Ernest Hemingway once said,

"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one becomes a master.”

But here's how to write like Hemingway with 11 tips you can use today:

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1) Avoid Long Sentences like the Plague

No one cares about your flowery prose.

So get to the point.

And treat every word like your last sip of water in the Sahara desert.

2) How to Avoid Creative Burnout

Stop writing "when you know what happens next".

It's impossible to get stuck.

You end your writing sessions mid-sentence.

And you never show up to a blank page again.

3) Peacock's Never Fly

Bad writers are anxious to prove they are educated and cultured.

They are peacocks trying to look pretty.

Great writers are "bloody owls" of observation.

Don't tell me you're smart.

Show me.

4) The Iceberg

Your reader isn't stupid.

So put on the page a small part of the narrative.

Make the rest hidden between the lines.

And they can discover it through inference.

(best for novels)

5) Go do epic things

When World War 1 breaks out, Hemingway leaves Kansas to become an ambulance driver for Red Cross.

He drives around Europe saving wounded soldiers.

This is the basis for "A Farewell to Arms".

Your best writing is personal.

Go live a little.

6) Cut Commas to be Breathless and Brisk

Commas tell your reader to take a breath.

And it can interrupt rhythm and flow.

So Hemingway strove to cut commas in compound sentences.

The result?

You read urgently.

7) Arena of Observation

Pay special attention to small details.

Pay attention to the way things make you feel.

The more specific you can pinpoint the details, the better you can recreate the feelings.

Hemingway on catching a fish:

8) Open your Ears

When people talk listen completely.

Don’t think about what you’re going to say.

"When you come out of a room, you should know everything that you saw.

And if that room gave you a feeling you should know exactly what gave it to you."

Try that for practice

9) Kill Adjectives and Adverbs

Precise nouns or verbs beat imprecise words with adjectives or adverbs.

Killing them also fights your temptation to write abstractly.

Challenge: Use adjective / adverb only when it changes meaning

"He cried happily"✅

vs.

"He cried sadly"

10) White space is your friend

Big paragraphs are scary.

So invite your reader to continue with white space.

It gives your eyes a break and keeps the story flowing.

Just like the 10th tip:)

BONUS...

11) Be positive instead of negative.

The negative is a great way to confuse readers.

Tell me how it is.

Instead of telling me what it isn't.

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See ya next week,

Chris Hlad

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