news from me, review a couple of basic rules, and remind members about our needs for the GFWG publication.

We'll finish by critiquing works from Billy, Zack, and Amanda. Kay's piece will wait until our Third Thursday meeting on the 19th.

Details: Thursday, August 5th, 7-9pm, Holden Room, Crandall Library, Glens Falls, with optional social afterwards.

See you there!

Showing, Not Telling

It's an age-old adage in the writing world: show, don't tell. But how does a writer go about this? There are basic guidelines to follow and tricks to use regardless of genre.

1. Create action. It's easy to write, "The cook chased us down the street after we skipped out on the check," but it's much more effective to describe the diversion created to "skip out." Did your characters bolt out the door or slip away slyly before being discovered? Did the waitress yell? Did the cook brandish a knife or a shish kabob skewer? Did he threaten to make them tomorrow's lunch? Did they escape in a taxi, a delivery truck, or by hiding in another restaurant? Action creates full scenes, and in so doing, shows the reader what is happening.
2. Use active verbs. Avoid forms of be, have, etc. Not "We were racing down the street to avoid capture "As we raced down the street two steps ahead of our captors, we flipped boxes and barrels behind us to slow their pursuit."
3. Describe emotions. Not "I felt sad" or "upset" or "dispirited," etc., "but tears streaked my dirty cheeks" or "my throat tightened like a miser's fist," etc. Readers can figure out the emotion based on description and context.
4. Develop dialogue. Good banter, when used properly, almost always shows rather than tells, but be careful. Long monologues or discussions about things two characters already know falls into the "telling category."
5. Avoid flashbacks. Flashbacks are usually just exposition. Don't tell us what happened in the past, particularly in third-person, detail-oriented tracts that distract from current action. Let us know what happened in the past by exploring its effect on the present. If describing the summer two characters met, reveal it slowly, not by discussing it or telling the story to a third person, but by injecting moments and developing consequences from previous actions. Not as easy as a simple flashback, but far more rewarding.
6. Proper foreshadowing. Tease us with details that make us want to keep reading. Mention a character two shadows before we meet him. Create mystery and interest. This way, the reader will know something about said character when he finally makes an entrance, preventing you from having to "tell" us nearly as much.
7. Lead a reader. Don't simply put a scene in a reader's lap. Don't write, "We had lunch in an Italian restaurant," but rather "We entered Giuseppe's for a late-afternoon lunch, aware that heavy, manicott-stuffed shells would likely be our dinner, too." Even place names, etc., set the stage for a reader without being heavy-handed. We expect different atmospheres from restaurants named Francesca's, Don Giovanni's or Frank's Pizzeria.

Much of Showing, Not Telling comes down to trusting your reader to be able to fill in the pieces, to understand basic emotions and thoughts, and to put themselves in the story, to empathize with your characters. Think Agatha Christie when it comes to showing: the classic murder-mystery plot where the detective doesn't just tell us who the killer is, but shows us. Reveals details easily missed and creates dramatic tension. Showing is a great way to intrigue your reader, to draw her to the next page.

Remember this: showing is the best way of telling!