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Seven Tips
From Ernest
Hemingway on
How to Write
Fiction
in Books, Literature, Writing |
February 19th, 2013 61
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How Did Hemingway Write Hemingway One True Sentence


Ernest Hemingway Writing Advice How to Write Good Writing

http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
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Image by Lloyd Arnold via
Wikimedia Commons
Before he was a big
game hunter, before he
was a deep-sea
fisherman, Ernest
Hemingway was a
craftsman who would
rise very early in the
morning and write. His
best stories are
masterpieces of the
modern era, and his
prose style is one of the
most influential of the
20th century.
Hemingway never wrote
a treatise on the art of
writing fiction. He did,
however, leave behind a
great many passages in
letters, articles and
books with opinions and
advice on writing. Some
of the best of those were
assembled in 1984 by
Larry W. Phillips into a
book, Ernest Hemingway
on Writing. We've
selected seven of our
favorite quotations from

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the book and placed
them, along with our
own commentary, on
this page. We hope you
will all--writers and
readers alike--find them
fascinating.

1: To get started, write


one true sentence.
Hemingway had a
simple trick for
overcoming writer's
block. In a memorable
passage in A Moveable
Feast, he writes:
Sometimes when I
was starting a new
story and I could not
get it going, I would
sit in front of the fire
and squeeze the peel
of the little oranges
into the edge of the
flame and watch the
sputter of blue that
they made. I would

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stand and look out
over the roofs of
Paris and think, "Do
not worry. You have
always written
before and you will
write now. All you
have to do is write
one true sentence.
Write the truest
sentence that you
know." So finally I
would write one true
sentence, and then
go on from there. It
was easy then
because there was
always one true
sentence that I knew
or had seen or had
heard someone say. If
I started to write
elaborately, or like
someone introducing
or presenting
something, I found
that I could cut that
scrollwork or
ornament out and
throw it away and
start with the first
true simple
declarative sentence
I had written.
2: Always stop for the
day while you still know
what will happen next.
There is a difference
between stopping and
foundering. To make
steady progress, having

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a daily word-count
quota was far less
important to
Hemingway than making
sure he never emptied
the well of his
imagination. In an
October 1935 article in
Esquire ( "Monologue to
the Maestro: A High Seas
Letter") Hemingway
offers this advice to a
young writer:
The best way is
always to stop when
you are going good
and when you know
what will happen
next. If you do that
every day when you
are writing a novel
you will never be
stuck. That is the
most valuable thing I
can tell you so try to
remember it.
3: Never think about the
story when you're not
working.
Building on his previous
advice, Hemingway says
never to think about a
story you are working
on before you begin
again the next day. "That
way your subconscious
will work on it all the
time," he writes in the
Esquire piece. "But if you
think about it
consciously or worry
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about it you will kill it
and your brain will be
tired before you start."
He goes into more detail
in A Moveable Feast:
When I was writing,
it was necessary for
me to read after I
had written. If you
kept thinking about
it, you would lose the
thing you were
writing before you
could go on with it
the next day. It was
necessary to get
exercise, to be tired
in the body, and it
was very good to
make love with
whom you loved.
That was better than
anything. But
afterwards, when
you were empty, it
was necessary to
read in order not to
think or worry about
your work until you
could do it again. I
had learned already
never to empty the
well of my writing,
but always to stop
when there was still
something there in
the deep part of the
well, and let it refill
at night from the
springs that fed it.
4: When it's time to

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work again, always start
by reading what you've
written so far.
T0 maintain continuity,
Hemingway made a
habit of reading over
what he had already
written before going
further. In the 1935
Esquire article, he
writes:
The best way is to
read it all every day
from the start,
correcting as you go
along, then go on
from where you
stopped the day
before. When it gets
so long that you can't
do this every day
read back two or
three chapters each
day; then each week
read it all from the
start. That's how you
make it all of one
piece.
5: Don't describe an
emotion--make it.
Close observation of life
is critical to good
writing, said
Hemingway. The key is
to not only watch and
listen closely to external
events, but to also notice
any emotion stirred in
you by the events and
then trace back and
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identify precisely what it
was that caused the
emotion. If you can
identify the concrete
action or sensation that
caused the emotion and
present it accurately and
fully rounded in your
story, your readers
should feel the same
emotion. In Death in the
Afternoon, Hemingway
writes about his early
struggle to master this:
I was trying to write
then and I found the
greatest difficulty,
aside from knowing
truly what you really
felt, rather than
what you were
supposed to feel, and
had been taught to
feel, was to put down
what really
happened in action;
what the actual
things were which
produced the
emotion that you
experienced. In
writing for a
newspaper you told
what happened and,
with one trick and
another, you
communicated the
emotion aided by the
element of timeliness
which gives a certain
emotion to any
account of something
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that has happened
on that day; but the
real thing, the
sequence of motion
and fact which made
the emotion and
which would be as
valid in a year or in
ten years or, with
luck and if you stated
it purely enough,
always, was beyond
me and I was
working very hard to
get it.
6: Use a pencil.
Hemingway often used a
typewriter when
composing letters or
magazine pieces, but for
serious work he
preferred a pencil. In the
Esquire article (which
shows signs of having
been written on a
typewriter) Hemingway
says:
When you start to
write you get all the
kick and the reader
gets none. So you
might as well use a
typewriter because it
is that much easier
and you enjoy it that
much more. After you
learn to write your
whole object is to
convey everything,
every sensation,
sight, feeling, place
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and emotion to the
reader. To do this
you have to work
over what you write.
If you write with a
pencil you get three
different sights at it
to see if the reader is
getting what you
want him to. First
when you read it
over; then when it is
typed you get
another chance to
improve it, and
again in the proof.
Writing it first in
pencil gives you one-
third more chance to
improve it. That is
.333 which is a
damned good
average for a hitter.
It also keeps it fluid
longer so you can
better it easier.
7: Be Brief.
Hemingway was
contemptuous of writers
who, as he put it, "never
learned how to say no to
a typewriter." In a 1945
letter to his editor,
Maxwell Perkins,
Hemingway writes:
It wasn't by accident
that the Gettysburg
address was so short.
The laws of prose
writing are as
immutable as those
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of flight, of
mathematics, of
physics.
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Related content:
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Miller, Elmore Leonard,
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The Big Ernest
Hemingway Photo
Gallery: The Novelist in
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Beyond
The Spanish Earth,
Written and Narrated by
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Archive of Hemingway’s
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Reveals Novelist in the
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by Mike Springer |
Permalink | Comments
(61) |

