Ernest Hemingway’s Tips on Writing — Turner Stories
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Ernest Hemingway’s Tips on Writing — Turner Stories
- Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
- Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
- Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
- Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.
- Start as close to the end as
Maria Popova • Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Tenets of Storytelling
In his 1947 essay “On Fairy Stories,” J.R.R. Tolkien wrote that a creator should “hope that he is drawing on reality,” to shape the qualities of his world.
Dirt • Dirt: Worldbuilding, Pt. 2
In 1985, Kurt Vonnegut released a little-known essay with his 8 tips on ‘How to Write With Style.’
I come back to it again and again. Gold:
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1. Find a subject you care about
My writing reads like unmitigated slop when I don’t care... See more
As for how to write well, here's the short version: Write a bad version 1 as fast as you can; rewrite it over and over; cut out everything unnecessary; write in a conversational tone; develop a nose for bad writing, so you can see and fix it in yours; imitate writers you like; if you can't get started, tell someone what you plan to write about,... See more