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" It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the keys. I'm doing action stories, so that's the way I like to do it. "

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" I can write anywhere. But I don't use a computer, and I could never write on a laptop. I hate the sound of computers; it's too dull, like it's not doing anything for you. "

Elmore Leonard

I Can

You

" Writing on the beach is not what it's cracked up to be. The sand blows, and you perspire, and the page gets all blotty and messed up, so I don't do that anymore. "

Elmore Leonard

Writing

You

" If you take a few days to write an outline, you're just making up scenes that you think will work, that you think will be interesting. But as you write it, other ideas occur - better ideas that have to do with what you're writing. "

" I'm not going to write for posterity. I'm going to write to make a buck. "

" To me, writing is the most fun. It's not always fun, but finally when you make it come out the way you want, it's then you can say, 'It's fun, boy.' "

" I left advertising as fast as I could in 1961. And I haven't ever thought about going back. "

" I try to leave out the parts readers skip. "

" A friend of mine who is in the publishing business knew I was writing a book, and he said, 'Have you said anything yet about the good guy? Because I know you spend so much time with the bad guys.' Because they're fun. So then you have to make the good guy fun, in order to compete. That's the challenge. "

" I don't have any of the modern electronics at all. I know the Internet would be a distraction. I would see things that interested me and never get back to writing. "

" If I have several bad guys and I only want to end up with one of them, then I have to decide which one I want in the end. And normally it's the one who is the most interesting talker. "

" People ask me, 'Why are you still writing books?' Like I'm still only writing to make money and as soon as I have enough I'll quit and go fishing? I like to write books. It's the most satisfying thing I do. "

Elmore Leonard

People

Writing

" Never open a book with weather. There are exceptions. If you happen to be Barry Lopez, who has more ways to describe ice and snow than an Eskimo, you can do all the weather reporting you want. "

" I 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. "

" I think any writer is a fool if he doesn't do it for money. There needs to be some kind of incentive in addition to the project. It all goes together. It's fun to sit there and think of characters and get them into action, then be paid for it. "

" The bad guys are the fun guys. The only people I have trouble with are the so-called normal types. Their language isn't very colorful, and they don't talk with any certain sound. "

" There are some people who have been reading me for years, and they keep saying kind things about the writing. That's what you're writing for, to get people to respond to it. "

Elmore Leonard

Saying

People

" I have fun writing. I don't make it a chore. I don't have to struggle with it. "

" I don't get in a position to be frightened. I don't do anything dangerous, and I always pay my bills. "

" I do this a lot with names. I'll start with a name, and then for some reason he won't talk much, or he's older than I pictured him just because of a name I give him. So then I finally get the right name, and I can't shut the guy up. This always happens. There's always a character who gives me trouble that way. "

Elmore Leonard

Way

Trouble

" I got halfway through 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.' I don't get it at all. What's the big thrill? It's boring. "

" Everyone has his own sound. I'm not going to presume how to tell anybody how to write. "

" To me, a book is a book, an electronic device is not, and love of books was the reason I started writing. "

Elmore Leonard

Started

Writing

" I would say just start writing. You've got to write every day. Copy someone that you like if you think that perhaps could become your sound, too. I did that with Hemingway, and I thought I was writing just like Hemingway. Then all of a sudden it occurred to me - he didn't have a sense of humor. I don't know anything he's written that's funny. "

" My 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. "

" I think the best advice I give is to try not to write. Try not to overwrite, try not to make it sound too good. Just use your own voice. Use your own style of putting it down. "

" When you are developing your style, you avoid weaknesses. I am not good at describing things, so I stay away from it. And if anyone is going to describe anything at all, it's going to be from the point of view of the character, because then I can use his voice, and his attitude will be revealed in the way he describes what he sees. "

" I once saw Dizzy Gillespie at a live show, and it made me want to go home immediately and start writing. "

Elmore Leonard

Want

Live

" I never see my bad guys as simply bad. They want pretty much the same thing that you and I want: they want to be happy. "

" I want the reader to know what's going on. So there's never a mystery in my books. "

" There are 500 million people on Facebook, but what are they saying to each other? Not much. "