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Comments (61)

You can skip to the end


and leave a response.
Pinging is currently not
allowed.
Ellen Perücke
says:
February 19, 2013
at 11:24 pm
For me, the most
important advice
is to not think
about the story
when one is not
working on it. In
the meanwhile

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the subconscious
is doing the job
for you. This
simply works.
Reply
TNNA says:
February 20, 2013
at 1:59 pm
It’s a good list,
but you neglected
to mention my
favorite
Hemingway
writing tip:
http://talentnee
dnotapply.com/?
p=573
Reply
N. K. Bellani says:
February 21, 2013
at 8:48 pm
Be your own
spontaneous self
and write, when
you like and the
way like, is my
tip…
Reply
More tips. says:
February 22, 2013
at 10:26 am
Tip #8 – Be
drunk.
Tip #9 – Commit
suicide once
you’ve achieved
fame and fortune.
Reply
Melayahm says:
February 22, 2013
at 11:39 am
#2 is so damn
obvious, it’s
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genius, and yet
I’ve never seen it
before on any
other site about
writing! (and I’ve
Stumbledupon a
lot of writing
sites)
Reply
Elliott Teters says:
February 22, 2013
at 5:53 pm
Thank you for
sharing these
writing tips. It
always amazes
me how one
successful writer
insists we must
do one thing, then
another believes
we must do the
opposite. I am not
what I would call
a successful
writer yet, but it
is pretty clear to
me that the
greatest obstacle
to creating clear,
understandable
work, whether it
be fiction or non-
fiction, is actually
showing up and
writing. It is quite
a lot easier to edit
something that is
written than it is
to alter
something that
exists only in my
mind. I do not
remember the
writer who said,
“What separates a
writer from a
would-be writer
is that the writer
writes,” but I have
read so many

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15 / 104
writers of
different skill
levels I would
have to agree.
Anyway I really
appreciate this
article and the
time you put into
sharing it with us.
I will be locating
the book cited
and learning
more from Mr.
Hemingway
because of your
efforts.
Thank you!
Reply
Elissa Field says:
February 24, 2013
at 8:01 am
Thanks for
curating this
classic list. It’s
sometimes easy
to dismiss the
iconic writers,
but Hemingway
was a pioneer in
his time — and
predated the
abundance of
writing advice
and MFA
programs we live
in now.
I shared a link to
your article in my
Friday Links for
Writers 02.22.13:
http://elissafield.
wordpress.com/2
013/02/22/frida
y-links-for-
writers-02-22-
13/
Reply

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16 / 104
JONIDUL ISLAM
says:
February 25, 2013
at 2:13 am
It’s sometimes
easy to iconic
writers.
Reply
Kari says:
February 25, 2013
at 8:11 am
I did find them
fascinating.
Number two
really resonated
with me as
something I need
to start doing
today. Usually, I
exhaust my
imagination and
then allow it to
refuel for the
night, but I can
see how stopping
before it becomes
exhausted will
help me to never
be stuck the next
day.
Reply
Karen Cioffi says:
February 25, 2013
at 9:22 am
Great
information. I
never heard of #2
and #3 –
interesting. I’ve
shared this also.
Reply
Ravi Ahuja says:
February 27, 2013
at 11:36 pm
Thanks for

http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
17 / 104
sharing, these tips
will not just help
to write fiction
but can also help
for writing blog
post, books or on
topic which you
less aware.
Reply
Susan Waterwyk
says:
February 28, 2013
at 2:00 pm
Outstanding
Article!!! Sound
advice. It made
me feel as if
“Papa” had sent
me a personal
letter. Thank you!
Seven Times
Thank you!
Reply
Bustami says:
March 1, 2013 at
10:55 pm
excellent stuff.. i
really love to
write and still
learning how to
do it in fine way..
thanks
Reply
Akasha says:
March 2, 2013 at
4:43 am
This is such a
great resource,
Thanks for
sharing!
Reply
Hattie Norman
(Topazshell) says:
March 11, 2013 at
5:55 am
http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
18 / 104
These are very
good pointers
from a master
writer. Thank
you.
Reply
Joan Harrison
says:
March 12, 2013 at
2:27 am
Excellent article
and so helpful to
me right now. I
have worked with
the subconscious
for some time
now in other
areas and to hear
a writer listen to
his in this
intuitive way fills
me with so much
joy. Thank you for
your hard work,
greatly
appreciated.
Reply
Angela Grant
says:
March 19, 2013 at
2:29 am
Thanks for the
tips. I find writing
difficult and will
procrastinate.
Never did I think
of just writing a
sentence that is
true. If I am to be
disciplined I
better start
writing. :)
Reply
Astro Gremlin
says:
March 23, 2013 at
11:00 pm

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19 / 104
Treat writing like
work. We don’t
get “doing the
dishes block.”
Reply
Mitch says:
March 25, 2013 at
6:37 pm
I don’t write, I
bleed.
Reply
Mariamni
Heracleous says:
April 17, 2013 at
9:51 am
Like
Hemingway… no
one else! (I
believe) Thanks
for the tips.
Reply
Larry W. Phillips
says:
April 21, 2013 at
6:02 pm
I would add to
this:
Some days you’re
going to wake up
tired of writing
your book (or MS,
or whatever it is).
Other days you’re
going to wake up
tired of the whole
idea of writing
itself. Have a plan
for those days.
Get away from it.
Go somewhere.
Do something
different. Kick
back. Rake the
lawn. OR: do the
‘grunt work’ on
those days (like

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looking stuff up,
verifying facts,
etc)–the stuff you
know you’re
going to have to
do someday
anyway. Don’t
even attempt to
do the actual
“writing” on those
days. Use them to
do the ‘house-
keeping’ work; the
‘non-fun’ stuff.
Also: what’s
worked well for
me lately: write
stuff out of order.
(We have
computers to
move it into the
right order later).
Do this and it
tends to stay
fresh within itself.
Start at “A” and
continue in a long
straight line and it
can sometimes
get stale and trail
off into kind of
parody of itself.
This has really
helped me lately.
Write the
different pieces
out of order.
Reply
james black says:
April 23, 2013 at
8:09 am
i have all ways
thought that an
author should
have at lest a
hands on
knowledge of
what he is writing
. i guess it , at lest
for me gives them
an honest

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credibility. for
example , a book
on child rearing
written by a non
breeder . or a
book on boxing
by an author
that’s never been
in a fight.thanks
for your time .
Reply
edgardo j says:
May 7, 2013 at
11:30 am
After reading this
I tried writing
away from the
computer and I
have to say it
actually helped.
Just something
about writing
with my hand
instead of typing
brought a deeper
concentration to
what I was doing.
I tried creating
emotions instead
of just telling
them in my
writing. I don’t
think it came out
perfect but its
definitely better
than what I had
before. He has
some great
incites on writing.
Glad I read this.
Reply
Stu Lev says:
May 12, 2013 at
5:41 pm
Great post. Fine
advice on writing,
using one’s
imagination is
always
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22 / 104
challenging and
mysterious.
Sometimes a cup
of coffee spurs us
on. Other times
we need to
distance
ourselves from
the material for a
spell to be able to
see what part of
our project has
real value and
worth. Writers
block can hit us in
some intensity at
anytime. yet if the
words always
flowed like a
waterfall with no
effort at all would
we view them as
an
accomplishment?
No. We always
have to challenge
ourselves to see
how far we can
grow, learn and
strive for
excellence.
Thanks for the
great writing tips.
Here’s a cool free
writing source.
Reply
Hector says:
June 3, 2013 at
6:25 pm
Fantastic insights.
Thank you, i will
practice some of
these
suggestions.
Reply
Tom says:
July 13, 2013 at
3:00 pm
Tip #3 is useful in
http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
23 / 104
other applications
as well. As an
undergraduate
philosophy
student, I had one
particularly
difficult course
with long essay
exams. I would
study endlessly
and still do poorly
until I learned to
stop studying one
full day before the
exam and simply
play – go hiking,
watch a movie, be
with friends.
Whatever it was, I
was not thinking
about the
material for the
course. I walked
the half mile to
class thinking
only about the
walk itself. Once I
learned this, my
essays were clear,
concise, and
netted me an A on
all the remaining
essays for the
course.
Reply
Saskia van
Zutphen,
netherlands says:
July 13, 2013 at
10:44 pm
Tip nr. 8: forget
my tips and
WRITE!
Reply
hermes birkin
says:
July 17, 2013 at
2:13 am
Wonderful share
http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
24 / 104
of this great job.
Thanks for such
much
information.
Reply
ernest says:
August 25, 2013 at
12:14 am
I am a tiller and I
won’t visite and
get
Reply
Gurdjieff says:
November 3, 2013
at 2:21 pm
Very practical
and helpful. I
came across
some of these
reading ‘A
Moveable Feast’,
but not all of
them and not
arranged in this
way. Thank you.
Reply
Open Culture
says:
November 3, 2013
at 2:33 pm
Does anyone
happen to know
what Facebook
page just
mentioned our
post? Thanks in
advance for
letting us
know.nCheers,nDan/editor
Reply
Johnnie Lakes
says:
November 3,
2013 at 2:48 pm

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25 / 104
Dangerous
minds.
Reply
Corelin says:
November 4,
2013 at 4:59 am
Doctrine Man!!
threw it up
there too
Reply
Thom says:
November 4,
2013 at 7:15 am
Dangerous
Minds
Reply

Ada Sin Hache


says:
November 4, 2013
at 2:35 am
I’m mentioning
your post too and
sharing. I read it
on DM’s wall. I
really enojoyed it,
thanks!
Reply
Delphinus13 says:
November 4, 2013
at 2:12 pm
Doctrine Man’s
Reply
optimia
developments
says:
December 27,
2013 at 12:46 am
Thanks for your
great
information, the

http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
26 / 104
contents are quiet
interesting.I will
be waiting for
your next post.
free online
courses
Reply
Sean says:
December 28,
2013 at 5:50 am
Interesting tips
and methods to
keep writing. Not
forgetting
Hemmingway’s
style, some of
these ideas are
for straight
novelists and not
good advice for
the modern hack
who wants to
write super-best-
sellers!
Reply
ebookspdfs says:
May 15, 2014 at
4:54 pm
Great post. Nice
suggestions on
writing, using
one’s imagination
is always
challenging and
hard to
overcome.
Sometimes a cup
of coffee/tea
spurs us on.
Other times we
need to distance
ourselves from
the material for a
spell to be able to
see what part of
our project has
real value and
worth. Writers
http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
27 / 104
block can hit us in
some intensity at
anytime. yet if the
words always
flowed like a
waterfall with no
effort at all would
we view them as
an
accomplishment?
No. We always
have to challenge
ourselves/everyone
around us to see
how far we can
grow, learn and
strive for
excellence.
Thanks for the
great writing tips.
Here’s a cool free
writing source.
Reply
Rajshree says:
August 10, 2014 at
12:33 pm
Thanks… very
motivaiting n
tried n tested
advice
Reply
H L Lowe says:
September 1, 2014
at 10:17 am
Brilliant post – I
was interested to
read the part
about writing in
pencil for the first
draft as I tried
that for the first
time with my
latest novel. It
really worked as
Hemingway said,
that you get an
extra chance to
improve on it
when you type it
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up on your PC.
Also, it stopped
me
deleting,copying
& pasting,
jumping
backwards and
forwards, when
all I needed to do
was get the first
draft down on
paper so the
proper writing
craft could begin
with the 2nd
draft. I agree, up
to a point, with a
comment from
Sean, when he
says that ‘some of
these ideas are
for straight
novelists and not
good advice for
the modern hack
who wants to
write super-best-
sellers!’ but I
think you can
adapt
Hemingway’s
advice and apply
it to modern
writers and the
modern novel.
Looking forward
to next post –
many thanks
Reply
Elizabeth Cooper
says:
September 16,
2014 at 8:12 am
Great post, I
agree with the
part about
writing in pencil. I
did this with my
first draft as well
and I really
enjoyed typing it

