--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When asked about rewriting, Ernest…" description: "\"“When asked about rewriting, Ernest Hemingway said that he rewrote the ending to A Farewell to Arms thirty-nine times before he was satisfied. Vladimir..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/susan-m-tiberghien-280648_farewell-to-arms_when-asked-about-rewriting-ernest-heming_2527309.jpg" --- # When asked about rewriting, Ernest Hemingway said that he… ![“When asked about rewriting, Ernest Hemingway said that he rewrote the ending to A Farewell to Arms thirty-nine times before he was satisfied. Vladimir Nabokov wrote that spontaneous eloquence seemed like a miracle and that he rewrote every word he ever published, and often several times. And Mark…” quote by Susan M. Tiberghien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/susan-m-tiberghien-280648_farewell-to-arms_when-asked-about-rewriting-ernest-heming_2527309.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/susan-m-tiberghien-280648_farewell-to-arms_when-asked-about-rewriting-ernest-heming_2527309.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/susan-m-tiberghien-280648_farewell-to-arms_when-asked-about-rewriting-ernest-heming_2527309.jpg) > ““When asked about rewriting, Ernest Hemingway said that he rewrote the ending to A Farewell to Arms thirty-nine times before he was satisfied. Vladimir Nabokov wrote that spontaneous eloquence seemed like a miracle and that he rewrote every word he ever published, and often several times. And Mark Strand, former poet laureate, says that each of his poems sometimes goes through forty to fifty drafts before it is finished.”” Susan M. Tiberghien ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Renowned writers like Hemingway, Nabokov, and Strand repeatedly rewrote their works, often dozens of drafts, before achieving satisfaction. **In simple terms:** Great authors revise extensively, sometimes over many drafts. Key Takeaway Embrace revision as essential to craft. Themes writing creativity revision perseverance literature Mood reflective inspirational pragmatic Type literary creative process When to use this quote - writing workshops - author mentorship - self‑editing guides Key Concepts drafting process authorial discipline creative workflow editing techniques Questions to Reflect On - How many drafts are enough? - What signals indicate a work is complete? A Different Perspective Endless revisions can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Farewell to arms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farewell-to-arms/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I rewrote the ending of 'Farewell to Arms' 39 times before I was satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-rewrote-the-ending-of-farewell-to-arms-39-times-before-i-was/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I rewrote the ending to 'Farewell to Arms,' the last page of it, thirty-nine times before I was satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-rewrote-the-ending-to-farewell-to-arms-the-last-page-of-it-thirty/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Don't get discouraged because there's a lot of mechanical work to writing. I rewrote the first part of Farewell to Arms at least fifty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/don-t-get-discouraged-because-there-s-a-lot-of-mechanical-work-to/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“She is so special I rewrote my entire existence for her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-finn/she-is-so-special-i-rewrote-my-entire-existence-for-her/) [Elizabeth Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-finn/) > [“It was his habit, when he rewrote anything, to shed himself of all earlier versions. He kept a clean house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-was-his-habit-when-he-rewrote-anything-to-shed-himself-of-all/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I quarreled with every word, every phrase and expression, every image and letter as if they were the last I was ever going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/i-quarreled-with-every-word-every-phrase-and-expression-every-image/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > ['One With You' was the hardest book I have ever written. I rewrote it three times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-day/one-with-you-was-the-hardest-book-i-have-ever-written-i-rewrote-it/) [Sylvia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-day/) > [When I was 17, I rewrote the songs for a musicalized version of 'Love's Labour's Lost.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-minchin/when-i-was-17-i-rewrote-the-songs-for-a-musicalized-version-of-love-s/) [Tim Minchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-minchin/) > [To be honest, I rewrote 'Wicked Nights' a number of times. I just wasn't happy with the end result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/to-be-honest-i-rewrote-wicked-nights-a-number-of-times-i-just-wasn-t/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [I want to go home. Then he mentally underlined the last sentence three times, rewrote it in huge letters in red ink, and circled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-want-to-go-home-then-he-mentally-underlined-the-last-sentence-three/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I rewrote it and I took all your notes. Read it again, that kind of persistence paid off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steinberg/i-rewrote-it-and-i-took-all-your-notes-read-it-again-that-kind-of/) [David Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steinberg/) > [“You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style." —Vladimir Nabokov”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-langtry/you-can-always-count-on-a-murderer-for-a-fancy-prose-style-vladimir/) [Leslie Langtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-langtry/) > [Vladimir Nabokov said the two great evils of the 20th century were Marx and Freud. He was absolutely correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/vladimir-nabokov-said-the-two-great-evils-of-the-20th-century-were/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [After so many attempts to mount a musical version of 'Lolita,' the project was well and truly dead by the summer of 1971. Chief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weinman/after-so-many-attempts-to-mount-a-musical-version-of-lolita-the/) [Sarah Weinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weinman/) > [“Everything is PR” has become the favorite phrase of the new Russia; my Moscow peers are filled with a sense that they are both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pomerantsev/everything-is-pr-has-become-the-favorite-phrase-of-the-new-russia-my/) [Peter Pomerantsev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pomerantsev/) ## More Farewell to arms quotes > [The coward dies a thousand deaths — the brave man only 500.