--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hemingway, whenever he was stuck in his…" description: "\"“Hemingway, whenever he was stuck in his writing, would tell himself to write one true thing. A true sentence. Then, he would write another. And anothe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/kamal-ravikant-8779_writing_hemingway-whenever-he-was-stuck-in-his-w_2247395.jpg" --- # Hemingway, whenever he was stuck in his writing, would… ![“Hemingway, whenever he was stuck in his writing, would tell himself to write one true thing. A true sentence. Then, he would write another. And another. It” quote by Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/kamal-ravikant-8779_writing_hemingway-whenever-he-was-stuck-in-his-w_2247395.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/kamal-ravikant-8779_writing_hemingway-whenever-he-was-stuck-in-his-w_2247395.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/kamal-ravikant-8779_writing_hemingway-whenever-he-was-stuck-in-his-w_2247395.jpg) > ““Hemingway, whenever he was stuck in his writing, would tell himself to write one true thing. A true sentence. Then, he would write another. And another. It”” [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing truthfully builds momentum; each authentic sentence leads to the next **In simple terms:** Truthful writing creates momentum Key Takeaway Write honestly, keep adding sentences Themes writing authenticity creativity productivity Mood reflective encouraging Type creative inspirational When to use this quote - authoring - creative work - overcoming writer's block Key Concepts psychology habit formation focus Questions to Reflect On - How does authenticity affect your creative flow? - Can you balance truth with imagination? A Different Perspective Focusing only on truth may limit imaginative storytelling ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hemingway/) [Hemingway Stuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hemingway-stuck-5118842/) [Tell Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-write-368174/) [Write True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-true-270777/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-tell-743567/) ## Related quotes > [Bad books on writing tell you to "WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW", a solemn and totally false adage that is the reason there exist so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-haldeman/bad-books-on-writing-tell-you-to-write-what-you-know-a-solemn-and/) [Joe Haldeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-haldeman/) > [“You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-have-always-written-before-and-you-will-write-now-all-you-have-to/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [“People ask me how to start writing. I tell them that 'Creating Creates Creativity'. Put your notes and outline aside. Start with one anecdote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-sederquist/people-ask-me-how-to-start-writing-i-tell-them-that-creating-creates/) [Dick Sederquist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-sederquist/) > [When I write I try as far as possible to forget I'm writing it at all. I tell it down onto the page, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morpurgo/when-i-write-i-try-as-far-as-possible-to-forget-i-m-writing-it-at-all/) [Michael Morpurgo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morpurgo/) > [“I write for the love of writing, and to tell a story, nothing more, nothing less.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-parham/i-write-for-the-love-of-writing-and-to-tell-a-story-nothing-more/) [Ron Parham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-parham/) > [I hate writing. I so intensely hate writing - I cannot tell you how much. The moment I am at the end of one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/i-hate-writing-i-so-intensely-hate-writing-i-cannot-tell-you-how-much/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Kids think you just sit down and start writing. I always tell them you never do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-l-stine/kids-think-you-just-sit-down-and-start-writing-i-always-tell-them-you/) [R. L. Stine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-l-stine/) > [When I teach writing, I always tell my students you should assume that the audience you're writing for is smarter than you. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/when-i-teach-writing-i-always-tell-my-students-you-should-assume-that/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [I like the performing. And interviews, even. And the stuff that's not sitting in a room by yourself with empty paper. But I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-newman/i-like-the-performing-and-interviews-even-and-the-stuff-that-s-not/) [Randy Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-newman/) > [When I used to teach creative writing, I would tell the students to make their characters want something right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/when-i-used-to-teach-creative-writing-i-would-tell-the-students-to/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [When I used to teach creative writing, I would tell the students to make their characters want something right away - even if it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/when-i-used-to-teach-creative-writing-i-would-tell-the-students-to-2/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Dear John, tell me everything. Write it all down, that way, we’ll be with each other all the time, even if we’re not with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/dear-john-tell-me-everything-write-it-all-down-that-way-we-ll-be-with/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“The stories Hemingway told, the life he lived, all of it ended with a squeeze of a finger on a trigger. What else could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/the-stories-hemingway-told-the-life-he-lived-all-of-it-ended-with-a/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [Don't try to write what other people are writing - write what is true to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/don-t-try-to-write-what-other-people-are-writing-write-what-is-true/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) ## More by Kamal Ravikant > [“Truth makes you rise to new heights, no matter where you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/truth-makes-you-rise-to-new-heights-no-matter-where-you-are/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [“We are far, far stronger than our pain”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/we-are-far-far-stronger-than-our-pain/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [“Life is a series of choices and all we can do is make them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/life-is-a-series-of-choices-and-all-we-can-do-is-make-them/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [“One thing I've learned: we don't stumble accidentally into an amazing life. It takes decision, a commitment to consistently work on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/one-thing-i-ve-learned-we-don-t-stumble-accidentally-into-an-amazing/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [“If ever in pain, I think the best thing we can do is to create something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/if-ever-in-pain-i-think-the-best-thing-we-can-do-is-to-create/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [“Sometimes, the only way to evolve is to open ourselves fully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/sometimes-the-only-way-to-evolve-is-to-open-ourselves-fully/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [“If a painful memory arises, don't fight it or try to push it away - you're in quicksand.  Struggle reinforces pain.  