http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
29 / 104
into to my
computer
afterwards. It
gave me a chance
to look at my first
rough draft as a
whole and make
changes as I
went.
Reply
Amir Sibboni says:
September 24,
2014 at 3:09 pm
Thanks for
sharing
Reply
Laina Turner
says:
October 1, 2014 at
8:05 am
As an author
myself, it’s always
nice to come
across expert
advice… you can
always learn
something new.
Reply
Jenifer Ransom
says:
December 19,
2014 at 3:10 pm
I prefer using a
pen to a pencil.
Feels more
flowing. It’s
always been my
habit to write first
draft by hand.
What would be
the benefits of
using a pencil
over a pen? I am
sure most of the
old-time writers
used pens.

http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
30 / 104
Anyway…yes,
great tips, thanks
Papa H!
Reply
Smokin Joe says:
January 24, 2015
at 8:45 pm
The first should
always be. GET
OUT AND LIFE!
http://youtu.be/
vcy5mzwmhlY
Reply
Smokin Joe says:
January 24, 2015
at 8:48 pm
i’m retard, I
meant to say, get
out and live. I
have a hard time
catching my
mistakes is this
go round. Peace
Reply
Obat Jantung
Bocor Tanpa
Operasi says:
February 3, 2015
at 3:00 am
I really enjoy
reading them
every day. I’ve
learned a lot from
them. thanks for
putting an effort
to publish this
information.
Reply
Ifeanyichukwu
Aniebo says:
March 24, 2015 at
8:57 am
Gurdjieff nailed it.
‘A Moveable
http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
31 / 104
Feast’ was by my
side while I was
writing my
second novel. It
could not be
there when I was
writing my first
because I was in
prison. For me ‘A
Moveable Feast’ is
my synonym for
JOY. Did
Hemingway come
up with that title?
Brilliant!
Reply
Timothy says:
May 26, 2015 at
12:58 am
Great stuff about
writing!
Reply
Somshekhar Patil
says:
June 5, 2015 at
10:30 am
WOW!! Great
masterful
suggestions from
a great MASTER!!
Reply
Jim Aughney says:
December 12,
2015 at 8:09 pm
Hemingway was
writing 80 or 90
years ago and
maybe the pens
weren’t as
efficient as today.
Pencil can always
be erased if you
make a mess
whereas a few
corrections with
ballpoint are

http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
32 / 104
yuck.
I’ve written songs
and poems as
well as 30 years
daily journalism
and pencil works
very well in
songs/music –
just erase Dmaj
and put in C.
Hemingway
would inspire me
to write a novel.
That idea of
leaving something
for the next day is
exactly how film-
makers work with
TV dramas etc –
leave something
about to happen.
Reply
David Oak says:
December 17,
2015 at 7:45 pm
Very helpful to
anyone wanting
to write with
honesty and
clarity.
Reply
NutiMed says:
December 20,
2015 at 6:24 pm
Thanks for
sharing.
Thank Ernest
Hemingway :)
Reply
Johin Rastogi
says:
January 22, 2016
at 10:35 am
Just admiring
your work.

http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
33 / 104
Reply
Tony says:
January 24, 2016
at 10:30 am
Overabundance is
more like it.
Reply
Joan Condon says:
April 15, 2016 at
7:24 pm
Today I wrote a
complete
sentence.
Reply
Saira says:
June 21, 2016 at
11:23 am
Thank you for
this! I am so glad I
came across such
a piece.
Reblogging!
Reply
Oue says:
December 7, 2016
at 9:44 pm
Hemingway’s
“short,
declarative
sentences,” are
poorly
constructed to a
truly remarkable
degree. They have
an amateurish
sound to them
that is so
prominent, I am
astonished more
people (especially
literary critics)
have not pointed
this out. I know
that Hemingway
is often
http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
34 / 104
considered “The
Greatest Writer
Who Ever Lived”
by many people,
and his prose
frequently
receives an
inordinate
amount of praise.
I cannot
understand this.
Professional
editors routinely
REJECT stories
that are written
like Hemingway’s,
often simply
BECAUSE of the
writing. It is
literally the worst
prose of any
supposedly
“great” writer in
all of English
literature.
For example, here
is a bit of typical
Hemingway prose
from one of his
books:
“It was very late
and everyone had
left the cafe
except an old
man who sat in
the shadow the
leaves of the tree
made against the
electric light. In
the day time the
street was dusty,
but at night the
dew settled the
dust and the old
man liked to sit
late because he
was deaf and now
at night it was
quiet and he felt
the difference.
The two waiters
inside the cafe
http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
35 / 104
knew that the old
man was a little
drunk, and while
he was a good
client they knew
that if he became
too drunk he
would leave
without paying,
so they kept
watch on him.”
ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Besides being
astoundingly
boring, there are
so many things
wrong with this
passage (like
most of
Hemingway’s
prose in general)
that it’s hard to
know where to
begin. First of all,
it reads very
oddly. It feels like
someone has
awkwardly
spliced together
several different
sentences to
make even
SHORTER
sentences. It feels
stilted. It feels like
someone has
gone in with
scissors and
snipped out
certain words
that probably
should be there (a
common
Hemingway
habit), making it
sound jarring and
disjointed.
(Hemingway
didn’t like “big
words,” whatever
THOSE ultimately
are.) Amateur
http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
36 / 104
writers (and bad
writers) often try
to force their
writing to sound a
certain way
(which we know
that Hemingway
did, since he
wrote about this
constantly), to
give themselves a
prose voice of
depth and
profundity that
they don’t
naturally have,
and it shows.
Such efforts
frequently sound
stilted, awkward,
and unnatural,
just like the above
passage. It’s easy
to tell when a
writer is
deliberately
interfering with
the natural
process of
smoothly putting
words on a page,
and seasoned
professionals
don’t do this. And
unfortunately,
pretty much all of
Hemingway’s
writing sounds
rather like the
above quote.
Hemingway had
an awful lot to say
about how to
craft one’s own
style of writing
(which, according
to author Stephen
King, is quite
impossible).
Hemingway had
all kinds of grand
literary theories
and principles
http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
37 / 104
about how he
thought writing
SHOULD be, and
it’s often much
more interesting
to read what
Hemingway
wrote about
HOW to write,
rather than to
read his actual
books – another
sure sign of a bad
(or amateur)
writer.
Hemingway came
up with a lot of
these ideas when
he was a young
and
inexperienced
writer, and he
unfortunately
stuck with most
of them his entire
life. The most
notorious of them
is his “Iceberg
Theory of
Writing,” the idea
that 80-90
percent of your
story should exist
“below the
surface”
(unwritten.) It
sounds great on
paper, but in
practice, unless
the 10 percent of
the story that you
actually DO write
is very, very
interesting, you
probably won’t
end up with much
of a good story. I
know writers who
struggle to write
down even just 60
to 70 percent of
the story they
want to tell, and
even then, it can
http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
38 / 104
be difficult to
keep a story
interesting. 10
percent is slim
pickings indeed.
This likely helps
explain why
Hemingway’s
stories are often
so dramatically
dull, and don’t
translate well to
film; not much
happens in them.
They’re not very
interesting.
Unlike the stories
of J.R.R. Tolkien,
whose stories
make astonishing
dramatic movies,
and whom I
consider to be a
vastly superior
writer to
Hemingway.
So in summary,
with his forced,
unnatural writing,
awkward and
cramped short
sentences, and
dull, undramatic
stories, why is
Hemingway so
famous? I think
it’s just an
accident, really. I
think he just
happened to be in
the right place at
the right time,
and for no other
reason. Editors
frequently say
that there are
absolutely no
rules in the
publishing
business, about
why one writer
becomes famous,
and another does
http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
39 / 104
not. If it happens,
then it happens. I
think Hemingway
is just an overall
bad writer who
got very, very
lucky – and I
think he has been
unfairly held up
for years before
the rest of us as
what a writer
SHOULD be,
despite his rather
boring stories,
badly-written
prose, and
unnaturally
cramped-
sounding short
sentences.
Reply
Martin says:
August 3, 2017 at
11:39 am
I am very
interested writing
novels, EBooks
and stories, but I
am not sure how
to write the top
notch novel, I did
a Google search
and found one of
the guide it helps
me to write top
notch novel book
within few days,
The method
explain in the
guide it created
me to think
differently, I felt
some writer had
come to my mind
and I done
perfectly, Before
writing any novel,
books or stories, I
recommended
this guide to all,

