Home / Authors / Elmore Leonard

Elmore Leonard Quotes

Novelist

Elmore Leonard, born on October 11, 1925, was a renowned American novelist. Known for his hard-boiled detective novels and Westerns, his distinctive style and concise writing have won him a dedicated following.

Filter quotes by topic

All Writing Ifs Want Book Thinking Reader Stories Way Character Dialogue Fun Knows People Said Sound Please Scene Skip Use Verbs

Famous Elmore Leonard Quotes

“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.”

Ifs Way Want Book Happens Can Do Snow Weather Ice Exception Ice And Snow

Author:Elmore Leonard

“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. I can't believe it when writers tell me 'I don't want to show my work to anybody'.”

Ifs Thinking Want Needs Believe Kind I Can Character Shows Action Together Fun Fool Projects Paid Incentives

Author:Elmore Leonard

“I get letters. I get several a week, I think. A lot of people want a picture, a lot of people just want an autograph.”

People Thinking Want Week Letters Autographs

Author:Elmore Leonard

“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.”

Want Guy Bad Guys Want To Be Happy

Author:Elmore Leonard

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

Want Writing Made Shows Home Saws Dizzy

Author:Elmore Leonard

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

Knows Want Book Mystery Reader

Author:Elmore Leonard

“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.'”

Way Want Writing Fun Boys

Author:Elmore Leonard

“Don't go into great detail describing places and things, unless you're Margaret Atwood and can paint scenes with language. You don't want descriptions that bring the action, the flow of the story, to a standstill.”

Want Stories Action Language Scene Flow Paint Details Description Describing Standstill

Book:Get Shorty: A Novel

Source: Get Shorty: A Novel

“At the time I begin writing a novel, the last thing I want to do is follow a plot outline. To know too much at the start takes the pleasure out of discovering what the book is about.”

Knows Want Writing Book Lasts Pleasure Novel Too Much Plot Songwriting Discovering Outlines

Author:Elmore Leonard

“I don't want the reader to be aware of me as the writer.”

Want Writing Reader

Author:Elmore Leonard

About the Author

Born: October 11, 1925
Died: August 20, 2013
Known for: Novelist
Quotes: 76

Books & Sources

Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of WritingRelated source material

10 Rules of WritingRelated source material

A Coyote's in the HouseRelated source material

BanditsRelated source material

Get ShortyRelated source material

Get Shorty: A NovelRelated source material

Labrava: A NovelRelated source material

Last Stand at Saber RiverRelated source material

Valdez Is Coming: A NovelRelated source material

Similar Authors

William ZinsserBrowse related quotes
Natalie GoldbergBrowse related quotes
Philip GerardBrowse related quotes
Jeffery DeaverBrowse related quotes
Paul AusterBrowse related quotes
Joyce Carol OatesBrowse related quotes
Stephen KingBrowse related quotes
Chuck WendigBrowse related quotes
Lynne TillmanBrowse related quotes
Alice MattisonBrowse related quotes