Would Hemingway Have Been a Good Copywriter?
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I love the way Ernest Hemingway writes.
Simple and (mostly) easy-to-read.
A few weeks ago I was sitting in a cabin in Chattanooga, Tennessee, after finishing the first chapter of A Moveable Feast — his final book — wondering:
"What makes Hemingway's writing so good?"
I came up with two things:
His simple style, and his ability to use sensory details.
And I'd argue that these are two important characteristics of not just creative writers, but copywriters as well.
Here's why…
Breaking Down Hemingway's Style
I'm sure people have written full dissertations on Ernest Hemingway's writing style…
That's not what this is.
Instead, this is a reminder of what you (probably) already know.
Hemingway Wrote Simply
People say that Hemingway wrote simply… but what does that actually mean?
One way to think of Hemingway's style is like a locomotive.
It has one job — to go forward. And it does that job until it is done.
It doesn't veer wildly to the right or left. It's not taking confusing routes to get where it needs to go.
It's just moving forward — without drawing unnecessary attention to itself and without making a big deal out of the process.
That's what Hemingway's style is like.
It's a vehicle to tell the story.
And I think that's what I love about his writing.
As a comparison…
A while back, I finished Slouching Toward Bethlehem by Joan Didion. And her writing style is the opposite of Hemingway's.
Take this passage for example:
"It makes one wonder, late at night when the ice is gone; introduces some air into the womb, suggests that the Sutter Club is perhaps not, after all, the Pacific Union or the Bohemian; that Sacramento is not the city. In just such self-doubts do small towns lose their character."
It's good. But you know the author is there.
Hemingway, on the other hand, is more content to fade into the background and let the story tell itself.
The end result is that his writing is, for the most part, very clear.
When he tells you about a café he's working in, you know exactly what's going on:
"It was a pleasant café, warm and clean and friendly, and I hung up my old waterproof on the coat rack to dry and put my worn and weathered felt hat on the rack above the bench and ordered a café au lait. The waiter brought it and I took out a notebook from the pocket of the coat and a pencil and started to write."
And that leads into my second point.
Hemingway Brings YOU Into The Story
Check out this description from the same story above:
"As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans."
First let's point out the elephant in the room:
That's a long sentence.
Not exactly what Hemingway is known for. (I think, at times, his style is not as completely simple as we'd like to believe.)
But nonetheless, it does an excellent job at describing his meal.
And if you like oysters… or white wine… you're probably craving some after reading that.
You'll notice that theme throughout Hemingway's writing.
Instead of saying:
"F. Scott Fitzgerald left the table to call his wife, so I ate his snails."
He says:
"He was gone about an hour and I ate his snails finally, dipping up the butter, garlic and parsley sauce with broken bits of bread, and drank the carafe of Fleurie."
I've never eaten snails. But after that description, I'm interested.
Here's what I'm getting at:
Yes. Hemingway Would Have Been a Good Copywriter
Two of the most important characteristics of any copywriter are their ability to write in a way that is easy to understand…
And their ability to emotionally pull the reader into their writing — one fantastic way to do that is through using sensory details.
Within this blog post alone, Hemingway has sold me on white wine and oysters, as well as red wine and snails.
Point being:
As a copywriter, your job is to help someone envision what it's like to use your product…
And to do that in a simple way…
And few people do that better than Hemingway.
So yeah. I think he would have made a great copywriter…
Except For One Little Issue…
F. Scott Fitzgerald once told Hemingway how he (Fitzgerald) alters his stories in order to make them more likely to sell.
Hemingway could hardly believe this.
He called it "whoreing."
So unless you're selling damn good food, coffee, or wine…
It's unlikely Hemingway would have been interested in writing copy for you.
But I know a guy who might be.
If you want to get in touch with him, email robert@robertlucas.co.