http://www.openculture.com/2013/02/seven_tips_from_ernest_hemingway_on_how_to_write_fiction.html
40 / 104
before writing
any E-books read
at least one time.
Check here >> (
go2l.ink/novel )
<<
Writing good
eBooks is one of
the good skill set
Reply
Ronnie says:
November 6, 2017
at 5:09 am
Hello Guys I
Really Like This a
Lot. I Must
Thankful to you
for Sharing this
Important
Information.
Hemingway was
writing 70 or 80
years ago and
maybe the pens
weren’t as
efficient as today.
Reply

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F. Scott Fitzgerald is often portrayed as a you!
natural-born writer. "His talent," says
Ernest Hemingway in A Moveable Feast,
"was as natural as the pattern that was

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made by the dust on a butterfly's wings."
But Fitzgerald saw himself in a different Free Courses
light. "What little I've accomplished," he
Astronomy
said, "has been by the most laborious and
Biology
uphill work."
Business
Last week we brought you Seven Tips From Chemistry
Ernest Hemingway on How to Write Classics/Ancient
Fiction. Today we're back with a similar list World
of advice from Hemingway's friend and rival Computer Science
Fitzgerald. We've selected seven quotations Economics
from F. Scott Fitzgerald on Writing, which Engineering
was edited by Larry W. Phillips and Environment
published in 1985 as a companion to the History
Hemingway book. As in the previous post, Literature
we've organized the advice under our own Math
headings and added some brief Philosophy
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Political Science
1: Start by taking notes. Psychology
Religion
Fitzgerald made a habit of recording his All 1250 Free
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"Descriptions of girls." When Fitzgerald was
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Graham in the late 1930s, he advised her to Free Movies
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Infidel, Graham quotes Fitzgerald as saying: Online
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You must begin by making notes. You Silent Films
may have to make notes for years.... Documentaries
When you think of something, when you Martial Arts/Kung
recall something, put it where it belongs. Fu
Put it down when you think of it. You Animations
may never recapture it quite as vividly Free Hitchcock
the second time. Films
Free Charlie
2: Make a detailed outline of your story. Chaplin
Free John Wayne
When Fitzgerald was working on a novel, he Movies
would surround himself with charts Free Tarkovsky
outlining the various movements and Films

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histories of his characters. In a 1936 letter Free Dziga Vertov
to novelist John O'Hara, he advises the Free Oscar
younger novelist to start with a big outline: Winners

Invent a system Zolaesque...but buy a file.


