'How long is a novel anyway?'

 

“How long is a novel anyway?  Only thing I have here outside of French andSpanish is 1563 pages (of something called) War and Peace by a man callshimself Tolstoi.  Very discouraging.  I’ve only done 200 pages of 200-220 wordsapiece … (but) Think it’s going to be a Wham. Hope so”  - Ernest Hemingway
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Hisletters are written to a wide range of friends, family and publishingassociates during the months he was working on the manuscript of the novel he wascalling Fiesta, a name that it wouldbe marketed under in most of its European editions. 
 [image error]I was surprised to find out that he really wasn’t sure just how long his manuscript should be before it was considered “A Novel.”    Hemingway, born in July of 1899, was noted for his short stories, and hadjust cobbled together a dozen of them into the book In Our Times, but he really hadn’t donea novel in the traditional sense until this point.
When asked what inspired him to be a betterwriter, he noted, “When people talk, listen completely.  Most people never listen.”

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 [image error][image error] Ernest Hemingway with Lady DuffTwysden, wife Hadley (center), and friends, during the July 1925 trip to Spainthat inspired The Sun Also Rises.