I started out of course with Hemingway when I learned how to write. Until I realized Hemingway doesn't have a sense of humor. He never has anything funny in his stories.
Elmore LeonardI'm very much aware in the writing of dialogue, or even in the narrative too, of a rhythm. There has to be a rhythm with it โฆ Interviewers have said, you like jazz, donโt you? Because we can hear it in your writing. And I thought that was a compliment.
Elmore LeonardIf it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can't allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.
Elmore LeonardI 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.
Elmore Leonard