Let me tell you a little secret that’s been a game-changer for me when it comes to actually finishing my projects.
While I wish I could take credit for the idea, it actually comes from Ernest Hemingway. Besides being a legendary author, turns out he had a knack for productivity life-hacks.
What’s his trick?
Hemingway would end a day’s writing by stopping mid-sentence.
Not because that’s when he ran out of steam, but because he was stopping at a place of familiarity, where he knew exactly how he’d resume it the next day.
This counter-intuitive approach kept him excited to jump back into his work the next day and gave him momentum immediately when that time came.
I’ve been using this same trick while editing my new Halloween short film, Witchfish (it’s coming together great by the way, can’t wait to share with you all ASAP).
Editing has so many steps, some much more tedious than others, so I’ve been stopping just as I start a new fun part each day—like sound designing this scene where the witch is making her magic brew.
And I’ve found that it’s true, stopping right before an exciting moment makes me eager to get back to work the next day.
That means you end up working more consistently, and getting projects done quicker.
The Hemingway Trick in Screenwriting
I’ve also used this strategy in screenwriting, especially on bigger projects like features.
When you’re working on a full screenplay, the hardest part isn’t writing—it’s coming back day after day. Especially after those rough writing sessions where nothing goes right.
For my last feature, I found that stopping when I still had an exciting scene to write (rather than when I was tired or stuck) helped me stay consistent and chip away at that script every day.
Keeping that momentum going by treating myself to a small head-start the next day is what allowed me to finish the first draft.
Your Turn
Here’s how you can apply Hemingway’s hack to your own work:
- For Screenwriting: Stop writing in the middle of a scene or even a line of dialogue. Leave a quick note for yourself about what’s comin next if you think you might forget where it’s going.
- For Editing: Don’t quit when you’ve finished a sequence. Stop mid-scene, right before a cut or moment you’re excited to work on. Playing back your work at the end of the day and spot some low-hanging fruit to fix? Make a marker there and get to that first thing tomorrow.
- During Job Interviews: Halfway through the interview, stop talking mid-sentence and then silently stare at the interviewer. Jot down what you were going to say, then get up and leave without saying a word. They’ll be begging to know the rest of your brilliant response, and will likely offer you the job to satisfy their curiosity 🧠 Works 99% of the time. Honestly.
Why It Works
The beauty of this method? It removes the internal resistance we always feel whenever we’re starting from scratch.
Instead of facing a blank page or dreading an overwhelming scene, you know where to pick up and you know you have an easy win directly in front of you. This means less procrastination, more flow, and quicker progress.
Now it’s time for me to dive back into Witchfish, right where I left off—sound designing her strange brew.
Favorites this week:
💬 Quote: Ripped from Tim Ferris’s newsletter, it’s too good not to share:
“The perfectionist is never satisfied. The perfectionist never says, ‘This is pretty good. I think I’ll just keep going.’ To the perfectionist, there is always room for improvement. The perfectionist calls this humility. In reality, it is egotism. It is pride that makes us want to write a perfect script, paint a perfect painting, perform a perfect audition monologue. Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves, the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be good enough—that we should try again. No. We should not.” — Julia Cameron
Perfectionism so often means we’re working against our own best interests. In harsher words, it’s a form of self-sabotage more often than not (at least for me).
The projects where I was okay with the prospect of making mistakes were some of my best films, and definitely the most fun ones to make.
Let go of chasing the perfect result (an unrealistic destination) and instead embrace the unbridled exploration of your ideas (a valuable journey).
That’s it for this week.
Let’s make some movies.
-Kent
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