Monday 3 February 2014

Part Two: "Following the Big Footprints" - 3 Creative Giants and their Creative Process



2) Ernest Hemingway

Pulitizer and Nobel Prize winning writer Ernest Hemingway had a very specific process in his day-to-day writing. For him it was about consistency, control and a firm realisation of when he was doing what he needed to.

A) Know your Environment
Hemingway knew that it go to hot in the afternoons, and his mind would become sluggish so he would set himself a limit to be finished before 12:00 in order to make the most of his mind.

B) Set a realistic limit
His process is most famous for being consistent yet light in quantity. He would write around 500 words a day, knowing that it was better to leave a sentence unfinished and return to it with a fresh mind the next day. He did, however, push himself to commit to those 500 words every day. This is contrary to many people's process, who wait for that moment of inspiration and milk it.

C) Know when to stop
It was his belief that it was better to know when to stop, whether it be mid sentence or mid paragraph or midday, than plough on for hours on end and produce great swathes of mediocrity. He was quoted saying "I write one page of mastery to 91 pages of shit... I try to put the shit in the waste basket".

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