Frustration with a great writer

I love the writing of Louis L'Amour, but sometimes it frustrates me. L'Amour would write something like "Hondo Lane was a man who was strong and who knew himself well."

Or he'd write something like "He was the one known as Emiliano."

I'd rather he just say that Hondo Lane was strong and knew himself well. And the other guy was Emiliano, not the one known as Emiliano.

If I edited L'Amour's books, I might cut out 200 to 400 words from each book. But I'd leave the good stuff. That's why I read his books.

EMAIL: You can reach me at tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com

More EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• Nearly 14 years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!