Elmore Leonard's ten rules of good writing

Elmore Leonard: "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it."

Leonard, who died on Tuesday at the age of 87, wrote 45 novels - most of them best sellers, such as Glitz, Get Shorty, Maximum Bob, and Rum Punch - was renowned for his terse, no-nonsense style and sparse use of dialogue.

Over half of his novels were adapted for television or movies including; Hombre, 3.10 to Yuma, Get Shorty and Rum Punch which was directed by Quentin Tarantino under the title of 'Jackie Brown.'

In 2001 he wrote 10 rules for good writing for the New York Times. You can read the entire rules with explanations over at the Times' site - here they're laid out very simply:

1. Never open a book with weather.
   
2. Avoid prologues.
   
3. Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue.
   
4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said" ... he admonished gravely.
   
5. Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.
   
6. Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose."
   
7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.
   
8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.
   
9. Don't go into great detail describing places and things.
   
10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.
    

"My most important rule is one that sums up the 10," he said... "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it."