Discover 5 fascinating quotes by Ernest Hemingway on writing. Get inspired by his wisdom and insights into the craft of storytelling.

1) The more I’m let alone and not worried the better I can function.

2) Forget your personal tragedy. We are all bitched from the start and you especially have to be hurt like hell before you can write seriously. But when you get the damned hurt use it–don’t cheat with it.

3) For Christ sake write and don’t worry about what the boys will say nor whether it will be a masterpiece not what. I write one page of masterpieces to ninety-one pages of shit. I try to put the shit in the wastebasket.

4) Writing is something that you can never do as well as it can be done. It is a perpetual challenge and it is more difficult than anything else that I have ever done–so I do it. And it makes me happy when I do it well.

5) I have to write to be happy whether I get paid for it or not. But it is a hell of a disease to be born with. I like to do it. Which is even worse. That makes it from a disease into a vice. Then I want to do it better than anybody has ever done it which makes it into an obsession. An obsession is terrible. Hope you haven’t gotten any. That’s the only one I’ve got left.