Member-only story
A Good Place to Stop
Koan #53
Ernest Hemingway had an oft-quoted strategy he used in his writing. At the end of a day’s work, he would carefully choose his stopping point at a place where he knew it would be easy to start the following day.
“Always stop while you are going good and don’t think about it or worry about it until you start to write the next day.”
Ensuring he could easily pick up where he left off and never get stuck figuring out what was to come next was at the heart of Hemingway’s method. He offers a bit more insight to this strategy when he adds,
“That way your subconscious will work on it all the time. But if you think about it consciously or worry about it you will kill it and your brain will be tired before you start.”
Roald Dahl is reported to have adopted this advice, stating he never returned to a blank page in his writing. He always finished his sessions when he felt he was half through.
If you have ever read anything about the life of Hemingway, you know he was somewhat obsessive about his work and maintained a disciplined writing schedule. Every writer and creative person worries about writer’s block or getting stuck. The blank page is often our greatest fear.
I have used Hemingway’s strategy for years with all types of work, but especially in my…