Who better?

Many business people faced with the task of writing for marketing purposes are quick to say:

“Hey, I’m no Hemingway!”

But really, who better than Hemingway to emulate?

Rather than embracing the flowery prose of the literati, he chose to eschew obfuscation at every turn and write simply and clearly.

So, let’s see what Ernest can teach us about effective writing.

1. Use short sentences

Hemingway was famous for a terse minimalist style of writing that dispensed with adjectives and got straight to the point. In short, Hemingway wrote with simple genius.

Perhaps his finest demonstration of short sentence prowess was when he was challenged to tell an entire story in only 6 words:

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

2. Use short first paragraphs

See opening.

3. Use vigorous English

Here’s David Garfinkel’s take on this one:

“It’s muscular, forceful. Vigorous English comes from passion, focus and intention. It’s the difference between putting in a good effort and TRYING to move a boulder … and actually sweating, grunting, straining your muscles to the point of exhaustion … and MOVING the freaking thing!”

4. Be positive, not negative

Since Hemingway wasn’t the cheeriest guy in the world, what does he mean by be positive?

Basically, you should say what something is rather than what it isn’t.

The latter is what Michel Fortin calls using up words:

Stating what something isn’t can be counterproductive since it is still directing the mind, albeit in the opposite way. If I told you that dental work is painless, for example, you’ll still focus on the word “pain” in “painless.” Instead of saying “inexpensive,” say “economical.” Instead of saying “this procedure is painless,” say “there’s little discomfort” or “it’s relatively comfortable.” And instead of saying “this software is error-free” or “foolproof,” say “this software is consistent” or “stable.”

5. Never have only 4 rules

Actually, Hemingway did only have 4 rules for writing, and they were those he was given as a cub reporter at The Kansas City Star in 1917.

So, in order to have 5 for this post, I had to dig a little deeper to get the most important of Hemingway’s writing tips: