Write Like Hemingway

[waldenwriter]

I somewhat randomly decided to go to the bookstore today (since I had the day off), and while checking out the writing books at my local Barnes and Noble, I found a book with an odd title: Write Like Hemingway: Writing Lessons You Can Learn from the Master.

I didn't look at the book closely, but it seems odd that anyone would want to write like Hemingway. I don't even really like the way he writes (although, granted, the only work of his I've read is The Old Man and the Sea -- and I think an excerpt of A Farewell to Arms in a lit book).

Others might disagree with me on this. But anyway, what do you guys think of this?

[Andy]

Hemingway isn't for everybody, although I do like his style. He's known for writing with minimal exposition, and if there is something to be explained it's through dialogue or built into the scene. I think this is a good skill we can learn in the study of his writing. His dialogue is authentic, his stories are character-based. His being a man of the world and having seen the experiences of war and adventures of sport (racing, bullfighting, sport fishing, etc.) brings out the flavor of many of his characters and settings.

[beckyminor]

I think there's a degree of what the market will bear to consider, if publication is your aim. I'm told that there just isn't a big readership for stuff that got into print 50+ years ago. But that doesn't mean there aren't things we can take away from all the giants of literature and adapt their genius to fit the taste of a modern audience.

That being said, I also think at least SOME writers need to write as an art, and not as a job, because it would be a sad day when all books pandered to the lowest common denominator, nothing got written above a 6th grade reading level, and no sentence ever extended over 20 words. Our society will only rise to what artists demand of it, and over the past decades, that bar has gotten lower and lower, in my opinion. Yes, styles change, but I think depth of content is something we all still need to strive to include.

Okay, stepping away from the hoity-toity artistic soapbox now.

[tonylavoie]

I'm with you on the art thing, Becky. That's part of what prompted me to write the alliterative story-poem ("Evil Awakened, over at Digital Dragon Magazine: www.digitaldragonmagazine.net/lavoie-evilawakened.php for those of you who want to check it out). Admittedly, I reached back a bit farther than 50 or so years for my inspiration on that one, but the principle is the same.

I read Ray Bradbury and marvel at the art in his words. His descriptions of simple things carry us into the sky. Today's writing is all about speed and compression. People squeeze themselves into 140-word micro-stories, and get into that habit so deeply that when it comes time to write something bigger they get impatient and frustrated and don't really bother.

There are places out there trying to re-capture some of this art. We definitely can do our part by not pandering to the lowest common denominator. Sure, we'll alienate some people, but we'll make the world just a little bit richer.

[metalikhan]

I don't particularly like Hemingway's style but I definitely agree about stories as art. Some years ago, I enjoyed a novel by Greer Ilene Gilman called Moonwise that was rich in Jacobean type language and roughly Joyce-esque structure. The lyrical beauty was phenomenal. It was not a quick read but it was immensely enjoyable.

When I see the advice to go directly to the action of the story, I think of all those wonderful short stories and novels that would be wrecked by such an approach. If descriptions of setting, dialogues between characters, small actions or decisions that snowball into the ultimate conflict without which the story either cannot proceed or makes no sense are removed, we lose much of what brings the characters to the heart of their conflict and the climax of the story. We have to discern whether we're trying to adapt a story according to someone else's personal preferences in fiction regardless of validity. We may choose a different spot to start the story or cut every line that isn't rip-roaring action; but we risk losing development that brings our imaginary people to life.

We also lose the arc of their story, the journey of the characters. The search for the Grail is a quick tale of attempted theft. Babette's Feast is the dinner a French woman prepares for a Norwegian village. The quest for the Dark Tower is a travelogue telling us that the way to it is challenging and the tower takes us back to the beginning of our journey. In the very short story The Open Window, a visitor runs away after hearing a young girl's story. The Book of the Dun Cow is a pre-Adamic cockfight between a good rooster and a monster one (don't you get a lot out of that one-line novel?).

I think the culture of instant gratification has done terrible damage to the artistry of writing. IMO, micro-stories don't even qualify as the haiku of fiction. Haiku is an intense ah-ha moment like a photograph in words; there is an artistry involved in conveying much in so few syllables. Micro-stories seem to be more of a so-what moment leaving me feeling cheated for the rest of the story — I can't sink into whatever milieu the author presents. There simply isn't enough there to make me care about the character.

Too often, sacrificing the artistry in favor of pandering to the fashion of the day is much like favoring a canvas splashed with buckets of paint rather than a Renoir. The audience for such stories may be fewer; and it takes longer to find publishers willing to give space to artistry. Too many people are satisfied with mediocrity — artistic writers remind them that there are higher standards. Tony, your story-poem Evil Awakened is a Rembrandt. Your echo of the ancient bardic tales (Beowulf is one of my all-time favorites, too) was masterful. I would wager the most important audience, God, is delighted with it.

[metalikhan]

By the way, I don't regard the micro-stories in the same class as vignettes and creative short-shorts. The difference I see is that micro-stories have too much happening compressed into too few words to support the story.

Just my 2 cents.

[beckyminor]

I don't get micro-stories at all. I guess I'm just getting old and can't keep up with the trend.