# Hemingway and rewriting drafts
“Ernest Hemingway was once asked how often he rewrote his first draft. His answer: “It depends. I rewrote the ending of ‘A Farewell to Arms,’ the last page of it, thirty-nine times before I was satisfied.” “Was there some technical problem there? What was it that had stumped you?” the interviewer asked. “Getting the words right,” Hemingway replied (Paris Review, 1956).”