SHOW NOTES:
Somerset Maugham: There are three rules for novel writing. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
Terry Brooks Rules
Read, Read, Read
Outline, Outline, Outline
Write, Write, Write
Repeat
Dave Barry: Don’t Be Boring
Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing
1-Never open a book with weather
2-Avoid prologues
3-Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue
4-Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said”
5-Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose
6-Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose
7-Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly
8-Avoid detailed descriptions of characters
9-Don’t go into great detail describing places and things
10-Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip
LINKS:
Elmore Leonard: “What a Guy,” says Jackie Collins
Writers On Writing: Easy on the Adverbs, Exclamation Points, and Especially Hooptedoodle by Elmore Leonard
Jack Kerouac’s 30 Tips:
6 Writing Tips From John Steinbeck:
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/03/6-writing-tips-from-john-steinbeck/254351/