Quotes from Ernest Hemingway

Writing, at its best, is a lonely life. Organizations for writers palliate the writer's loneliness but I doubt if they improve his writing. He grows in public stature as he sheds his loneliness and often his work deteriorates. For he does his work alone and if he is a good enough writer he must face eternity, or the lack of it, each day.

For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.

It was like certain dinners I remember from the war. There was much wine, an ignored tension, and a feeling of things coming that you could not prevent happening. Under the wine I lost the disgusted feeling and was happy. It seemed they were all such nice people.

Do not think about sin, he thought. There are enough problems now without sin. Also I have no understanding of it.

You'll ache. And you're going to love it. It will crush you. And you're still going to love all of it.

For a poet he threw a very accurate milk bottle.

Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.

My father was a deeply sentimental man. And like all sentimental men, he was also very cruel.

Your blood coagulates beautifully.

But in the meantime all the life you have or ever will have is today, tonight, tomorrow, today, tonight, tomorrow, over and over again (I hope), ...

Since I had started to break down all my writing and get rid of all facility and try to make instead of describe, writing had been wonderful to do.

That is what we are supposed to do when we are at our best - make it all up - but make it up so truly that later it will happen that way.