Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.
Elmore LeonardMy 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.
Elmore LeonardI've quit writing screenplay [adaptations]. It's too much work. I don't look at writing a novel as work, because I only have to please myself. I have a good time sitting here by myself, thinking up situations and characters, getting them to talk - it's so satisfying. But screenwriting's different. You might think you're writing for yourself, but there are too many other people to please.
Elmore Leonard