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Blogging Like Hemingway: 10 Simple Steps

October 13, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner 25 Comments

grace grits and gardening blogging like Ernest Hemingway
Spending time at the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Educational Center in Piggott, Arkansas is magical bordering on spiritual. Ernest Hemingway, who won a Pultizer Prize in Literature for Old Man and the Sea, wrote a portion of A Farewell to Arms in the barn which he claimed as his writing studio. For a writer, this corner of Northeast Arkansas is sacred.
blogging like hemingway
Hemingway wrote each morning before the day grew hot and sticky. I imagine he gazed out the window looking to the trees for inspiration. He strolled the grounds leaving behind the sweet aroma of his finest Cuban. He felt the ground vibrate as the train rumbled through downtown Piggott…
In my efforts to channel Hemingway, I’ve compiled a list of blogging tips based on his writing style and famous quotes.
1. Write short sentences. Write straight to the point.
2. Establish a writing routine, and write consistently.  
3. Be sure to Make every word count. Use strong action verbs.
4. Don’t spoonfeed the reader. Write so your reader feels what you feel.
5. Write on the principle of the iceberg.  For every visible part, seven-eighths is hidden underwater.
6. Edit. Edit. EDIT. Write 800 words. Eliminate 400 words.
7. Live life. Observe life.
8. Edit again.
9. Eliminate exclamation points! F. Scott Fitzgerald said exclamation points are like laughing at your own joke. Hemingway rarely used them.
10. End your daily writing while you still have something to say.
Hemingway-Pfeiffer Educational Center and Museum

talya

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Write the truest sentence that you know. -Ernest Hemingway

 

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: Ernest Hemingway, Writing / Blogging, writing tips

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Comments

  1. Jane Gatewood says

    October 13, 2013 at 6:28 am

    You nailed it.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      October 13, 2013 at 6:23 pm

      Thanks Jane!

      Reply
  2. Gary Henderson says

    October 13, 2013 at 8:54 am

    Those are great. I think I shall share them with my writers group. We are currently having offshoot meeting about blogging and how to go about it. I’ve actually used you as an example several times. 🙂

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      October 13, 2013 at 6:24 pm

      Thank you Gary. I’m honored to be an example:)

      Reply
  3. Kelly Jo says

    October 13, 2013 at 12:44 pm

    Wow, thank you for compiling this list. I am going to practice your tips. (notice there are no exclamation points?) Love the typewriter.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      October 13, 2013 at 6:26 pm

      Thanks Kelly Jo. The typewriter is in Hemingway’s barn:)

      Reply
  4. Dorothy Johnson says

    October 13, 2013 at 1:07 pm

    Excellent! Good reminders of what him great and what can help us be better writers.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      October 13, 2013 at 6:28 pm

      Thanks Dorothy. Looking forward to our next trip to HP.

      Reply
  5. Bryan Jones says

    October 13, 2013 at 3:19 pm

    Outstanding! Like Hemingway’s writing too!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      October 13, 2013 at 6:29 pm

      Thank you sir!

      Reply
  6. Debbie Arnold says

    October 13, 2013 at 3:26 pm

    I used these basic points when teaching writing. I must confess that I am addicted to exclamation marks! Xoxo

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      October 13, 2013 at 6:27 pm

      I use them in my comments all the time! Thanks Debbie.

      Reply
  7. Elizabeth Bartlett says

    October 13, 2013 at 4:20 pm

    Hemingway is not my favorite author, but he has some good points. I’m an over-exclamation point user on social media because I want to show a friendly/happy tone but I completely agree regarding fiction/creative writing. 🙂

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      October 13, 2013 at 6:30 pm

      Me too. I use them on FB all the time. Thanks for taking the time to comment! Yep, I used another one:)

      Reply
  8. Sarah, How My World Runs says

    October 13, 2013 at 5:17 pm

    Great points, love it. (I am bad about using !!) I’ll try to stop.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      October 13, 2013 at 6:23 pm

      I use them all the time in comments and social media, just not in my blog posts or creative writing:) I do this a lot too :)))

      Reply
  9. Gayle Glass says

    October 14, 2013 at 3:57 am

    Terrific post, Talya. I, too, over-use !!!. I try to go back and eliminate most of them, but a few sneak through. I also had to laugh at #3. I slip into passive language often, and grrrrowl at myself when I have to fix it.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      October 16, 2013 at 5:13 am

      I have the passive language problem but I’m working on it…

      Reply
  10. Patricia A. Laster says

    October 14, 2013 at 4:19 am

    Good job. (Ordinarily I would use an exclamation point.)

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      October 16, 2013 at 5:12 am

      Me too.

      Reply
  11. Kathy says

    October 14, 2013 at 7:57 am

    Awesome. I will be bookmarking this for later reference. Learned a lot from this informative piece! Thank you!! ♥

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      October 16, 2013 at 5:13 am

      Thanks Kathy:)) I don’t know if I’ve ever been bookmarked:)

      Reply
  12. Taylor Jeavons says

    October 16, 2013 at 4:36 am

    I love these tips. I’ll definitely try to use them in my writing. (Already am… had to remove exclamation points twice from this comment)

    Tatteredtotaylored.blogspot.com

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      October 16, 2013 at 5:12 am

      Ha! I find that I still use lots of exclamation points in my social media comments. See!

      Reply
  13. myjourneytoithaca says

    October 20, 2013 at 9:06 am

    Hi! I just found my way here, from Texas Women Bloggers. Good tips! I’m kind of addicted to exclamation points…Hmmm…

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

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