“All you have to do is write one true sentence.” Ernest H...

“All you have to do is write one true sentence.” Ernest Hemingway

I love the simplicity of this. Often, when writers are starting out, they write far too much – in terms of plot, description, backstory etc – because they’re attempting to compensate for feelings of inadequacy. I know I did. I thought: who am I to be offering my poor scribblings to the great libraries of literature? It took me many years to be okay with not being able to write like Austen or Dickens but just being able to write like me. It took me longer still to embrace and enjoy it. It’s hardly surprising though, since it took me just as long to stop feeling inadequate in comparison to others and feel good being me. In this way, Hemingway’s advice is perfect. We can all write what’s true to us, just as we can all be true to ourselves. And, ultimately, this is the greatest gift we can give to the world and the greatest joy that we will know.

Pic: O has a current, adorable, obsession with wearing his mama’s shoes…