At the time I begin writing a novel, the last thing I want to do is follow a plot outline. To know too much at the start takes the pleasure out of discovering what the book is about.
Elmore LeonardRead
There are some people who have been reading me for years, and they keep saying kind things about the writing. That's what you're writing for, to get people to respond to it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of connecting with readers and the value of their positive feedback on a writer's work.
Elmore Leonard highlights the relationship between a writer and their audience, suggesting that the true purpose of writing is to evoke responses and emotions from readers. Positive feedback serves as a validation for writers, reinforcing their passion and commitment to their craft.
Themes
WritingReadersFeedbackConnectionValidation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a writing workshop to inspire authors to focus on their audience.
More from Elmore Leonard
All quotes →If you take a few days to write an outline, you're just making up scenes that you think will work, that you think will be interesting. But as you write it, other ideas occur - better ideas that have to do with what you're writing.
Elmore LeonardRead
A friend of mine who is in the publishing business knew I was writing a book, and he said, 'Have you said anything yet about the good guy? Because I know you spend so much time with the bad guys.' Because they're fun. So then you have to make the good guy fun, in order to compete. That's the challenge.
Elmore LeonardRead
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.
Elmore LeonardRead
Sometimes female characters start out as the wife or girlfriend, but then I realize, 'No, she's the book,' and she becomes a main character. I surrender the book to her.
Elmore LeonardRead
I really - I don't take my work that seriously, and I think that's what keeps me loose. If I try to write, if I catch myself trying to write, I'll fall right on my face. I'll see it. If I see in the prose that I'm - 'Boy, look at me writing,' I rewrite it. I rewrite it because I don't, because I think it's distracting.
Elmore LeonardRead
Similar quotes
As to the adjective: when in doubt, strike it out.
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Write the best book you can, the one that demands to be written, no matter what genre it is. Even a trend the trades tell you has gone stale can be revitalized by a superb piece of writing. It'll never be revitalized by someone jumping on a trend bandwagon.
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When I finish a first draft, it's always just as much of a mess as it's always been. I still make the same mistakes every time.
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All I ask is that you do as well as you can, and remember that, while to write adverbs is human, to write he said or she said is divine.
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You might 'write from the heart,' but you'd better polish with your brain.
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Above all, have a good time. If you aren’t enjoying writing it, you can hardly expect someone else to enjoy reading it.
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