Writers Who Hate Writing: Ernest Hemingway

7 Quotes On Hemingway's Love-Hate Relationship with Writing

Nov 15, 2024

Ernest Hemingway is often called one of the greatest writers of all time, but that doesn’t mean he always loved writing. In fact, he often struggled with it, admitting that it was more challenging than anything else he’d ever done. Despite the difficulties, he kept writing because, for him, it was both a battle and a source of satisfaction.

In this article, we’ll explore Hemingway’s views on writing as a constant challenge, the pressure to keep improving, and his belief that writing is never truly perfect.

Writing as a Perpetual Challenge

“Writing is something that you can never do as well as it can be done. It is a perpetual challenge, and it is more difficult than anything else I have ever done—so I do it. And it makes me happy when I do it well.”

― Ernest Hemingway, On Writing

The Struggle for Improvement

“I love to write. But it has never gotten any easier to do, and you can't expect it to if you keep trying for something better than you can do.”

― Ernest Hemingway, On Writing

The Loneliness of Writing

“Writing, at its best, is a lonely life. Organizations for writers palliate the writer’s loneliness, but I doubt if they improve his writing. For he does his work alone, and if he is good enough, he must face eternity, or the lack of it, each day.”

― Larry W. Phillips, Ernest Hemingway on Writing

The Desire to Escape Writing

“...I like it at war. Every day and every night there is a strong possibility that you will get killed and not have to write. I have to write to be happy whether I get paid for it or not. But it is a hell of a disease to be born with.”

― Selected Letters, pp. 503–504

Battling Writer's Block

Once, when stuck with writer’s block, Hemingway wrote to a friend:

“Need to read some bloody thing I’ve written in order to convince myself that I ever have written anything in order to eventually write something else. Maybe you know the feeling.”

― Selected Letters, p. 254

Writing as a Lifelong Struggle

“...writing is something that you can never do as well as it can be done. It is a perpetual challenge, and it is more difficult than anything else I have ever done—so I do it. And it makes me happy when I do it well.”

― Selected Letters, p. 419

The Satisfaction of Writing

“Writing is a hard business, Max, but nothing makes you feel better.”

― Selected Letters, p. 474

Thanks for reading! If you want access to the full archive, consider upgrading to a paid subscription. You can also help me grow by sending this to a friend. Thanks, and see you next time!