Elmore Leonard Quotes & Sayings (Page 2)

“People ask me, 'Why are you still writing books?' Like I'm still only writing to make money and as soon as I have enough I'll quit and go fishing? I like to write books. It's the most satisfying thing I do.”

“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'.”

“I try to leave out the parts readers skip.”

“I got halfway through 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.' I don't get it at all. What's the big thrill? It's boring.”

“Everyone has his own sound. I'm not going to presume how to tell anybody how to write.”

“I don't have any of the modern stuff. I don't have e-mail. I don't have a computer!”

“I have fun writing. I don't make it a chore. I don't have to struggle with it.”

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

“I still read Hemingway. I still read his short stories because they're so good. He doesn't waste any words.”

“There are some people who have been reading me for years, and they keep saying kind things about the writing. That's what you're writing for, to get people to respond to it.”