Let’s get the Touchstones going again for the Newbies.
A touchstone is “a standard or criterion by which something is judged or recognized.” In The Dutch Forum, the term means a connection that exists in Elmore’s work across the boundaries of a single work. A touchstone may be a character, a place, a line of dialogue; basically the evolution of the writer’s thought process.
Twitter
ComicExperience
@MerrillHagan I’ve always wanted to get into Elmore Leonard, but never have. Maybe now’s the time.
MerrillHagan
@ComicExperience If you’ve never read any Elmore Leonard, I highly recommend it. Try “Tishomingo Blues,” “Cuba Libre” or “Freaky Deaky”
mysterybooks
Tod: He and Matt Nix (creator of Burn Notice) are both influenced by Elmore Leonard.
Prog_Blog
#cdnleft #cdnprog Paging Elmore Leonard… (Cathie from Canada): This could be an Elmore Leonard… http://dlvr.it/3WRXm #cdnpoli
therealemmamme
@itsmeborci You’re a bus-driver Raoul! So don’t start spouting some Elmore Leonard bullshit you just heard because i saw that movie too.
JapaneseDenim
i think im going to finish this Book by Elmore Leonard ..its called Be Cool .... you may have seen the movie…
ladri
I try to leave out the parts that people skip. - Elmore Leonard, author #quote
David Hewson stands up for the adverb. Lest we forget, here’s Elmore’s Rule Number Four:
Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said” . . .
. . . he admonished gravely. To use an adverb this way (or almost any way) is a mortal sin. The writer is now exposing himself in earnest, using a word that distracts and can interrupt the rhythm of the exchange. I have a character in one of my books tell how she used to write historical romances “full of rape and adverbs.”
David Hewson says:
I like adverbs: there I’ve said it, boldly
A while back I was on a panel at a writing event with a bunch of American colleagues. Someone on the floor came up with what seemed to me a bizarre question. How did we feel about adverbs? Those words that usually, though not always, end in -ly and modify verbs and adjectives? The ones that make people walk slowly or really bright when it comes to mathematics?
Funny one that, I thought. It opened the floodgates. The poor old adverb got kicked from pillar to post. In some quarters of the US, it seems, adverb use is akin to wife-beating or bull-baiting, a nasty old-fashioned habit that should have been laid to rest years ago.
This is my opinion, of course. You’re entitled to differ. The great Elmore Leonard certainly does as he says in this article in the New York Times. He reckons the only allowable verb to be used to carry dialogue is ’say’, and it must never ever be qualified by an adverb under any circumstances.
I’m with him on most of the points he makes. But in truth this is principally a great article for anyone wanting to learn how to write and sound like Elmore Leonard. If you’re trying to define your own voice, ignore so-called rules and find it for yourself.
What’s the next Elmore Leonard novel or story you’d like to see made into a movie?
Jim Whitworth
Cuba Libre, hands down.
Paolo Buffa
Mr. Paradise
Brandon Hall
SWAG. The story’s not beholden to the period in which it was written, so a modern spin would work. Two strong male leads would be required, creating an opportunity for a classic movie duo, a la Redford and Newman. And it’s pitch perfect Leonard. Can’t lose. $20 million opening weekend, depending on RD.
Paul Compton
@ Jim agreed. There’s a lot of contemporary crime thriller movies being made at the moment, why not go for something a bit different that still has wide appeal, like Cuba Libre.
Paolo Buffa
oh yea Swag great choice also!
Matthew Teet
City Primeval
Owais Piracha
wait…. what about Killshot? i thought that was a great movie! I want to see Riding the Rap. and Pronto.
Pete Hamill
Tishomingo Blues.
Brandon Hall
Also, The Hunted, which is in my opinion a western set in Israel. Great climatic shootout. Steady action throughout the story. And Al Rosen is one of the best characters Dutch has ever created and then given Rosen’s fate—it would make for great cinema so long as the studio backed the source material.
Benny Estrella
I would love to see FREAKY DEAKY be made into a movie.One of my favorite books by the best writer in the world.
Jason C. Long
I’ll second that vote for Mr. Paradise.
David Beilstein
Cuba Libre.
Jason Edwards
I want to do “SWAG” but I missed my boat on that one, So I will redo “Stick” LoL
Ces Manansala
Definitely City Primeval…plus, The Law at Randado, Gunsights, and a remake of 52 Pickup
David McCracken
The movie that needs re-made is stick. Such a terrible version of a great book. One I would like to see made is LaBrava.
Trevor Holliday
SPLIT IMAGES.
Travis R. Gishie
“Freaky Deaky” or “Glitz”. Hands down.
Stuart Mayne
Give Soderbergh Swag. That’s a book that deserves to be a great movie.
Michael Chaney
Any of the books or stories from SWAG on, including Buena Vista.
The issue isn’t which one; it’s will it be written by someone who doesn’t fuck with what Elmore wrote, who’s smart enough to lift and drop in intact huge chunks of dialog? Ala…See More
Ashley Weisdorf
Bring back Clooney as Foley for “Road Dogs”.
Jeffery Abbott
La brava, with the celebrity culture?
Clive Sacke
Would love to see `La brava. Always one of my favourites. Would it be better set now or in the 80’s?
Daniel Kash
I cannot just choose just one because the books are all incredible!
Don Webb
Gotta be Stick. They really ruined that. Or The Big Bounce.
H Lyndon Arledge
Freaky Deaky!
Darrell James
Pagen Babies.
Scott Hagen
Glitz, Tishomingo Blues, Cuba Libre, re-do Stick
Christopher Leonard
Are you kidding? How about any of them. There have only been a few that stick to the story, the dialogue and the way a story is supposed to move. OK, I’l get off the soap box.
H Lyndon Arledge
Unfortunately, you’re dead on, Christopher.
Don Webb
You`ve only got to see what those two clowns “executive producers” did to Stick. They saw it as a really cute comedy. Same as Hollywood did to Matt Helm and James Bond in the beginning.They just don`t get it and never will.
May 4 - Road Dogs in Paperback.
October 12 - New Novel, Djibouti
