The odd reason Hemingway only used simple words
There's an anecdote involving Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner about writing, in which the latter scoffed at Hemingway’s style as unsophisticated. His words were: “(Hemingway) has never been known to use a word that might send the reader to the dictionary.” When the Old Man and the Sea author heard this, he responded, “Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don’t know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older, simpler, and better words, and those are the ones that I use.” Personally, I’ve always identified with Hemingway’s writing ... [keep reading...]