Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules for Writing

• Never open a book with weather.
• Avoid prologues.
• Never use a verb other than 'said' to carry dialogue.
• Never use an adverb to modify the verb 'said'.....he admonished gravely.
• Keep your exclamation points under control.  You are allowed no more than 2 or 3 per 100,000 words of prose.
• Never use the words 'suddenly' or 'all hell broke loose.'
• Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.
• Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.  (keep the characters talking and the reader will discover what they look like)
• Don't go into great details describing places and things.
• Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

Reproduced in Writing Magazine: June 2014  www.writers-online.co.uk