All right, I'll admit it: I browse writing books like kids browse candy aisles. I read a bunch of rules from well-known writers prompted from Elmore Leonard's book and found interesting things, so when I ran into it at the library (a place I am found frequently) I popped it into my check-out bag.

What surprised me most about this book is that it's heavily illustrated. Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing took me about half an hour to read. A lot of that time was spent absorbing the words...