“When people ask me about my dialogue, I say, 'Don't you hear people talking?' That's all I do. I hear a certain type of individual, I decide this is what he should be, whatever it is, and then I hear him. Well, I don't hear anybody that I can't make talk.” – Elmore Leonard
Whenever I’m seeking inspiration on
“How” to write, I like to turn to Leonard, who was, indeed, a master at the
process, especially in the way he had his characters converse.
Novelist, short story writer, and
screenwriter, Leonard started down the writing path in the 1950s as the author
of such iconic Westerns as 3:10 to Yuma. But he really hit his stride and style with
Crime and Suspense Thrillers like Get
Shorty and Out of Sight, and many
others that had double success – first in written form and then as adaptations
for the screen. A remarkable 17 of his
novels became either movies or television series (one of my favorites was the gritty “Justified).”
Elmore Leonard
Many producers who took Leonard’s
work to the movies said his dialogue was so good that they didn’t have to
change a word – just write the background scene to fit around it. Shortly before his death in 2013, Leonard was
asked the secret to writing good dialogue.
“I think the best advice I give is to try not to overwrite; try not to make
it sound too good,” he said. “Just use
your own voice. Use your own style of putting it down.”
No comments:
Post a Comment