hemingwaywantabes

When Ernest Hemingway wrote, people read, and listened as his dynamic tone hit readers in the head like a sledgehammer. His storytelling gift, honed from years of observing the human spirit, guided him but it is the words he selected that are his greatest trademark.

Above all, Hemingway’s writing was clear, since he did not dabble in needless flowering language. His sentences, for the most part, were clear, crisp, clean, easily understood since each had three critical elements – a beginning, middle and an end. He wrote “true sentences,” ones that were almost short stories themselves as he weaved his story along with exciting characters and surprises at every turn.

If you read Old Man and the Sea, this is apparent for there is not a word wasted. It is like the perfect motion picture where each scene is paced so that viewer interest is never lost. Hemingway mermerized his readers, catapulting them into a fictional world where, as in Old Man and the Sea, they are right in the boat with Santiago fighting the fish.

In “How to Become a Published Author: A to Z,” my book about the writing and publishing process that you may download or print out from the above pages, I mention something important to remember: A book is like having a conversation with readers, but you are not there. If you keep this mind, then clarity is no problem since you write words that need no explanation, but instead stand on their own and convey a clear, crisp message to the reader.

So, Hemingwaywantabes, hone your craft so that every word you use has a purpose, adds to the pacing of the story, and never gets in the way of telling that story. Be clear, be concise, and you then become a true wordsmith like Hemingway. Ths will be true whether you are writing fiction, or non-fiction, since much of the latter is now written with the same dynamics as fiction.

If you wish for me to take a look at any of your writings, and give you an opinion/evaluation, send them along. Nothing pleases me more than to mentor writers, free of charge of course.