One True Sentence

Hemingway is one of those writers I like thinking about more than reading. So much burly, brawling, bravado. I've been thinking specifically about the famous piece of advice that Hemingway gave to writers: "All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence you know."

Honestly, I think that should be a screensaver, a sampler hung in homes, sprayed as graffiti on walls, seen all over the place until it becomes almost a catchphrase in the minds of writers. What, exactly, is meant by "one true sentence"? My guess is that several academic papers may have addressed that question over the years. My belief is that each writer has to answer it for themselves.

At heart, aren't all writers storytellers? Don't we relish finding the ideal adjective, the breathing adverb, to make the story better and brighter? Don't we know a specific plot twist may be unlikely, but it would certainly make the reader turn the page? We try to create fascinating characters and give them witty or poignant sentences, neatly contained between quotation marks. What does this have to do with "one true sentence"?

I think Hemingway was getting at the exposed core of each writer. What may be honest for one author, may feel false and misleading for another. One person's reality varies from the next by a matter of degree. All a writer can try to do is draw from their own, inner perception of truth. And from that can spring something entirely fictional that strikes us as more "real" than anything else in our world.

Of course, thinking about "one true sentence", I wondered what I would write as an example. Following Hemingway's style, devoid of adjectives and adverbs, is there a simple and over-riding truth that's mine as a writer? It's actually a difficult exercise. I'm learning how hard it is to force away the pretense and safety of writing by habit. One true sentence? I'm still working on it.