 |
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.
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.
talya
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
Write the truest sentence that you know. -Ernest Hemingway
