Hemingway and Dialogue

No one disputes the fact that writing dialogue is one of the great challenges an aspiring author faces. But Hemingwaywantabes, there is hope from the master himself who was a master at writing verbal exchanges between his characters with such skill than readers feel as if they are part of the conversation.

No better example of Ernest Hemingway’s gift for dialogue is evident that in For Whom The Bell Tolls. You may open this classic to just about any page, and presto, there is language to learn from regarding how to write dialogue. Here’s an example:

“Sit down, Pilar,” Maria said. “Please, please sit down.”

“All right,” said Pilar, and the three of them sat down under a pine tree and look across the mountain meadow to where the tops of the peaks seemed to jut out from the roll of the high country with snow shining bright on them now in the early afternoon sun.

“What rotten stuff is the snow and how beautiful it looks,” Pilar said. “What an illusion is the snow.” She turned to Maria. “I am sorry  Iwas rude to thee, guapa. I don’t know what has held me today. I have an evil temper.”

“I never what mind what you say when you are angry,” Maria told her. “And you are angry often.”

From this passage, you may note that what Hemingway has accomplished is almost a short story by itself. You gain from this text such rich information about the two women and what is on their minds and in their hearts connected, as intended, by the use of the snow as the trigger-point for the conversation.

Never forget that Hemingway was the master of the short story before he began to write long-form. This is why he takes such extra care when it comes to writing dialogue. Learn from him, watch how he folds his message into the language and thus into the characters. The master is talking to you.

Note: More evidence of terrific dialogue is noted in the Appendix to “How to Become a Published Author: “A to Z” the book you may print or download using the icon above.

Hemingway and Moveable Feast

How many of you have read Ernest Hemingway’s Moveable Feast? If not, why not, especially you hemingwaywantabes, you aspiring novelists who dream of becoming a published author?

Oh yes, there are other Hemingway masterpieces, Old Man and the Sea, Death in the Afternoon, For Whom the Bell Tolls, etc., but Moveable Feast is the classic of the classics.  The subtitle – “Sketches of the Author’s Life in Paris in the Twenties” – triggers interest but it is the prose that mesmerizes the mind of the reader. This is especially true when Hemingway describes his characters. One passage reads: “The dark girl was restless and she sat on display turning her profile and letting the light strike the concave planes of her face and showing me her breasts under the hold the black sweater. Her hair was cropped short and was sleek and dark as an oriental’s.”

Wow, with this visualization, you can see this girl right in front of you, standing to side of your writing table.  She comes alive and this is exactly what Hemingway intended so you are swept into the story and want to know more about this girl who is “restless.” One thing you might try is to read this passage again and then write down all of the characteristics of the girl. You will be amazed at how many you pick up each time you read.

Many successful writers tell me they read a well-written book in their genre right before they begin writing their own story. Some even put the book under their pillow hoping the gifted prose will seep through into their brain and then similar words will spill out the next morning.

Remember, every great writer who ever lived is still with us today through their writings. All we have to do is open one of their books to begin the conversation.

Hemingway and Stephen King

Ernest Hemingway never knew Stephen King, but I will bet the bearded master would have enjoyed King’s gift for storytelling. And King’s use of the language since both wrote gifted prose designed to involve the reader in every aspect of the story.

In King’s book, On Writing, he shares insight as to why reading examples of descriptive prose is so important: “Good writing . . . teaches the learning writer about style, graceful narration, plot development, the creation of believable characters, and truth-telling. A novel like Grapes of Wrath may fill a new writer with feelings of despair and good, old-fashioned jealousy—I’ll never be able to write anything that good, not if I live to be a thousand—but such feelings can also serve as a spur, goading the writer to work harder and aim higher. Being swept away by a combination of great story and great writing . . . is a part of every writer’s necessary formation. You cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you.”

Recently, I attended the American Library Association Convention with my wife Lu, a linguistics librarian at Michigan State, and heard a modern mystery writer, Stephen J. Cannell, the creator and producer of many hit television programs including “Rockford Files,” and more recently the author of fifteen successful novels, describe how he reads new books in his genre to better understand how successful writers tell their story. He is a fan of both the plot-driven story, and the character-driven story, but no matter the style, Cannell stresses the importance of involving the reader from page one on through the book chapters. Otherwise, he noted, the writer loses the reader, and soon the book is abandoned without the full impact of the writer’s theme unfolding.

Hemingwaywantabes, if you want to become a better writer, read what successful authors are writing whether the focus is fiction or non-fiction. Make notes, jot down ideas, and be certain to watch the flow of the story, how the characters are described, how they interact, and most important, how the writer keeps you involved in the story with such intensity that you hate to do anything but continue reading the book. Hook the reader, and then reel them in with exciting words that captivate. Doing so triggers your having written what is called a “pageturner,” a book that is guaranteed to attract publisher interest.