Hemingway was a journalist and novelist. A storyteller. He’s one of the great writers of literature. In 1953, he won the Pulitzer Prize for “The Old Man and the Sea.” In 1954, he won the Nobel Prize for literature.
Hemingway's writing career began in the 1920s. He was a reporter for The Trapeze, his high-school newspaper, and he published a couple of stories in the Tabula, the school's literary magazine.
After Ernest's high-school graduation, Dr. Hemingway realized that his son had no passion for further education, so he didn't encourage him to enroll in college. Instead, Dr. Hemingway find out if his son could sign on as a cub reporter.
Hemingway's distinctive style.
Hemingway took great pains with his work; he revised tirelessly. "A writer's style," he said, "should be direct and personal, his imagery rich and earthy, and his words simple and vigorous, burnished and uniquely brilliant.
1. USE SHORT SENTENCES
Short sentences are easier to digest. They make it easier to follow each point of an argument or story. Hemingway adored the short sentence. He scattered them throughout his books. Their punchiness and rhythm felt as if they were pulling and tugging the reader along.
As a writer — or editor — is to make life easy for our audience. Forcing the reader to navigate through a bunch of long, complex sentences is not necessary.
2. USE SHORT FIRST PARAGRAPHS
Hemingway said writers should use short first paragraphs. Simple language makes our content more accessible. Writing with simplicity doesn’t mean dumbing down our words. Instead, we write clearly and precisely. So our content becomes easier to read and accessible to more people. Hemingway makes each sentence about one tiny idea. Then he lets the next sentence build on that idea. His story unfolds in tiny, logical steps.
3. USE VIGOROUS ENGLISH
He means using hyper-focused language to sharply and passionately articulate ideas. So: writing with intention. Being purposeful and deliberate with each sentence. Making each word count. “It’s muscular, forceful (writing). Vigorous English comes from passion, focus and intention.”
This type of writing is thoroughly and fully understand what you're writing about. It's impossible to write with vigour and passion without having a real grasp of your subject.
4. BE POSITIVE, NOT NEGATIVE
Basically, “be positive” means you should say what something is rather than what it isn’t.Instead of “I’m not lying to you” Hemingway would write, “I’m telling the truth.”
– Instead of saying something is “inexpensive,” say it is “affordable.”
– Instead of describing something as “unclear,” say it is “confusing.”
Being “positive” makes your writing more direct.
5. Never use a harder word where a simpler word will do.
Writers who love exploring new words must be careful. It’s easy to get in the habit of using difficult language where simpler language will do.
I tend to obsess over big beautiful words and at times am tempted to use them in my writing but I also must remind myself there is a balance to it all.
Copywriters, writers and marketers make their living first and foremost through effective communication. The reader must be able to fully comprehend what thought or idea the writer is writing about. This is best accomplished through simple language.
With that said, there is always room to add in the occasional 360 between the legs slam dunk, just to keep the reader on her toes.
One iconic element of Ernest Hemingway’s writing style was the simple words he used in his writing.
He wrote lived instead of existed, looked versus gazed, clear rather than translucent and white in place of ivory.
Hemingway didn’t overcomplicate his craft. He pieced together his sentences from a toolbox overflowing with words everyone spoke and still speaks. The farmer or the rocket scientist could read Hemingway and that’s a feat that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
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