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-willson/the-coward-dies-a-thousand-deaths-the-brave-man-only-500/) [Meredith Willson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-willson/) > [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/) > [I have a graduate degree from Penn State. I studied at Penn State under a noted Hemingway scholar, Philip Young. I had an interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morrell/i-have-a-graduate-degree-from-penn-state-i-studied-at-penn-state/) [David Morrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morrell/) > [All stories, if continued far enough, end in death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/all-stories-if-continued-far-enough-end-in-death/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Johnny Got His Gun, A Farewell to Arms, A Prayer for Owen Meany, some years Wuthering Heights, Silas Marner, Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/tess-of-the-d-urbervilles-johnny-got-his-gun-a-farewell-to-arms-a/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Hemingway was a big influence - 'A Farewell to Arms,' though I disapproved of the later Hemingway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-dellinger/hemingway-was-a-big-influence-a-farewell-to-arms-though-i-disapproved/) [David Dellinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-dellinger/) > [“...What gets me about D.B., though, he hated the war so much, and yet he got me to read this book A Farewell to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/what-gets-me-about-d-b-though-he-hated-the-war-so-much-and-yet-he-got/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [There were many words that you could not stand to hear and finally only the names of places had dignity. Abstract words such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-were-many-words-that-you-could-not-stand-to-hear-and-finally/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The Poison Maiden has conceived by him, and is plumb ready to enter the divine category of mother, only one last fiend clubs her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/the-poison-maiden-has-conceived-by-him-and-is-plumb-ready-to-enter/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [I had seen nothing sacred, and the things that were glorious had no glory and the sacrifices were like the stockyards at Chicago if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-had-seen-nothing-sacred-and-the-things-that-were-glorious-had-no/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“TINA: Oh, Rick, Rick, I’m scared. What’s happened to us? I can’t seem to find us any more. I reach out and reach out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/tina-oh-rick-rick-i-m-scared-what-s-happened-to-us-i-can-t-seem-to/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [The brave dies perhaps two thousand deaths if he's intelligent. He simply doesn't mention them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-brave-dies-perhaps-two-thousand-deaths-if-he-s-intelligent-he/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Well, it looks like this is 'A Farewell to Arms.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bond/well-it-looks-like-this-is-a-farewell-to-arms/) [James Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bond/) > [I rewrote the ending to 'Farewell to Arms,' the last page of it, thirty-nine times before I was satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-rewrote-the-ending-to-farewell-to-arms-the-last-page-of-it-thirty/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [The coward dies a thousand deaths, the valiant, only once!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-coward-dies-a-thousand-deaths-the-valiant-only-once/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Browse all 24 Farewell to arms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farewell-to-arms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When asked about rewriting, Ernest Hemingway said that he rewrote the ending to A Farewell to Arms thirty-nine times before he was satisfied. Vladimir Nabokov wrote that spontaneous eloquence seemed like a miracle and that he rewrote every word he ever published, and often several times. And Mark Strand, former poet laureate, says that each of his poems sometimes goes through forty to fifty drafts before it is finished.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan M. Tiberghien" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-m-tiberghien/when-asked-about-rewriting-ernest-hemingway-said-that-he-rewrote-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Farewell to arms" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-m-tiberghien/when-asked-about-rewriting-ernest-hemingway-said-that-he-rewrote-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/susan-m-tiberghien-280648_farewell-to-arms_when-asked-about-rewriting-ernest-heming_2527309.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/susan-m-tiberghien-280648_farewell-to-arms_when-asked-about-rewriting-ernest-heming_2527309.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/susan-m-tiberghien-280648_farewell-to-arms_when-asked-about-rewriting-ernest-heming_2527309.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When asked about rewriting, Ernest Hemingway said that he rewrote the ending to A Farewell to Arms…” — Susan M. Tiberghien", "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": "Susan M. Tiberghien", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-m-tiberghien/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When asked about rewriting, Ernest Hemingway...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-m-tiberghien/when-asked-about-rewriting-ernest-hemingway-said-that-he-rewrote-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-m-tiberghien/when-asked-about-rewriting-ernest-hemingway-said-that-he-rewrote-the/#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 } } ] } ```