On the first page of the file put down an Free
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enormous in scale (don't worry, it will
Lessons
contract by itself) and work on the plan Arabic
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the file as your big climax and follow English
your plan backward and forward from French
that for another three months. Then German
draw up something as complicated as a Italian
continuity from what you have and set Russian
yourself a schedule. Spanish
All Languages
3: Don't describe your work-in-progress to
anyone.
Free eBooks
Fitzgerald's policy was never to talk with
700 Free eBooks
other people about the book he was
Free Philosophy
working on. In a 1940 letter to his daughter eBooks
Scottie, he says: The Harvard
Classics
I think it's a pretty good rule not to tell
Philip K. Dick
what a thing is about until it's finished. If Stories
you do you always seem to lose some of it. Neil Gaiman
It never quite belongs to you so much Stories
again. David Foster
Wallace Stories
4: Create people, not types. & Essays
Hemingway
Fitzgerald was known for creating Stories
emblematic characters, but he said it was Great Gatsby &
accidental. "I had no idea of originating an Other Fitzgerald
American flapper when I first began to Novels
write," he said in a 1923 interview for HP Lovecraft
Metropolitan magazine. "I simply took girls Edgar Allan Poe
who I knew very well and, because they Free Alice Munro
Stories
interested me as unique human beings, I Jennifer Egan
used them for my heroines." In the opening Stories
sentence of his 1926 short story, "The Rich George Saunders
Boy," Fitzgerald explains the principle: Stories
Hunter S.
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Begin with an individual, and before you Thompson
know it you find that you have created a Essays
type; begin with a type, and you find that Joan Didion
Essays
you have created--nothing. Gabriel Garcia
Marquez Stories
5: Use familiar words.
David Sedaris
In a 1929 letter to his college friend and Stories
fellow writer John Peale Bishop, Fitzgerald Stephen King
says: Chomsky
Golden Age
You ought never to use an unfamiliar Comics
word unless you've had to search for it Free Books by UC
Press
to express a delicate shade--where in
Life Changing
effect you have recreated it. This is a Books
damn good prose rule I think....
Exceptions: (a) need to avoid repetition
(b) need of rhythm (c) etc. Free Audio
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6: Use verbs, not adjectives, to keep your
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In a 1938 letter to his daughter, Fitzgerald Free Audio Books:
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writes:
Free Audio Books:
About adjectives: all fine prose is based Poetry
on the verbs carrying the sentences. They Free Audio Books:
Non-Fiction
make sentences move. Probably the finest
technical poem in English is Keats' "Eve
of Saint Agnes." A line like "The hare Free
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grass," is so alive that you race through 200 Free
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limping, trembling and freezing is going Textbooks
on before your own eyes. Free Computer
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7: Be ruthless. Textbooks
Free Math
A writer has to make some hard choices. Textbooks
Fitzgerald warns about the danger of
becoming too attached to something you've
written. Keep an objective eye on the whole K-12
piece, he says, and if something isn't Resources
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Or: Books
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"This is just bullheadedness. Better throw The Getty
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exhausted himself in a hundred-hour The National
Gallery
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Stephen King’s
Top 20 Rules for
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in Writing | March 16th, 2014
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Commons
In one of my favorite
Stephen King interviews,
for The Atlantic, he talks
at length about the vital
http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 70 / 104
importance of a good
opening line. “There are
all sorts of theories,” he
says, “it’s a tricky thing.”
“But there’s one thing”
he’s sure about: “An
opening line should
invite the reader to
begin the story. It should
say: Listen. Come in
here. You want to know
about this.” King’s
discussion of opening
lines is compelling
because of his dual
focus as an avid reader
and a prodigious writer
of fiction---he doesn’t
lose sight of either
perspective:
We’ve talked so much
about the reader, but
you can’t forget that
the opening line is
important to the
writer, too. To the
person who’s
actually boots-on-
the-ground. Because
it’s not just the
reader’s way in, it’s
the writer’s way in
also, and you’ve got
to find a doorway
that fits us both.
This is excellent advice.
As you orient your
reader, so you orient
yourself, pointing your
work in the direction it
needs to go. Now King

http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 71 / 104
admits that he doesn’t
think much about the
opening line as he
writes, in a first draft, at
least. That perfectly
crafted and inviting
opening sentence is
something that emerges
in revision, which can be
where the bulk of a
writer’s work happens.

Revision in the second


draft, “one of them,
anyway,” may
“necessitate some big
changes” says King in his
2000 memoir slash
writing guide On
Writing. And yet, it is an
essential process, and
one that “hardly ever
fails.” Below, we bring
you King’s top twenty
rules from On Writing.
About half of these
relate directly to
revision. The other half

http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 72 / 104
cover the intangibles---
attitude, discipline, work
habits. A number of
these suggestions
reliably pop up in every
writer’s guide. But quite
a few of them were born
of Stephen King’s many
decades of trial and
error and---writes the
Barnes & Noble book
blog---“over 350 million
copies” sold, “like them
or loathe them."
1. First write for
yourself, and then
worry about the
audience. “When
you write a story,
you’re telling
yourself the story.
When you rewrite,
your main job is
taking out all the
things that are not
the story."
2. Don’t use passive
voice. “Timid writers
like passive verbs for
the same reason
that timid lovers like
passive partners.
The passive voice is
safe.”
3. Avoid adverbs.
“The adverb is not
your friend.”
4. Avoid adverbs,
especially after “he
said” and “she said.”
http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 73 / 104
5. But don’t obsess
over perfect
grammar. “The
object of fiction isn’t
grammatical
correctness but to
make the reader
welcome and then
tell a story.”
6. The magic is in
you. “I’m convinced
that fear is at the
root of most bad
writing.”
7. Read, read, read.
”If you don’t have
time to read, you
don’t have the time
(or the tools) to
write.”
8. Don’t worry about
making other
people happy. “If
you intend to write
as truthfully as you
can, your days as a
member of polite
society are
numbered, anyway."
9. Turn off the TV.
“TV---while
working out or
anywhere else---
really is about the
last thing an aspiring
writer needs.”
10. You have three
months. “The first
draft of a book---

http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 74 / 104
even a long one---
should take no more
than three months,
the length of a
season.”
11. There are two
secrets to success.
“I stayed physical
healthy, and I stayed
married.”
12. Write one word
at a time. “Whether
it’s a vignette of a
single page or an
epic trilogy like ‘The
Lord of the Rings,’
the work is always
accomplished one
word at a time.”
13. Eliminate
distraction. “There’s
should be no
telephone in your
writing room,
certainly no TV or
videogames for you
to fool around with.”
14. Stick to your
own style. “One
cannot imitate a
writer’s approach to
a particular genre,
no matter how
simple what that
writer is doing may
seem.”
15. Dig. “Stories are
relics, part of an
undiscovered pre-

