Famous authors: They’re just like us, right? Actually, that’s quite true! Looking at the pre-fame journals of the literary elite proves that they experience the same insecurities, boredoms and aspirations as the rest of us. Take a look at pages from the diaries of David Foster Wallace, Charlotte Brontë, Ernest Hemingway and Emily Dickinson to see what they were writing about during their growing up-years.

David Foster Wallace Was A Childhood Poet

A young David Foster Wallace had Vikings on the mind:

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Charlotte Brontë Hated Her Job

In her extraordinarily tiny handwriting, Charlotte Brontë unloaded her thoughts on her new position as a teacher at a stuffy boarding school:

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Can’t make out the words? The Morgan Library has a great article decoding it all (see: A Dark and Stormy Night).

Ernest Hemingway Was Well-Read

Even before he reached the age of ten, Hemingway had a strong sense of what he liked:

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Teenaged Emily Dickinson Collected Dried Plants

A fourteen-year-old Emily Dickinson curated a “herbarium”:

Image Source: www.slate.com

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