Hemingway on How to Become a Great Writer
This 3-step exercise will help you write vividly
Several years ago, I came across a 1935 article Ernest Hemingway had written for Esquire magazine.
He told the story of a 22-year-old aspiring writer named Arnold Samuelson who traveled to Florida to see if he could get some writing advice from the author he idolized.
That author, of course, was none other than Ernest Hemingway.
Samuelson managed to find Hemingway at home and begged him for just a few minutes of conversation. Hemingway gave Samuelson much more than that.
He told Samuelson that he was leaving Florida soon on a fishing trip. But would Samuelson like to join the crew of his boat? That way Hemingway would have time to read Samuelson’s work and mentor him as a writer.
Of course, Samuelson said yes.
In the article, Hemingway shared some of the writing advice he gave Samuelson during their time at sea.
One piece of advice was a 3-step writing exercise that would help Samuelson sharpen his observational skills so he could vividly describe his experiences on paper.
Hemingway’s 3-step exercise gives us a fanastic way to practice “show, don’t tell” in our writing.
