How to write like Anton Chekhov

4 writing lessons from a literary mastodon who will make your heart flutter

The image was made by my boyfriend Serhiy Volosianyi.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is the first true love of my life. This Anton spent so much time with that Anton… I read many of his stories. I played in some of his plays. I memorised his words to read aloud at lessons and prose reading contests. Chekhov and I were entangled in a purely platonic intellectual relationship. One Anton had no idea that such relationships existed. The other Anton was in love deeply, unapologetically.

I could see myself marrying Chekhov if he was gay, and wasn’t dead, I guess? I could see myself being with Chekhov forever. At some point, I thought I was Chekhov — like our souls fused into one creative spirit. Can you imagine the degree of my love for him?

I don’t know if Chekhov was any good at lovemaking, but he was definitely fruitful in conceiving words. His writing impregnated — and still impregnates — the minds of millions with wisdom, meaning, and thought.

Okay. That’s it. My love serenade to Chekhov is over. Now, you don’t need to know, read or study Chekhov to be a great writer. Doing those things will make you a good impersonator of his style. We writers want to be unique and original, right?