http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 75 / 104
existing world. The
writer’s job is to use
the tools in his or
her toolbox to get as
much of each one
out of the ground
intact as possible.”
16. Take a break.
“You’ll find reading
your book over after
a six-week layoff to
be a strange, often
exhilarating
experience.”
17. Leave out the
boring parts and kill
your darlings. “(kill
your darlings, kill
your darlings, even
when it breaks your
egocentric little
scribbler’s heart, kill
your darlings.)”
18. The research
shouldn’t
overshadow the
story. “Remember
that word back.
That’s where the
research belongs: as
far in the
background and the
back story as you
can get it.”
19. You become a
writer simply by
reading and writing.
“You learn best by
reading a lot and
writing a lot, and the
http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 76 / 104
most valuable
lessons of all are the
ones you teach
yourself.”
20. Writing is about
getting happy.
“Writing isn’t about
making money,
getting famous,
getting dates,
getting laid or
making friends.
Writing is magic, as
much as the water
of life as any other
creative art. The
water is free. So
drink.”
See a fuller exposition of
King’s writing wisdom at
Barnes & Noble’s blog.
Related Content:
Stephen King Creates a
List of 96 Books for
Aspiring Writers to Read
Stephen King Writes A
Letter to His 16-Year-
Old Self: “Stay Away
from Recreational
Drugs”
Ray Bradbury Offers 12
Essential Writing Tips
and Explains Why
Literature Saves
Civilization
Kurt Vonnegut’s Eight
Tips on How to Write a
Good Short Story
http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 77 / 104
Josh Jones is a writer and
musician based in
Durham, NC. Follow him
at @jdmagness

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by Josh Jones |
Permalink | Comments
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http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 78 / 104
Comments (48)

You can skip to the end


and leave a response.
Pinging is currently not
allowed.
tony says:
March 16, 2014 at
12:58 pm
21. Deus ex
machina is your
friend.
22. Always use
children/people
who are
handicapped or
“slow” as the

http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 79 / 104
heroes who save
the day.
23. Always use the
bumper stickers
on cars to let the
reader know the
political leanings
of your
characters.
There…that about
does it.
Reply
David says:
March 16, 2014 at
4:22 pm
Avoid following
advice that begins
with “never” and
“always.”
Reply
Susan says:
March 17, 2014 at
2:43 pm
I see more than
one phone in that
photo.
Reply
Seba says:
March 17, 2014 at
5:40 pm
I Agree with both
previous
comments…
Nevertheless,
rules are always
guides, it’s much
more difficult to
accomplish
anything without
a method, even if
this method
contains space
for improvisation.
Really the most
important is to

http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 80 / 104
write for oneself,
for the sake of
writing…
Reply
KSDelgado says:
March 17, 2014 at
9:16 pm
“They’re more like
‘guidelines’
anyways.”
Reply
LMitchell says:
March 18, 2014 at
12:15 pm
Anybody notice
the computer???
The old fossil
looks likes it’s
from the 1980’s.
Reply
ted says:
March 18, 2014 at
12:30 pm
That’s because
the PICTURE is
from the ’80s. And
the 20 rules are
just lifts from “On
Writing”.
Reply
once_a_king_fan
says:
March 18, 2014 at
12:32 pm
That dog is
distracting…and
probably
deceased…
Reply
LMitchell says:
March 18, 2014 at
12:42 pm

http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 81 / 104
Didn’t realized it’s
from King’s book
“On Writing.” I
have the book.
Reply
Annelie says:
March 18, 2014 at
12:53 pm
Two telephones
in his writing
corner.
Reply
HappyB says:
March 18, 2014 at
6:13 pm
I have to chuckle
that people take
shots at one of
the great writers
of our time. Even
if you think he’s a
total hack,
99.9999% of all
writers have a lot
they could learn
from him. Why is
everyone so
angry, miserable,
and jealous. These
are great rules for
people in other
professions too.
In many cases,
replace the words
“writing” with
“your profession”.
Reply
Salem ghariani
says:
March 19, 2014 at
3:52 am
I like the way was
put to people
Reply
Salem ghariani
http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 82 / 104
says:
March 19, 2014 at
3:55 am
It was rely nice
Reply
Dan Colman says:
March 22, 2014 at
1:50 pm
Just curious, does
anyone know
what Facebook
page just
mentioned our
post?
Thanks,
Dan (editor)
Reply
Plaice Holden
says:
March 22, 2014 at
1:56 pm
Derry, Maine.
Reply
Wen says:
March 22, 2014 at
2:40 pm
@ Dan Colman –
that FB page
would be Ann
Rice’s page, she
posted the link to
this.
I used to love
Stephen King and
still love his
earlier books. But
the “First write
for yourself”,
yeah, one word …
IT. I wanted to
take a red marker
and exacto knife
to that book.

http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 83 / 104
Interesting list
though, some
good things to
think about as I
sit with 3
chapters of a
book I’d started
and then my train
of thought
derailed.
Reply
SHE Versus HE
says:
March 22, 2014 at
2:53 pm
The Barefoot
Writer appears to
be first to
mention your
post then it was
shared by many.
Excellent Post!
Reply
Will says:
March 23, 2014 at
7:26 am
BTW, this was
recently shared
on Fantasy and
Sci-Fi Fans,
Artists, Readers,
Writers,
Filmmakers &
Cosplayers
Facebook group.
Reply
Jared Morgan
says:
March 23, 2014 at
1:14 pm
Anne Rice
Facebook post:
https://www.fac
ebook.com/anne
ricefanpage/post

http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 84 / 104
s/1020337347224
7753
Reply
Dan Colman
says:
March 23, 2014
at 3:38 pm
Thanks all for
letting me
know.
Cheers,
Dan
Reply

