5 Timeless Lessons from Ernest Hemingway’s Unpublished Essay

Insights on Writing, Creativity, and Craft from a Literary Master

Ernest Hemingway is my favourite writer. You will often find me quoting him left, right, and centre. I admire him for his style of writing. He makes it look so easy. Yet, as a creator, he hides so many subtle techniques from us. For example, how does he write and edit without overthinking? How does he know when he has cut enough? His exact use of vocabulary is impeccable. Not a single word feels out of place, except for his ardent use of conjunctions. But even those are necessary; they create a rhythm, a music that makes it feel as though he is speaking to you directly, in person.

Recently, I read a short excerpt from Hemingway’s address to students on the "Art of the Short Story." Scribner was supposed to publish it, but they withheld it because of the frank language. Thankfully, it is now available to the public, offering a one-sided conversation with the great Ernest Hemingway.

Here are a few core lessons I learned from the write-up:

1. Find Pride in Your Work

If you’ve read or seen Harry Potter, you’ll know about the Death Eaters. The writing world is full of them. People who will suck the life out of your creativity and leave you hollow, simply because you didn’t value your work. The words you put on paper are worth millions.

There were times when I sold myself short, thinking my words were inferior. But the truth is, there’s no universal judge of writing. Opinions are subjective. You need to work hard on every word you put down. Rewrite, rethink, and finalize your work until you can stand behind it, proud of what you’ve created.

Remember, some people will call real gold fake. Only when it’s scratched against a rock and reveals its residue do they realize its value. Writing is the same. Trust your work and fight for it. Do not succumb to pressure. Be a craftsman. Let your writing define you, and you’ll never produce inferior work.

Hemingway once said:

It is very hard to talk about your work since it implies arrogance or pride. I have tried to get rid of arrogance and replace it with humility and I do all right at that sometimes, but without pride I would not wish to continue to live nor to write and I publish nothing of which I am not proud. You can take that any way you like.

2. Be Humble After the Work Is Out

When receiving feedback on your work, a lot of people would suggest changes. They will be right, but don’t listen to what they are saying. Listen to what they are implying. It might be that your story might lack a powerful ending, a punch. But if you never intended for a punch, do not include it. Do not remove anything because someone says so. Do not be humble while creating. Your work is not a joke. Those words are out there because of a deep storytelling intuition that you have developed through many years of existence. Trust it.

Hemingway learned this the hard way. Scott Fitzgerald once told him to cut the opening of a short story. Hemingway regretted the change after publication and swore never to let humility interfere with his process again.

At that time my humility was in such ascendance that I thought he must have heard the remark before or that Britton must have said it to someone else. It was not until I had published the story, from
which I had removed that lovely revelation of the metaphysics of boxing that Fitzgerald in the way his mind was functioning that year so that he called an historic statement an ‘old chestnut’ because he had
heard it once and only once from a friend, that I realized how dangerous that attractive virtue, humility, can be. 

So do not be too humble, gentlemen. Be humble after but not during the action. They will all con you, gentlemen. But sometimes it is not intentional. Sometimes they simply do not know. This is the
saddest state of writers and the one you will most frequently encounter.

3. Titles Are Super Important

A title should convey the core of the story, or just what the story is about, and yet should be so impalpable and intriguing that the reader picks it up. Hemingway loved coming up with titles. He said that was one of the main reasons he loved to write.
As writers, we underestimate the power of our titles. A great title brings a freshness to the reader’s mind, an energy which draws them in. Once they are done reading, they can look at the title, and be like, “Ah, now I get it.”

4. The More Important Stuff You Cut, the Better Your Writing

Writing is as much about editing as it is about creating. It is shedding weight. It is cutting major things out of your story. Remember that stories take place inside the minds of the readers. We need to leave some room for imagination.

When writing, we need to know everything — what happened before the story begins and what may happen afterward. We need to write everything down and then start removing important points out. The story always lies in the middle: a protagonist inside a problem, trying to solve it. What happens before or after will live in the reader’s imagination.

Hemingway believed that the more significant things he cut out, the better his writing became. Having a wealth of background information strengthens your story’s foundation, even if it doesn’t appear explicitly on the page. His "iceberg theory" works because it allows readers to discover their own meanings. They start thinking, interpreting, and discussing. Through these conversations, new meanings emerge. This is how mental acuity grows. After all, what’s the purpose of literature if it doesn’t challenge and enhance our thinking skills?

That’s all there is to writing. That, a perfect ear—call it selective—absolute pitch, the devotion to your work and respect for it that a priest of God has for his, and then have the guts of a burglar, no conscience except to writing, and you’re in gentlemen. It’s easy. Anybody can write if he is cut out for it and applies himself. Never give it a thought. Just have those few requisites.

5. Observe Reality and Invent

Almost all of Hemingway’s stories draw inspiration from his real life. Yet, through his inventive characters and situations, he transforms them into unique pieces of art. Hemingway masterfully tackles profound ideas and conveys deep emotions indirectly through his characters and their circumstances.

In fleeting moments, we are introduced to his characters and come to understand what it means to live through someone else’s experience. Writing, in a way, is like stepping into someone else’s shoes and viewing their life through your own perspective.

Everyone’s life is filled with unique experiences. As writers, we must reflect, remember, and capture these moments. From the people we meet, we can invent characters and craft stories that blend reality with imagination. It’s in this blend that our work resonates most deeply with readers.

Thanks for reading.