The Iceberg Technique

The Iceberg Technique, a now famous style of writing that is commonly used but
seldom mastered. The technique was founded and coined by Ernest Hemingway who
wrote his stories in a way in which most of the story should be “under the surface”. By
not describing everything that happens, merely describing the key parts that lead to
emotions and reactions, he could get the reader to think for himself and make the
world of his story more immersive.
The Iceberg Technique can be used as a solution to giving books the same immersive
feeling as seeing a movie. When we watch movies, we can see the character’s feelings,
we can hear on their voice if they are sad, mad or angry. In books on the other hand, all
emotions must be conveyed in some other fashion, this has traditionally lead to the
writer describing the character’s emotions, or maybe their facial expressions. Here is
where Hemingway’s classic style of writing comes into play, by describing the right
actions in an accurate way he can convey the character’s emotions merely by their
actions.
The iceberg reference comes from how only the tip of an iceberg is showing, under the
surface lies the most of the actual mass, exactly like the famous works of Hemingway.
This does not mean that you could just decide to be few-worded and vague in your
descriptions, because the whole point is that there is an iceberg. The iceberg is the
story and it is essential that you know the whole story before you can pick out what
needs to be told.
Some people may assume that Hemingway’s classic style of writing was out of laziness
but in reality was it a most intended way of writing that frankly needs more effort than
the everyday style of writing.
As he tells it himself:
If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about he may omit things
that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling
of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of
movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer
who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his
writing. –Ernest Hemingway
He did not choose this manner of writing because he thought it to be relaxing or
undemanding, but because he wholeheartedly thought it would improve his work.

Hemingway’s Economy of Style

Summary Hemingway’s Economy of Style

“A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” is arguably not only one of Hemingway’s best short stories
but also a story that clearly demonstrates the techniques of Hemingway’s signature writing
style. Hemingway is known for his economic prose—his writing is minimalist and sparse,
with few adverbs or adjectives. He includes only essential information, often omitting
background information, transitions, and dialogue tags such as “he said” or “she said. He
often uses pronouns without clear antecedents, such as using the word it without clarifying
what it refers to. Hemingway applies the “iceberg principle” to his stories: only the tip of
the story is visible on the page, while the rest is left underwater—unsaid. Hemingway also
rarely specifies which waiter is speaking in the story because he has deemed such
clarification unnecessary. The essential element is that two waiters are discussing a drunk
old man—the rest can be omitted according to Hemingway’s economy of style. When the
older waiter contemplates the idea of nothingness, Hemingway loads the sentences with
vague pronouns, never clarifying what they refer to: “It was all a nothing. . . . It was only
that. . . . Some lived in it . . .” Although these lines are somewhat confusing, the confusion
is the point. This nothingness can’t be defined clearly, no matter how many words are
used. Hemingway uses fewer words and lets the effect of his style speak for itself.