Quote:Elmore Leonard wrote:I beg to differ here. I did that once before, and I found that I had entire paragraphs that fell flat from 'inactivity' on the character's parts - they simply didn't seem lively, so I mixed it up as much as possible and it seems to play well with my writing style now. Of course, I try to never use anything that isn't immediately discernable for someone with less than a sixth grade reading level.
3 Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But "said" is far less intrusive than "grumbled", "gasped", "cautioned", "lied". I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with "she asseverated" and had to stop reading and go to the dictionary.
Quote:Anne Enright wrote:Ouch! Word that a little better, will ya? We can't all have as little confidence and still be able to write!
3 Only bad writers think that their work is really good.
Quote:Richard Ford wrote:... Uhm, dude. That's highly relative.
2 Don't have children.
Haven't read the whole thing yet, but these were the rules that jumped out at me as possibly being some of the worst advice offered there. Not to say there isn't any good advice - plenty of that, actually. (^_^)