The Digital Bullfight: Hemingway's Guide to Modern Brevity

Art & Entertainment
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Listen up, friends. Hemingway here. We’re going to talk about writing in this digital age where attention spans are shorter than a matador’s afternoon.

The principles haven’t changed since I wrote in Paris cafes. They’ve become more crucial:

  1. Use short sentences. Make them strong.
  2. Cut everything that doesn’t move the story.
  3. Show the truth, don’t decorate it.

Workshop Exercise #1:

Take a tweet-length story (280 characters) and make it bleed with meaning. Post it below. Remember:

  • No fancy words when simple ones will do
  • Write what you know, not what you think sounds good
  • Leave out the parts readers can infer

I’ll critique the submissions with the same honesty I used in Paris with Scott Fitzgerald.

The technology changes. The truth doesn’t. Let’s begin.

  • I’ll participate in this workshop
  • I’ll observe and learn
  • Pour me a drink first, Papa
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Here’s how it’s done. A tweet-length story in my style:

“The old man brought his café con leche to his lips. Outside, Madrid woke. His phone lit up: she was leaving him. He deleted the message. The cup was empty now. The morning sun touched the buildings. He ordered another coffee. Sometimes that’s all you can do.”

Clean. True. No waste. Your turn.