Ernest Hemingway on writing (1/1)
as a writer, you should not judge. you should understand.
In 1934, a man hitchhiked from upper minnesota to the front door of Ernest Hemingway to ask a few questions about writing. he was a serious, young guy and Hemingway was both flattered and appalled at the prospect of the questioning. all his life this young chap wanted to be a good writer. he had worked many odd jobs - newspaperman, carpenter, labourer but wanted to become a writer to write good stories.
he was abonimal at writing according to Hemingway. but seeing his persistence Hemingway took him aboard as a nightwatchman on his ship - Pilar and set off to cuba to spend the summer fishing. over the next 110 days, Hemingway mouthed many aspects of writing to the young lad. he presents some of them in the novel - monologue to maestro
#1 writing tip
balancing truth and imagination
know your subject:
write about what you truly understand. your knowledge of life and people will make your stories believable.
If you write about things you don’t know well, you might end up faking details. once you start faking, it’s hard to write honestly again.
embrace Imagination:
Imagination is a natural gift. use it alongside your real-life experiences.
the more you learn from real life, the better you can imagine realistically.
If you imagine vividly and truthfully, readers will believe your stories are real.
lad : What do you mean by good writing as opposed to bad writing?
Hemingway : Good writing is true writing. If a man is making a story up it will be true in proportion to the amount of knowledge of life that he has and how
conscientious he is; so that when he makes something up it is as it would truly be. If he doesnʼt know how many people work in their minds and actions his luck may save him for a while, or he may write fantasy. But if he continues to write about what he does not know about he will find himself faking. After he fakes a few times he cannot write honestly any more.
lad: Then what about imagination?
Hemingway: Nobody knows a damned thing about it except that it is what we get for nothing. It may be a unconscious experience.I think that is quite possible. It is the one thing beside honesty that a good writer must have. The more he learns from experience the more truly he can imagine. If he gets so he can imagine truly enough people will think that the things he relates.
#2 writing tip
training yourself as a writer
pay attention to details:
watch events closely. for example, if you see a fish jump, notice every detail—how the line tightens, how the fish moves, and the sounds around you.
focus on the specific actions that evoke emotions in you. Identify what exactly caused your excitement or any other emotion.
recreate the experience:
write down these observations in a clear, detailed manner so your readers can experience the same feelings you had.
get into other people’s minds:
Try to understand what others are thinking, not just how you feel about their actions.
If someone criticizes you, think about their perspective as well as your reaction.
avoid judgment:
when writing, avoid judging your characters. Instead, strive to understand their motives and actions.
lad : How can a writer train himself?
Hemingway : Watch what happens today. If we get into a fish see what exact it is that everyone does.If you get a kick out of it while he is jumping
remember back until you see exactly what the action was that gave you that emotion. Whether it was the rising of the line from the water and the way it tightened like a fiddle string until drops started from it, or the way he smashed and threw water when he jumped. Remember what the noises were and what was said. Find what gave you the emotion, what the action was that gave you the excitement. Then write it down making it clear so the reader will see it too and have the same feeling you had. Thatʼs a five finger exercise.
lad : All right.
Hemingway : Then get in somebody elseʼs head for a change. If I bawl you out try to figure out what Iʼm thinking about as well as how you feel about it. If Carlos curses Juan think what both their sides of it are. Donʼt just think who is right. As a man things are as they should or shouldnʼt be. As a man you know who is right and who is wrong. You have to make decisions and enforce them. As a writer you should not judge. You should understand.
#3 writing tip
mastering observation and listening
full attention:
when people talk, listen completely. don’t think about your response. most people don’t truly listen.
2. detailed awareness:
be observant in any room you enter. notice everything you see and understand what specific details give you particular feelings.
practice standing outside a theatre and observing how people exit taxis or cars. notice the differences in their actions.
3. understand others:
always think about other people and try to understand their feelings and perspectives. this empathy is crucial for a writer.
4. evaluate through writing:
the only way to know if you’ll be a good writer is to write. commit to it for at least five years. If, after that time, you find you're not good, then you can reconsider.
Hemingway : Listen now. When people talk listen completely. Donʼt be thinking what youʼre going to say. Most people never listen. Nor do they observe. You should be able to go into a room and when you come out know everything that you saw there and not only that. If that room gave you any feeling you should know exactly what it was that gave you that feeling. Try that for practice. When youʼre in town stand outside the theatre and see how people differ in the way they get out of taxis or motor cars. There are a thousand ways to practice. And always think of other people.
Lad : Do you think I will be a writer?
Hemingway : How the hell should I know? Maybe youʼve got no talent. Maybe you canʼt feel for other people. Youʼve got some good stories if you can write them.
Lad : How can I tell?
Hemingway : Write. If you work at it five years and you find youʼre no good you can just as well shoot yourself then as now.
the young lad was Arnold Samuelson who went on to publish his only book - With Hemingway: A Year in Key West and Cuba. but his perseverance and persistence gave us insight into Hemingway’s style of writing.
In the next one, we’ll look into Niel Gaiman’s writing routine.
until then…..
keep writing :)
bonus: book recommendation
Leo Tolstoy:
War and Peace
Anna Karenina
Captain Marryat:
Midshipman Easy
Frank Mildmay
Peter Simple
Gustave Flaubert:
Madame Bovary
L'Education Sentimentale
Thomas Mann:
Buddenbrooks
James Joyce:
Dubliners
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Ulysses
Henry Fielding:
Tom Jones
Joseph Andrews
Stendhal:
Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black)
La Chartreuse de Parme (The Charterhouse of Parma)
Fyodor Dostoevsky:
The Brothers Karamazov
Any two other novels
Mark Twain:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Stephen Crane:
The Open Boat
The Blue Hotel
George Moore:
Hail and Farewell
William Butler Yeats:
Autobiographies
Guy de Maupassant:
All the good works
Rudyard Kipling:
All the good works
Ivan Turgenev:
All the works
W.H. Hudson:
Far Away and Long Ago
Henry James:
Short stories, especially:
Madame de Mauves
The Turn of the Screw
The Portrait of a Lady