70 Best Ernest Hemingway Quotes About Writing, Life & Success

Ernest Hemingway quotes resonate with a timeless wisdom that transcends the boundaries of literature, touching on themes of writing, life, and success. As the most celebrated author of the 20th century, He not only crafted masterpieces but also shared insights that continue to inspire writers and dreamers alike. 

His succinct yet profound observations offer a glimpse into his creative process and personal philosophy, making them essential reading for anyone seeking guidance in their journey.

If you’re an aspiring writer looking for motivation or simply someone navigating the complexities of life, these quotes will serve as powerful reminders of resilience, authenticity, and the pursuit of excellence.

Who Is Ernest Hemingway?

Ernest Hemingway, an iconic figure in American literature, was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois. From a young age, he exhibited a passion for writing and storytelling, often using his experiences from the outdoors to inform his work.

A graduate of Oak Park High School, Hemingway initially ventured into journalism before transitioning to fiction. His early career included stints as a war correspondent during World War I and later the Spanish Civil War experiences that profoundly influenced his narrative style and themes.

Hemingway’s literary career flourished with the publication of celebrated works such as The Old Man and the Sea, which won him the Pulitzer Prize in 1953. This novel exemplified his characteristic sparse prose and exploration of resilience in adversity.

Although he experienced immense professional success, Hemingway battled personal demons throughout his life, including mental health challenges that ultimately culminated in tragedy; he died by suicide on July 2, 1961.

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Ernest Hemingway’s Quotes

His quotes are often celebrated for their raw honesty and profound depth, reflecting the complexities of human experience. His quotes are mentioned below:

• “The first draft of anything is shit.”
• “Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?”
• “Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.”
• “We are all broken—that’s how the light gets in.”
• “I’m not brave any more darling. I’m all broken. They’ve broken me.”
• “You are so brave and quiet I forget you are suffering.”
• “My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.”
• “I didn’t want to kiss you goodbye — that was the trouble — I wanted to kiss you good night — and there’s a lot of difference.”
• “How did you go bankrupt?. Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”
• “All my life I’ve looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time.”
• “I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I’m awake, you know?”

Famous Ernest Hemingway’s Quotes

His literary prowess is often encapsulated in his most famous quotes, which reflect both the depth of human experience and a deceptively simple style. Here are some of his most famous quotes:

• “But man is not made for defeat… A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
• “Courage is grace under pressure.”
• “You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another.”
• “All things truly wicked start from innocence.”
• “I drink to make other people more interesting.”
• “As a writer, you should not judge, you should understand.”
• “Never to go on trips with anyone you do not love.”

Inspirational Ernest Hemingway Quotes About Success

He offers a treasure trove of quotes that resonate deeply with the pursuit of success. Here are some of his most inspirational quotes about success:

• “If you have a success you have it for the wrong reasons. If you become popular it is always because of the worst aspects of your work.”
• “Never confuse movement with action.”
• “The first and final thing you have to do in this world is to last it and not be smashed by it.”
• “Now is no time to think of what you do not have.”
• “When you start to live outside yourself, it’s all dangerous.”
• “Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.”
• “But, then, nothing is easy.”

Ernest Hemingway Quotes About Life

His quotes about life tell the importance of seeking meaning amidst chaos while valuing both inner strength and external influences like literature. His quotes about life are mentioned below:

• “But life isn’t hard to manage when you’ve nothing to lose.”
• “Don’t you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you’re not taking advantage of it? Do you realize you’ve lived nearly half the time you have to live already?”
• “There is nothing else than now. There is neither yesterday, certainly, nor is there any tomorrow. How old must you be before you know that? There is only now, and if now is only two days, then two days is your life and everything in it will be in proportion. This is how you live a life in two days. And if you stop complaining and asking for what you never will get, you will have a good life. A good life is not measured by any biblical span.”
• “Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry: Worry never fixes anything.”
• “I can’t stand it to think my life is going so fast and I’m not really living it.”
• “Live the full life of the mind, exhilarated by new ideas, intoxicated by the Romance of the unusual.”

