Rapid Writing
Last week, I was trying to find a semicolon grammar rule because Grammarly and ProWritingAid were disagreeing (again). It took some time on the internet, but I found a good guide, and one of the examples was a paragraph from The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.
I happened to have downloaded a free copy a few months ago and began rereading it that evening. Wow, Hemingway certainly mastered the English language, and I wish I had 5% of his knowledge.
A few days later, as I edited, I thought about his words and became aware of the stark contrast between his style and my own. The main difference is that I blast through the plot at top speed, resulting in sparse descriptions and little emotional depth.
I took some time to think about this and began to understand that my writing philosophy is, “Let the readers fill in the blanks.” Dang! I want to be an author who provides my readers with outstanding material.
Is this really a problem? After all, there is a flip side. I recently read Ben Mezrich’s book Sex on the Moon. In it, he described how a man wanted to steal a NASA moon rock. From paragraph one, Ben launched into grand character descriptions with loads of background. This included hairstyles, options, politics, home life… The details were so thick that I needed to skip paragraphs to maintain interest.
Why not enjoy Ben’s rich scenes? Because his book was boring! Let’s get to the action! Steal the moon rock! Let’s go! While we’re young! Now, wait a minute. What about other readers? I bet they would appreciate Ben’s grand descriptions. I guess, but reading that book was painful.
Well, there must be a happy medium. But how should I find it? Take writing classes? Read more bestselling books? How about an editing pass that fluffs up the paragraphs?
Reading Hemingway made me take a step back and think about how I write. So, I took a walk and determined I indeed needed to add an editing pass devoted to fluffing up the paragraphs. Yet, I do not want to go too far. So, I am aiming for a 10% addition.
Should I end this article with a big grand description? No, I am still resisting the change.
You’re the best -Bill
March 02, 2022 Updated June 28, 2026
I happened to have downloaded a free copy a few months ago and began rereading it that evening. Wow, Hemingway certainly mastered the English language, and I wish I had 5% of his knowledge.
A few days later, as I edited, I thought about his words and became aware of the stark contrast between his style and my own. The main difference is that I blast through the plot at top speed, resulting in sparse descriptions and little emotional depth.
I took some time to think about this and began to understand that my writing philosophy is, “Let the readers fill in the blanks.” Dang! I want to be an author who provides my readers with outstanding material.
Is this really a problem? After all, there is a flip side. I recently read Ben Mezrich’s book Sex on the Moon. In it, he described how a man wanted to steal a NASA moon rock. From paragraph one, Ben launched into grand character descriptions with loads of background. This included hairstyles, options, politics, home life… The details were so thick that I needed to skip paragraphs to maintain interest.
Why not enjoy Ben’s rich scenes? Because his book was boring! Let’s get to the action! Steal the moon rock! Let’s go! While we’re young! Now, wait a minute. What about other readers? I bet they would appreciate Ben’s grand descriptions. I guess, but reading that book was painful.
Well, there must be a happy medium. But how should I find it? Take writing classes? Read more bestselling books? How about an editing pass that fluffs up the paragraphs?
Reading Hemingway made me take a step back and think about how I write. So, I took a walk and determined I indeed needed to add an editing pass devoted to fluffing up the paragraphs. Yet, I do not want to go too far. So, I am aiming for a 10% addition.
Should I end this article with a big grand description? No, I am still resisting the change.
You’re the best -Bill
March 02, 2022 Updated June 28, 2026
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