Hemingway describes a method for overcoming uncertainty at the beginning of a writing session. Instead of worrying about producing an entire story or solving every problem at once, the writer should concentrate on one sentence that feels accurate and honest. The emphasis on a “true sentence” reflects his belief that convincing writing begins with close attention to experience rather than ornament or abstraction.

In A Moveable Feast, the passage appears as Hemingway recalls reassuring himself during periods when writing became difficult. He draws confidence from previous work while reducing the immediate task to something manageable. The method combines discipline with trust in accumulated experience: begin with what can be stated clearly, then continue from there. More broadly, the quotation applies to creative work in which anxiety about the whole project can be reduced by identifying one concrete, truthful starting point.

Full quotation

“I would stand and look out over the roofs of Paris and think, “Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there. It was easy then because there was always one true sentence that I knew or had seen or had heard someone say.”