Instead, go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/if-a-painful-memory-arises-don-t-fight-it-or-try-to-push-it-away-you/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [“The simple act of putting your truth on paper, only you and your thoughts, is one of the most powerful exercises you can do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/the-simple-act-of-putting-your-truth-on-paper-only-you-and-your/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [“Reach out, share your truth, tell someone, "This is who I am. This is what I stand for. Hold me to it." Often, we'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/reach-out-share-your-truth-tell-someone-this-is-who-i-am-this-is-what/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [“Peace is letting it be. Letting life flow, letting emotions flow through you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/peace-is-letting-it-be-letting-life-flow-letting-emotions-flow/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [“Once you cross the threshold, you will never be the same. That is a fact.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/once-you-cross-the-threshold-you-will-never-be-the-same-that-is-a-fact/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [“The mind wanders, that's its nature.  Each time it does, I just notice where I am in the breath.  If inhaling, I shift to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/the-mind-wanders-that-s-its-nature-each-time-it-does-i-just-notice/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [“Surrender means cleaning the window so light can enter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/surrender-means-cleaning-the-window-so-light-can-enter/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [“Whatever human endeavor we choose, as long as we live our truth, it is success.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/whatever-human-endeavor-we-choose-as-long-as-we-live-our-truth-it-is/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) > [“The insights we receive when going silent, it's our gift to ourselves. Returning and living them, sharing them, that is our gift to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/the-insights-we-receive-when-going-silent-it-s-our-gift-to-ourselves/) [Kamal Ravikant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) [Explore all 78 Kamal Ravikant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/) ## More Hemingway quotes > [“Do you read them? Faulkner, Hemingway, Fitzgerald?" "Only if I have to. I try to avoid old dead white men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/do-you-read-them-faulkner-hemingway-fitzgerald-only-if-i-have-to-i/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [Hemingway said the only way to write about a place is to leave it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/hemingway-said-the-only-way-to-write-about-a-place-is-to-leave-it/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [The key for me with historical characters is they're interesting because they're human beings. A little bit of Hemingway goes a long way here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hirst/the-key-for-me-with-historical-characters-is-they-re-interesting/) [Michael Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hirst/) > [“But writers and their woes: they couldn't be parted. Not for anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wood/but-writers-and-their-woes-they-couldn-t-be-parted-not-for-anything/) [Naomi Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wood/) > [Hemingway sucks. If I set out to write that way, it would have been been hollow and lifeless because it wasn't me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/hemingway-sucks-if-i-set-out-to-write-that-way-it-would-have-been/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“All right, said Nick. Let's get drunk. All right, Bill said. Let's get really drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/all-right-said-nick-let-s-get-drunk-all-right-bill-said-let-s-get/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Ernest Hemingway was always uneasy in New York and liked being there less than in any other city he frequented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-hotchner/ernest-hemingway-was-always-uneasy-in-new-york-and-liked-being-there/) [A. E. Hotchner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-hotchner/) > [Helpful to me over the years was some of Ernest Hemingway's writing, for example A Farewell to Arms. You have characters who speak Italian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miroslav-penkov/helpful-to-me-over-the-years-was-some-of-ernest-hemingway-s-writing/) [Miroslav Penkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miroslav-penkov/) > [“The Purdey was not a Purdey but a straight-stocked long-barreled Scott live-pigeon full choke in both barrels thai I had bought from a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-purdey-was-not-a-purdey-but-a-straight-stocked-long-barreled/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I was writing novels in high school and apprenticed myself in a way both to Faulkner and to Hemingway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-was-writing-novels-in-high-school-and-apprenticed-myself-in-a-way/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Did I know him? Did I love him? You ask me that? I knew him like you know nobody in the world, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/did-i-know-him-did-i-love-him-you-ask-me-that-i-knew-him-like-you/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The priest was good but dull. The officers were not good but dull. The King was good but dull. The wine was bad but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-priest-was-good-but-dull-the-officers-were-not-good-but-dull-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“We knew what we had and what it meant, and though so much had happened since for both of us, there was nothing like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/we-knew-what-we-had-and-what-it-meant-and-though-so-much-had-happened/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [I don't think I have even achieved fame. Of course, Hemingway says that fame is death's little sister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinky-friedman/i-don-t-think-i-have-even-achieved-fame-of-course-hemingway-says-that/) [Kinky Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinky-friedman/) > [Wanted to write fiction since I was 11, since I first read 'In Our Time' by Hemingway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/wanted-to-write-fiction-since-i-was-11-since-i-first-read-in-our-time/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) [Browse all 244 Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hemingway/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Hemingway, whenever he was stuck in his writing, would tell himself to write one true thing. A true sentence. Then, he would write another. And another. It”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kamal Ravikant" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/hemingway-whenever-he-was-stuck-in-his-writing-would-tell-himself-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hemingway" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/hemingway-whenever-he-was-stuck-in-his-writing-would-tell-himself-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/kamal-ravikant-8779_writing_hemingway-whenever-he-was-stuck-in-his-w_2247395.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/kamal-ravikant-8779_writing_hemingway-whenever-he-was-stuck-in-his-w_2247395.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/kamal-ravikant-8779_writing_hemingway-whenever-he-was-stuck-in-his-w_2247395.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hemingway, whenever he was stuck in his writing, would tell himself to write one true thing. A true…” — Kamal Ravikant", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kamal Ravikant", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-ravikant/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Hemingway, whenever he was stuck in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/hemingway-whenever-he-was-stuck-in-his-writing-would-tell-himself-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-ravikant/hemingway-whenever-he-was-stuck-in-his-writing-would-tell-himself-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```