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Compare and contrast Stephen King's lessons with Elmore Leonard's "10 (really 11) Rules of Writing", and the difference is as stark as the author's respective w
by bmelton 12y ago
Compare and contrast Stephen King's lessons with Elmore Leonard's "10 (really 11) Rules of Writing", and the difference is as stark as the author's respective works.
- SwellJoe 12y agoI'd never read that. That's wonderful. It literally is like the "Guide For Not Writing Like Stephen King". But, it's also like the "Guide For Not Writing Like Mark Twain", making it somewhat dubious advice.
- bmelton 12y agoI'd attempt to categorize it more as "How To Write Like Elmore Leonard", really. He tends to ascribe to Hemingway's terseness. The other, real point there is that there's more than one way to do something well. Hemingway and Mark Twain don't write very much like each other, but both are worth reading.
- forrestthewoods 12y agoLink for the lazy: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/16/arts/writers-writing-easy-adverbs-exclamation-points-especially-hooptedoodle.html http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/16/arts/writers-writing-easy-...
- Tomte 12y agoStark difference? 3. and 4. are identical to King's recommendations in "On Writing". King is pretty passionate about that. 5. is the same, I think. 7. is kind of a difference, although King laments that few writers can actually handle it. 8. and 9. are real differences.
- philmcc 12y agoHaving read On Writing I can say that 8 and 9 aren't even real differences. King is against detailed description of characters -- (paraphrased) "If I describe character too much, it conflicts with your view of them." He's also against overly detailed description of places -- (paraphrased) "Keep it brief. You want to give a description of the room, it's not a travelogue."
- bmelton 12y agoI was primarily referring to presentation.