Chris says:
March 23, 2014 at
6:33 pm
I’m going to chalk
this up to a
generation gap,
I’m not giving up
my video games
or writing XD but
it was pretty good
Reply
Janet Wilson says:
March 25, 2014 at
5:30 am
Rule 10 it takes
one season to
write a book, 3
months. He has
not lived through
a Canadian winter
season, here we 9
months or one
season to write a
book.
Reply
Jennie says:
March 25, 2014 at
6:20 pm
#13 is ironic in
light of the
http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 85 / 104
picture with this
article. Stephen
King’s got 2
telephones in his
office!
Reply
marilee pittman
says:
April 18, 2014 at
5:17 am
from the master
Reply
Dan Colman says:
May 6, 2014 at
10:52 pm
Anyone know
who just posted
this on Facebook
by chance?
Cheers,
Dan/editor
Reply
Liss Thomas says:
May 15, 2014 at
9:16 pm
My writing hero…
Loved On Writing
by Stephen King…
which is all I can
read cause I don’t
like the scary
stuff! Is that a
corgi at his feet?
Reply
Melissa Larrabee
says:
June 10, 2014 at
1:38 pm
Posted on FB via
Brainpickings
(.org)
Reply

http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 86 / 104
Sue Owens
Wright says:
July 15, 2014 at
9:49 am
King is Master of
his craft, and I
love his style of
writing. “On
Writing” is one of
a few great books
any writer should
read again and
again. Here are
some others for a
writer’s library:
Bird by Bird (Anne
LaMott), The Lie
That Tells a Truth
(John Dufresne),
If You Want To
Write (Brenda
Euland), and the
writer’s bible:
Elements of Style
(Strunk & White).
Reply
Kathleen
Delaney says:
September 4,
2014 at 6:05 am
Sue Ann is so
right. These
are books
every writer,
and just about
everyone else,
should have on
their shelves.
Especially
Elements of
Style.
Reply

Cordelia Renner
says:
July 15, 2014 at
2:50 pm
21. Get a corgi.
http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 87 / 104
Reply
julie Brown says:
November 18,
2014 at 4:23 am
Feck the be-
grudgers.
Steven King on
writing, resulted
in my first writing
contract!!
Reply
Alton Thompson
says:
December 20,
2014 at 8:18 pm
Thank you for
sharing this. I
especially like
Number 8. True,
that.
Also for the
library:
Annie Dillard ‘The
Writing Life’
Reply
Rosanna Every
says:
January 10, 2015
at 1:30 am
Thanks for the
inspirations.Read
my book David to
a tea by Rosanna
Every on David
helfgott her
friend
Reply
Carmen Garcia
says:
March 9, 2015 at
10:05 am
I read the
Stephen King, On
Writing: A
http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 88 / 104
Memoir of the
Craft. I just want
to say that it
brought tears to
my eyes. It
reminded me of
the things which
have experienced
in life and I could
just feel the
sincerity of heart
from which all of
this was writen. I
cried, life is not
easy. Mr. King I
just want to say
thank you for
sharing all you’ve
shared with us
the public and I
hope and pray I
will one day
become a good
writer to inspire
others. Many
blessings
Reply
Amber says:
May 13, 2015 at
12:50 pm
I’m pretty sure
one is specifically
for the fax
machine
Reply
Fanboy Bob says:
May 21, 2015 at
8:46 pm
The lessons are
learned by
experience. King
also made
mistakes with his
health, including
substance abuse,
but luckily
survived to learn
a lesson about
that, too.
http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 89 / 104
Reply
Robbie Griffin
says:
July 12, 2015 at
3:28 am
I too have
Stephen King’s
book, On Writing
A Memoir of the
Craft. It pulls you
in while reading,
because he is
sharing real life
experiences. You
can really get to
see how he
developed as a
writer. The best
way is to read,
read, read. And,
when the time
comes to write
you will know it.
It may work
better if you can
read and write as
you go along. I’m
following Harper
Lee now, Go To
the Watchman &
To Kill A
Mockingbird.
Reading now, The
Element Finding
Your Passion
Changes
Everything. I
think journaling
daily helps too.
Reply
Bill Adams says:
September 8, 2015
at 1:03 am
Cruel, but fair.
You might add,
Deliberate
plotting is hacky;
better to just
make the middle
http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 90 / 104
section as long as
you need to
desperately
search for a way
out.
All this said, his
writing book has
a hell of a lot of
good advice in it.
And if he gets
wrong the whole
subject of
plotting, it is
because that is
the one key thing
he never learned.
Reply
Virginia Selanik
says:
September 20,
2015 at 1:56 pm
Also in King’s
book On Writing
is his admission
to “The
Hemingway
Defense” or why
he was an
alcoholic for
about 12 years. It
was the same as
that of
Hemingway.
Reply
Sonny says:
September 22,
2015 at 3:58 am
How often should
we avoid it?
Reply
Sonny says:
September 22,
2015 at 3:59 am
You seem like a
dick.

http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 91 / 104
Reply
eric says:
December 27,
2015 at 12:36 pm
very clever
Reply
Rocco says:
March 4, 2016 at
1:15 pm
Hi how are you
doing.
First question.
1.My writing is
knot good,when I
write something
they say it
chicken writing.
2.If you know
someone who’s
good it writing
and they stop,is
there anyway I
could help him
on.
Thank you
Reply
Darnell Arnoult
says:
May 24, 2016 at
5:12 am
This is a great
post. And who
says this picture
is of his writing
room. I have a
room for writing
and an office for
doing business as
an author (an
everything else).
Reply
Phillip Adams
says:
November 4, 2016
at 9:56 am

http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 92 / 104
This is great info.
But, I am no
writer, although, I
have a story, a
real life story,
that I feel would
be a great book
for Stephen King
to write. This
timeline occurred
in 1979-1980, over
a span of about 9-
months, with real
life, eerie and
unexplainable
events, that,
unless you lived
it, is hard to
believe. I feel my
story would make
a great
book/movie, and
would be right up
Stephen Kings
expertise. I wold
love to meet and
pitch my story to
him sometime.
Phil Adams
Reply
Carol Parker says:
January 16, 2017
at 12:12 pm
Notice to many
people looking at
the picture and
not getting the
just of the words.
Each writer has
their style and
Mr. King just
allow us to view
some advice that
has worked for
him.
Thank you Mr.
King for allow
your advice to be
posted.

http://www.openculture.com/2014/03/stephen-kings-top-20-rules-for-writers.html 93 / 104
Reply
Daniel Kyle says:
February 8, 2017
at 8:52 am
I am a huge
Stephen King fan
even with his
overuse of the N
word. I love the
advice he gave
and I am
following it (was
doing it before
even reading
this). Look for my
book on the
shelves soon (and
in theaters)!!!!
Him and Dean
Koontz are
wonderful
writers.
Reply
ade olusesi says:
August 18, 2017 at
10:31 pm
Great advice for
all aspiring (and
established)
writers!
Reply

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