Elmore Leonard's Ten Rules of Writing, or Against Hooptedoodle

ELMORE LEONARD'S TEN RULES OF WRITING: HOOPTEDOODLE EXPLAINED

Two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to hear Elmore Leonard speak in the renovated sunshine of Bryant Park. It, and he, were glorious. I think he actually convinced a young buck during the Q & A to stop writing his screenplay and start writing a novel. It was, Leonard said, lots more fun.

Elmore Leonard is the ultimate sexy grandpa. Writing turns him on, research turns him on, and even recounting a visit to the morgue, decades ago, brightened his bearded face.

Toward the end of the session, he read his 10 Rules of Writing. They include such gems as:

10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

A rule that came to mind in 1983. Think of what you skip reading a novel: thick paragraphs of prose you can see have too many words in them. What the writer is doing, he’s writing, perpetrating hooptedoodle, perhaps taking another shot at the weather, or has gone into the character’s head, and the reader either knows what the guy’s thinking or doesn’t care. I’ll bet you don’t skip dialogue.

He went on to explain Hooptedoodle, but you'll just have to follow the link to find out.