5 Dumb Writing Gimmicks That Became Classic Books

We like our stories to be a little bit conventional. We like beginnings and middles and ends, and catchphrases and slow-motion explosions and kisses in the rain. We want to see heroes win and villains get steam pipes thrown through them and dogs cover their eyes with their paws when something embarrassing happens.

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#4. "For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn" -- Ernest Hemingway

"For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn" is both the title and the entire text of a "novel" purportedly written by Ernest Hemingway. In the interest of accuracy, I should note that the authorship of the piece isn't wholly settled, but seeing as the story of Hemingway writing it to win a bar bet is so amusingly in sync with what we know about Hemingway's character, I highly recommend you not question it.

Read more: http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-dumb-writing-gimmicks-that-became-classic-books/#ixzz2lvtjEpCW