Writing With Hemingway: A Writer’s Exercise Book

Cathy MacHold worked in the food industry while attending college, writing training manuals for several corporations which were implemented into the grocery store market place. Following graduation, as an employee of Hewlett-Packard, Cathy worked in procurement and planning, but it was her passion for gourmet meals and great conversation that led her to write her first dinner club book, Gourmet Nights, self-published in 1998. Cathy developed Writing with Hemingway: A Writer's Exercise Book as a unique concept for writing exercises and prompts. As an Ernest Hemingway aficionado, she realized how much aspiring writers could learn from the famous author's life as they practiced writing exercises to hone their own talents. Cathy has led workshops and has taught adult school creative writing classes using the concepts found in Writing with Hemingway: A Writer's Exercise Book. Cathy presented her teaching ideas as a participant on the Teaching Hemingway day panel at the XVII Biennial International Ernest Hemingway Conference held in Oak Park, Illinois, on the eve of Hemingway's 117th birthday. She is currently translating the book into Spanish. Cathy earned a degree in Communication Studies from California State University Sacramento. She lives in northern California with her husband Ken. Her second dinner club book, The Vintage Feast, will be available as an eBook in 2017.

A work of creativity such as an artist's song, a dance, a musical instrument, or a painting, produces a vision or a sound powerful enough to evoke emotion. A word or sentence can do the same. If properly placed, words stir thoughts and harness pure emotion, drawing a reader into a story. But how do we get those words onto paper? Any art form requires time to perfect. An artist, a singer, a dancer, or a musician cannot achieve success without discipline. Many hours of practice are necessary. The same holds true for a writer. A writer must write many things in many ways to become a success. Writing with Hemingway: A Writer's Exercise Book offers a platform for practice. This book is structured to enable a writer to write a variety of responses. Exercises begin small and work into larger pieces, including a complete essay for the writer to edit and critique. Some questions intentionally provide a small area in which to write. For other questions more space is available. This is part of the practice. Be creative. Free yourself to write honestly. Select a page and write. Or, start at the first page and work your way through. Over time, you will develop your own unique writing style as you learn to write from your heart. Learn fascinating details about Hemingway's life as you complete these exercises. Enjoy photos of a walking tour of northern Michigan, where Hemingway visited each summer from his birth in 1899 until he married Hadley Richardson at Horton Bay in 1921. The photos capture the influences used in his early short stories. Other photos include the Hemingway homes in Key West, Florida, and Ketchum, Idaho, and the Finca Vigia, Hemingway's home in Cuba. All photos in this book were taken by the author as she explored Hemingway's world. As you move through the exercises, you will feel as though Ernest Hemingway is your personal guide moving you forward to becoming the writer you are meant to be. No matter what genre you are interested in, you will discover new ideas and possibilities for your work. Writing with Hemingway: A Writer's Exercise Book will be a significant influence on writers crafting their books, articles, memoirs, and more. This timeless and soon-to-be treasured book will bring many readers a delightful experience. Appropriate for classroom and individual use, it is sure to be a "go to" resource for teachers in the high school, adult school, or college setting.