Monday, February 22, 2010
Ten rules for writing fiction
The Guardian goes bat-shit crazy on writing rules. Do any of them hold a pencil to Elmore’s?
The Guardian
Get an accountant, abstain from sex and similes, cut, rewrite, then cut and rewrite again – if all else fails, pray. Inspired by Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing, we asked authors for their personal dos and don’ts
Elmore Leonard
Diana Athill
Margaret Atwood
Roddy Doyle
Helen Dunmore
Geoff Dyer
Anne Enright
Richard Ford
Jonathan Franzen
Esther Freud
Neil Gaiman
David Hare
PD James
AL Kennedy
Hilary Mantel
Michael Moorcock
Michael Morpurgo
Andrew Motion
Joyce Carol Oates
Annie Proulx
Philip Pullman
Ian Rankin
Will Self
Helen Simpson
Zadie Smith
Colm Tóibín
Rose Tremain
Sarah Waters
Jeanette Winterso




