Opening the Writer's Desk: Writing Tips from Ernest Hemingway
Welcome to another installment of ‘Opening the Writer’s Desk,’ where we take a deep dive into writing tips from today’s most widely-read authors. Today we’re going to be taking a look at author Ernest Hemingway and the techniques he’s used in his own writing.
Hemingway is known for a kind of stark, unadorned style of writing that often leaves you feeling like someone’s punched you in the gut—he’s a staple of American literature, and you probably had to read something by him in high school. So…how did Hemingway do it, what were his tricks?
Tip #1 from Hemingway: It’s okay not to get it right the first time
Ernest Hemingway said this in a letter to his contemporary, F. Scott Fitzgerald:
“Write and don’t worry about what the boys will say nor whether it will be a masterpiece nor what. I write one page of masterpiece to ninety one pages of s–t. I try to put the s–t in the wastebasket.”
Writers are notorious for being our own worst enemies. We’re always the first to criticize our own work, and unfortunately many of us have been convinced—whether by ourselves or teachers or other writers—that if our writing doesn’t come out exactly the way we imagined on the first try, then that means we’re hopeless, talentless hacks.
But most of us are not going to get things right on the first try.
I don’t believe that every first draft is automatically terrible—in fact, the first scene I wrote for my second novel Privilege made it into the final published version pretty much the same as I first wrote it—but it’s more than likely that you’re going to have to make some changes or try a different approach after the first go, and that’s not only okay, it’s typical.
Even Hemingway wrote crap sometimes. We all do. And when you do, just know you’re in good company.
Tip #2: Don’t expect praise before you’ve actually done the thing—or, actually, don’t expect praise at all
Hemingway says:
“You must be prepared to work always without applause. When you are excited about something is when the first draft is done. But no one can see it until you have gone over it again and again until you have communicated the emotion, the sights and the sounds to the reader, and by the time you have completed this, the words, sometimes, will not make sense to you as you read them.”
I’m going to tell you right now that if you want to become a writer for the money or the fame, you’re in the wrong business. The glory isn’t what you hope, or think, or want it to be. It probably won’t make you famous, or rich.
And even if it does, it won’t fill your holes. It won’t make you like yourself.
It is definitely possible to make a career out of writing—I did—but the truth is that getting to that point where writing is your career requires commitment and a fierce work ethic.
Honestly, you really need to love the writing, because I find that if people don’t, they peter out.
You should be telling this story because it’s burning in you—that urgency is going to be reflected in your writing, and that’s a key to making it compelling.
Whenever I’ve worked toward praise, I’ve wound up feeling disappointed and unfulfilled, and the writing feels that way too.
Tip # 3: Some days are harder than others
Here’s another Hemingway quote. He says:
“There’s no rule on how it is to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly. Sometimes it is like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.”
There’s this fantasy I’m sure many writers have where we’re sitting in our perfect workspace with the perfect sheet of paper and the perfect pen, where we have an entire day to write with no other responsibilities, and as soon as we set that pen to paper, the words come flowing out, and it’s our magnum opus.
That sounds so wonderful, doesn’t it?
But the truth is that we all have things—jobs, families, personal struggles. Even hobbies we don’t feel like abandoning! Fitness we like to keep up. Bird watching.
When you embark on a journey to write a book, life doesn’t stop happening. But if you commit to doing what you can as often as you can, you’ll eventually get to where you want to go.
Hemingway also had days where getting the words out was almost impossible. When it happens to you, maybe it will help to remember that.
Tip #4: Find the evergreen—evergreen meaning, what lasts
Hemingway had a hot take about Tolstoy’s War and Peace when he read it. The “big political thought passages” (as he called them), stood out to him as probably great when the book was originally published, but later felt dated when he read it decades later.
In a letter, he remarked to his friend to “not let [those passages] deceive you about what a book should be.”
While you’re welcome to write a story that has elements relevant to today—of course there are ways to write about politics that remain relevant over time—the important thing is to get at the “evergreen” things within that story…evergreen meaning, the deep stuff that has sticking power.
Universal human things that don’t change with shifting fads. Emotional resonance that is deeper than a trend.
Let’s say you’re writing a story about a TikTok influencer (very 2022, right?). Maybe the “evergreen” in that is the feeling of pretending to be someone you’re not, or how it feels to create a show version of your life for others while privately you struggle with insecurities.
Those feelings are relevant in 2022 or in the 19th century, because they’re human. The stories that resonate the most are the ones that find the universal in the specific—find it in yours.
Tip #5 from Hemingway: Beautiful compression
“Beautiful compression” is actually a term I stole from my favorite writer George Saunders. It means being concise. Packing a lot into very few words. And not many writers do this as well as Hemingway.
There’s no law against flowery prose, but part of what made Hemingway’s work so timeless is his knack for saying a great deal without having to say very much.
There are a lot of reasons why we might be using more words than we need. On the practical side, maybe we want to hit a word count, or we just feel like writing more.
On the craft side, a lot of us tend to write around the vulnerable parts. It can be easier emotionally to dilute what we’re writing, because if we cut to the core, well, it might really hurt. We might feel something as we’re writing, and that’s…tough.
Stark prose doesn’t have to be everyone’s style of writing, but if you’re rereading what you’ve written and it feels like it’s missing something, challenge yourself to see how much you can cut or rewrite with fewer words. Don’t be afraid to be bold.
Sometimes fewer words can force us to go deeper, to be more vulnerable. And that’s a good thing.
Ready to write your book?
If you made it this far, I’m guessing that you are writing a book, or want to write a book. If so, I want to talk to you.
When I’m not writing, my mission in life is to help talented writers write their dream books. I love it. I live for it.
Because before I published my novels, I first had to figure out how to write one. It wasn't easy because none of the writing classes I was taking showed me how to actually write a novel.
Not until I had a newborn and only a couple of hours a day to write did I come up with a process. The process worked. I wrote my entire novel during my 8-week maternity leave. Now, I teach it in my program the Book Incubator and it works for dozens of other writers.
If you're curious to know more, I have a free video walking you through my exact process for writing a book.You can get it by clicking below and answering two questions to apply to the program. You get the video whether you join or not—no pressure to enroll.
Just click below to tell me a little bit about you and your book—you can fill out a form online. I’m so excited to hear from you!
