The speaker reflects on their early exposure to the craft of writing through Hemingway's stories, particularly the Nick Adams series, which left a lasting impression due to their concise and enigmatic style. They discuss teaching these stories and the impact of Hemingway's editing choices on the narrative's mystery. The speaker contrasts Hemingway's style with Faulkner's, highlighting the differences in dialogue and syntax, and appreciates both authors' influence on their understanding of writing.

At what age did the speaker first become aware of the craft of writing?

• 12 years old

• 14 years old

• 16 years old

• 18 years old

What is the structure of the Nick Adams stories?

• A series of essays

• A single short story

• A novelistic structure

• A collection of poems

What is the main theme of the Nick Adams stories?

• Romance

• Growth and development

• Mystery

• Adventure

How are Hemingway's sentences described in the transcript?

• Full of exposition

• Short and beautiful

• Long and complex

• Difficult to understand

What does the speaker note about Hemingway's use of exposition?

• He avoids it

• He relies on it heavily

• He uses a lot of it

• He uses it sparingly

What kind of endings did the speaker try to emulate in their own writing?

• Predictable endings

• Enigmatic endings

• Tragic endings

• Happy endings

What did the speaker do after reading Hemingway's stories?

• Wrote stories with clear endings

• Stopped writing

• Wrote stories with enigmatic endings

• Focused on poetry

What was removed from one of Hemingway's drafts to enhance the story's mystery?

• A paragraph of exposition

• A dialogue

• A setting

• A character

What effect does removing exposition have on a story, according to the speaker?

• Decreases its length

• Increases its mystery

• Makes it less engaging

• Makes it more realistic

What did the speaker find shocking about one of Hemingway's drafts?

• A different setting

• A change in the main character

• An added church scene

• A new ending