Elmore Leonard Quotes
Top 77 wise famous quotes and sayings by Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard Famous Quotes & Sayings
Discover top inspirational quotes from Elmore Leonard on Wise Famous Quotes.
I once saw Dizzy Gillespie at a live show, and it made me want to go home immediately and start writing.
My purpose is to entertain and please myself. I feel that if I am entertained, then there will be enough other readers who will be entertained, too.
I do have fun writing, and a long time ago, I told myself, 'You got to have fun at this, or it'll drive you nuts.'
I don't judge in my books. I don't have to have the antagonist get shot or the protagonist win. It's just how it comes out. I'm just telling a story.
I still read Hemingway. I still read his short stories because they're so good. He doesn't waste any words.
Quiet and calculating. He hasn't changed that much since. Always mild-mannered, the nice guy - until someone steps over the line and challenges him.
Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.
I used to be able to write five pages a day, every day, no problem. Now a good day is five or four pages, and that's from 9:30 A.M. until 6 P.M.
My characters have to talk, or they're out. They audition in early scenes. If they can't talk, they're given less to do, or thrown out.
I don't get in a position to be frightened. I don't do anything dangerous, and I always pay my bills.
I get letters. I get several a week, I think. A lot of people want a picture, a lot of people just want an autograph.
Psychopaths ... people who know the differences between right and wrong, but don't give a shit. That's what most of my characters are like.
Not dreams but night changes, not destiny but path changes, always keep your hopes alive, luck may or may not change, but time definitely chages.
My most important piece of advice to all you would-be writers: When you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip.
A: Anyone who looks like she does has to be somebody ...
B: What does she look like?
A: An ice cream. I had a spoon I would have eaten her.
B: What does she look like?
A: An ice cream. I had a spoon I would have eaten her.
I've learned if you're ever angry enough to hit somebody, don't do it. Cool down and get yourself a pistol.
Really, when I write a book I'm the only one I have to please. That's the beauty of writing a book instead of a screenplay.
To me, writing is the most fun. It's not always fun, but finally when you make it come out the way you want, it's then you can say, 'It's fun, boy.'
Writers - all writers, even screenwriters - like to make their mark. I don't think many screenwriters can write. They pass as writers.
Do you want me to tell you what I give a shit about at age sixty-five', Cullen said, 'and what I don't give a shit about?'
(page 262)
(page 262)
I can't allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.
I never see my bad guys as simply bad. They want pretty much the same thing that you and I want: they want to be happy.
And she thought if you don't have the desire to fight or wait for something there's no reason for being on earth.
Avoid Prologues. They can be annoying, especially a prologue following an introduction that comes after a foreword.
If a man must make excuses for himself, continually argue with himself that he is a man, then he is better off dead.
He watched the eternity of the sky. The dark was restful, but the vastness was cold and made you draw something close to you.
When you're really cute that's all you have to be, you make a career out of it. someone asks you what you do, you say, 'nothing. i'm cute.
There were a lot of terms you had to learn, as opposed to the shylock business where all you had to know how to say was 'Give me the fuckin money.
There's something happening here, I know it. It's right in front of my face, but I just can't see it.
I won't read a book that starts with a description of the weather. I don't read books over 300 pages, though I'll make an exception for Don Delillo.
I don't believe in writer's block or waiting for inspiration. If you're a writer, you sit down and write.
To me, a book is a book, an electronic device is not, and love of books was the reason I started writing.
"Wonderful things can happen", Vincent said, "when you plant seeds of distrust in a garden of assholes."
I got halfway through 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.' I don't get it at all. What's the big thrill? It's boring.
If you're going to spend your life standing on principle, you want to be sure everyone understands what the principle is.