Elmore Leonard's ten rules for writing

[Eve]

I always tell my self that I will stick to his rules but I can't seem to stick to them.

Now, here's my shameful secret...I write romantic detective stories and thrillers, among other things. Can you use the great man's rules when you write romance?
Is there such genre as hard boiled romance, or have I just invented it?

One of his stories, at least, would work on Mills and Boon.

[Eric Christopherson]

"To thine own self be true," said Polonius.

Yeah, but look what happened to him.

[Jon Loomis]

"To thine own self be true," said Polonius.

Yeah, but look what happened to him.

'Zackly.

[B.R.Stateham]

I doubt James Joyce wrote to satisfy anyone but himself. Certainly Stephen King didn't write Carrie looking for an audience. Neither did Hemingway or Steinbeck. They wrote their books to tell a great story. For them to tell a great story meant they had to please themselves in the way the story shaped itself.

No two agents are going to look at a story with the same set of critical eyes; nor will two editors. The job of the writer is to find the agent/editor combination who LIKES the author's voice--not the other way around.

Any other way to approach writing is like chasing a mirage.

[I. J. Parker]

This is practically impossible. You're lucky if you get a good agent with a track record. What that agent saw in your writing originally may not be at all what you wanted him/her to see. For example, I do not write specifically for the women's market, but somehow my agent decided I did. It's causing problems and will mean unsold books.

[Jon Loomis]

I'm clearly very lucky in this regard. My agent and editor get it pretty much spot-on; I've never felt that in either relationship that we weren't on the same page, so to speak. The only slight adjustment I've had to work toward is getting my agent to think about the full commercial potential of the series--but she's a literary agent primarily, so it's no surprise that this is a bit of a different world for her.

[B.R.Stateham]

I.J.--you have a good track-record with your books. Surely you could shop around and find an agent more to your liking. One who has a fondness for historical settings Yes? No?

[I. J. Parker]

My agent got me the good track record. I owe her a good deal. As I said, it's a problem. And I know nothing about agent ettiquette.

[B.R.Stateham]

Polonius--isn't it fascinating how Shakespeare suggested that it's the truly evil mind who has the better perception on how an honest man should live a decent life.

[Jon Loomis]

Polonius isn't the bad guy, he's just an annoying windbag. You're thinking of Claudius, probably. If you read the whole "neither a borrow nor a lender" speech, it's nothing but empty platitudes, meant to show the audience that Polonius--like all self-appointed "wise men"--is a bore and a fool. He gets skewered shortly after, and even though Hamlet kills him by mistake we're not at all sorry.

[John Dishon]

Oh, I'm slain!

[B.R.Stateham]

I actually think Polonius is as evil as the king who slays him. He kept the king's secrets on how he became king--and may even actively participated. Which makes him an accomplice in my book.