Ernest Hemingway’s Way With Words
By: Erik Hamre
Tags: Inspiration, Writing, Life Lessons, Expert Profile, Self Improvement

Ernest Hemingway’s Way With Words

Skill development expert profile — Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway was a war-hero, adventurer and big-game hunter. But above all, he was a great storyteller.

The Nobel and Pulitzer price winner was one of the most highly acclaimed and celebrated authors of the 20th century, and in 1950, the New York Times declared him the most important writer since Shakespeare.

He lived a life filled with drama and adventure. This piece will explore Hemingway’s life through some of his most famous quotes and experiences.

The journalist

After graduating, Hemingway became a journalist before becoming an author. This influenced much of his writing, both on topic and in style. As a journalist, he reported on world affairs.

During his time as a journalist for the Kansas City Star, he learnt these four rules:

Use short sentences. It makes your story and points much clearer. Use short first paragraphs. You must grab the readers instantly. The reader has a short attention span and will not continue if you don’t get their interest immediately. Use vigorous English. Rewrite over and over again. If you want to achieve punch in your writing, you must make it concise and clear. Use simple language and remove any unnecessary flutter. Be positive, not negative. Write what something is, not what it is not. Instead of saying something was not bad, say it was good.

Following these rules inspired his style as a writer and describes the typical Hemingway style.

On writing

‘There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.’

Hemingway’s writing was crisp and clear. Easy to understand but colourful at the same time. He mastered the art of simplifying writing, while still sounding intelligent.

He used short and simple sentences with lots of repetition. By getting rid of unnecessary wordiness, it became effortless to read and understand. Although his style was simple, his topics were often vast and complex. He wrote about issues such as war, love, courage and character.

More than anything else, he was a master of creating stories, often through inspiration from real life.

‘All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.’

Keep improving

‘There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.’

According to Hemingway, the real writing only truly starts after you have finished your first draft, which he claims will always be shit. The secret to good writing then is to keep polishing it until there is not a single word left that can be removed or changed.

Hemingway’s words are easy to read when they’re on the page. But the work it took to accomplish this level involves an insane amount of work, and probably some blood, sweat and tears.

On war

‘Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.’

Hemingway was fascinated by war. In a Farewell to Arms, he focused on its pointlessness and in For Whom the Bell Tolls, he describes the camaraderie it creates.

He wasn’t drafted for military service because of a defective eye but entered World War 1 as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross. He ended up being injured on the front and decorated for heroism.

In World War 2 he was also a war correspondent and participated in bombing raids against the Germans. Although he was strongly against war, he always tried to get in on the action, so that he could cover the events as closely as possible.

Experience

‘In order to write about life, first, you must live it.’

Hemingway was involved in two world wars and the Spanish civil war. He had four wives and many mistresses. He went on countless adventures that often included big game hunting and big fishing. He lived in Paris when it was the centre of the artistic world, and in Cuba as a celebrity in a life filled with drinking and parties.

His life was full of events and adventures, and it’s easy to see how he found inspiration. Most of his stories are based on things that happened in his life and characters from it.

The Hemingway routine

‘I learned never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well, and let it refill at night from the spring that fed it.’

Hemingway rose every morning at 5 am and wrote until midday. He wrote with passion and commitment, and writing was more important for him than anything else.

Hemingway was a famously heavy drinker. But when he was writing, there was no scotch in sight. He treated writing almost religiously, and it was through this discipline he managed to produce so much.

He finished the defining novel of his career, The Old Man and The Sea, in only eight weeks. His tip to keep the writing flow running was to stop writing before he was completely out of ideas. This ensured that he could easily start writing the next morning.

Although he wrote passionately every day, he ironically may not have enjoyed it much. He often described the writing process as painful and compared it with suicide.

Heavy drinking eventually took its toll. In 1960, Hemingway moved from Cuba to Idaho, and his health, both mental and physical, rapidly deteriorated. Hemingway committed suicide with his favourite hunting rifle on July 2, 1961.

Take home message

Hemingway developed his clear and to the point style as a journalist.

He developed a style that was easy to read but at the same time, colourful and descriptive.

He described the writing process as painful, where you had to sit down with a typewriter and bleed.

He based his writing on experiences from his own life.

Although he was a heavy drinker, he treated his writing routine as sacred.

Thanks for reading! :)

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