In part one of a 2005 episode of Writing Out Loud, Elmore Leonard sits down with Teresa Miller for a conversation about his early years, his shift from westerns to crime fiction, and the habits that shaped his writing life. It’s lean, unsentimental, and full of the kind of plainspoken insight you expect from Dutch.
Miller skillfully guides the interview through Dutch’s writing careers, from the early years, the westerns, and his move into crime, and his fascination with Oklahoma.
A few standout moments:
The line Chevy wouldn’t use in an ad: “You can’t wear the son of a bitch out—you just get tired of looking at it and buy a new one.”
The “writer’s block” myth, according to Dutch: “I don’t believe in it.”
His take on Western clichés: “I never wrote a showdown in the street. I didn’t think it ever happened.”
On killing off a detective who alphabetized his books and hoarded National Geographics: “He wasn’t gonna end up with the girl.”
This interview features Dutch being loose, funny, and sharp.
Coming up in Part Two: The Hot Kid, Oklahoma shootouts, and more stories from the road between pulp and screen.
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