Writers must thus constantly ask: what am I trying to say? Surprisingly often they don’t know. Then they must look at what they have written and ask: have I said it? It’s easier to be natural and retain your humanity. 6. Don’t get caught up with pleasing your audience. You’ll meet people and have experiences that will light a fire inside that you can share in your work. For your born writer, nothing is so healing as the realization that he has come upon the right word.” — Catherine Drinker Bowen Don’t worry about whether the reader will “get it” if you indulge a sudden impulse for humor. If it amuses you in the act of writing, put it in.

The longest section of the book is part three, “Forms.” Zinsser offers specific suggestions, thoughts, and questions to consider when one is working in a particular genre or form, such as travel writing, memoir, science, business, sports, the arts, and humor. If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can't allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.” — Elmore Leonard It’s easy to fall into the trap of over-complicating your words and phrases when you start out. You want to impress, but what you end up doing is making yourself unintelligable. If you’re hoping to have any kind of impact, you don’t want that.

Writing Well Takes Practice

No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” —Robert Frost At the heart of good nonfiction writing is the personal transaction of humanity and warmth. Simplicity You just have to go on when it is worst and most helpless — there is only one thing to do with a novel and that is go straight on through to the end of the damn thing.” — Ernest Hemingway

Indeed, learning to write may be part of learning to read. For all I know, writing comes out of a superior devotion to reading.” — Eudora Welty The difference between the almost right word and the right word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” — Mark Twain I’ve had the book On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser on my shelf since my pre-law school journalism days. That is, I’ve had it on my shelf for a while. I don’t remember who gave it to me, but I do remember how it made me feel.

I've found the best way to revise your own work is to pretend that somebody else wrote it and then to rip the living shit out of it.” ― Don Roff Reviewing the book again, I remember why I liked it. It’s (unsurprisingly) written well and is full of useful tips. I’m through re-reading “Part I: Principles” and I can't not share its best tips: 1. The heart of good non-fiction writing is the “personal transaction.” Each writer is born with a repertory company in his head. Shakespeare has perhaps 20 players. I have 10 or so, and that’s a lot. As you get older, you become more skillful at casting them.” — Gore Vidal You miss 100% of the shots that you never take — Wayne Gretsky,” as Michael Scott once said. In tribute to this sentiment, these writing quotes help show why it’s important not to let failure or rejection get you down. Learning how to organize a long article is just as important as learning how to write a clear and pleasing sentence.

From cavemen to our modern day in the 21st-century, we have written our joys and sorrows throughout history. What compels us to write? Here’s what some of the most beloved writers we know have to say. Part 2. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don’t mean utterly, but kill most of them – then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. While I eventually did learn some of the secrets of good writing, it would have been a lot e asier if I’d had a book like William Zinsser’s On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction to teach me the right skills to practice. With this book in your toolkit, you’ll become a great writer much faster than you think is possible! I used to save all my rejection slips because I told myself, one day I’m going to autograph these and auction them. And then I lost the box.” — James Lee Burke Never say anything in writing that you wouldn’t comfortably say in conversation. If you’re not a person who says “indeed” or “moreover,” or who calls someone an individual (“he’s a fine individual”), please don’t write it. WordsA writer never has a vacation. For a writer life consists of either writing or thinking about writing.” — Eugene Ionesco Examine every word that you put on paper. You’ll find a surprising number that doesn’t serve any purpose. You can unlearn all of this and discover the joy of writing though. Start by remembering that you need to be inspired by life to be inspired as you write. Be adventurous, ask questions, and keep an open mind. Readers want the person who is talking to them to sound genuine. Therefore a fundamental rule is: be yourself. No rule, however, is harder to follow. It requires writers to do two things that by their metabolism are impossible. They must relax, and they must have confidence. All stories have to at least try to explain some small portion of the meaning of life.” — Gene Weingarten