Elmore Leonard on Dialogue

Posted on May 25, 2005

Crime fiction heavyweight Elmore Leonard shares his secrets to great dialogue in an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. When asked what his secret is for writing great dialogue, Elmore replied that there is no secret.

Leonard says, "There is no secret. I listen when people are talking. I listen when they're talking to each other, and I listen when they talk to me. You just have to listen to the words people use, and the patterns of their speech."

The key advice here is to be a good listener. Leonard also weighed in on his dislike for using said alternatives and numerous dialogue tags. He doesn't see the need for it.

Leonard says, "And I don't see any reason for using any other verb after a line of dialogue other than 'said.' It's what the person's saying that's important, not what the writer thinks is a good word. And adding an adverb to 'said' is just as bad."

The interview was conducted for Elmore Leonard's latest book, The Hot Kid (William Morrow).

Note: The interview from 2005 is no longer archived on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website.