Ernest Hemingway Quotes About Writing

Quotes about writing often reveal his deep understanding of the craft, and highlight brevity and authenticity.

He taught us through his quotes that effective communication lies in stripping away unnecessary layers until only the essence remains.

• “The hard part about writing a novel is finishing it.”
• “After writing a story I was always empty and both sad and happy, as though I had made love, and I was sure this was a very good story although I would not know truly how good until I read it over the next day.”
• “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called 1. Huckleberry Finn. American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since.”
• “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
• “Forget your personal tragedy. We are all bitched from the start and you especially have to hurt like hell before you can write seriously. But when you get the damned hurt use it—don’t cheat with it. Be as faithful to it as a scientist—but don’t think anything is of any importance because it happens to you or anyone belonging to you.”
• “It’s none of their business that you have to learn how to write. Let them think you were born that way.”
• “Write hard and clear about what hurts.”
• “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
• “In order to write about life first you must live it.”
• “The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof, shit detector.
• “There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.”
• “All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you: the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was. If you can get so that you can give that to people, then you are a writer.”

Ernest Hemingway Quotes About Love

His take on love is as complex and profound as his characters, often reflecting the tangled nature of human relationships. Here are some of his love-based quotes:

• “No one you love is ever truly lost.”
• “I am always in love.”
• “We ate well and cheaply and drank well and cheaply and slept well and warm together and loved each other.”
  “If two people love each other there can be no happy end to it.”
• “I loved you when I saw you today and I loved you always but I never saw you before.”
• “I’m not unfaithful, darling. I’ve plenty of faults but I’m very faithful. You’ll be sick of me I’ll be so faithful.”
• “You’ve such a lovely temperature.”
• “You know I don’t love anyone but you. You shouldn’t mind because some one else loved me.”

Ernest Hemingway Quotes About Death

His reflections on death encapsulate a profound understanding of life’s fragility and the inevitability of mortality. His notable quotes are mentioned:

• “Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.”
• “Why, darling, I don’t live at all when I’m not with you.”
• “The real reason for not committing suicide is because you always know how swell life gets again after the hell is over.”

Ernest Hemingway Quotes About Friendship

His understanding of friendship often articulated the complexities of camaraderie, revealing that true friendship is forged not only in joyful moments but also in shared hardships.

Below are several thought-provoking quotes he has shared regarding friendship:

• “There is no friend as loyal as a book.”
• “He liked the works of his friends, which is beautiful as loyalty but can be disastrous as judgement.”

Ernest Hemingway Quotes About Good Person

Through these quotes about good persons crafted by the legendary writer, we glean valuable lessons on personal growth and the intricate dynamics that form our ethical landscape.

• “The way to make people trust-worthy is to trust them.”
• “The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.”
• “When people talk listen completely. Don’t be thinking what you’re going to say. Most people never listen.”
• “No, that is the great fallacy: the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful.”
• “Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.”
• “So far, about morals, I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.”
• “It’s silly not to hope. It’s a sin he thought.”
• “You know it makes one feel rather good deciding not to be a bitch.”

Ernest Hemingway Quotes About Man & Mankind

He frequently examined topics concerning the essence of humanity, inner strength, and perseverance. Below are some of his most significant quotes regarding individuals and humanity as a whole:

• “Let him think that I am more man than I am and I will be so.”
• “All thinking men are atheists.”
• “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”
• “An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.”
• “Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.”
• “The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.”
• “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”

Conclusion

The wisdom encapsulated in these 70 best Ernest Hemingway quotes serves as a powerful reminder of the intricacies of writing, life, and success. Through his succinct yet profound expressions, he encourages us to embrace authenticity, confront our fears, and remain resilient in our pursuits. 

Each quote offers a unique perspective that can inspire both budding writers and those seeking personal growth. Reflecting on these timeless insights, we can gain valuable guidance for navigating our journeys.

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