On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction, 6th ed.
by William Zinsser
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HarperCollins (New York): June 1994. Trade paperback: 320 pages. ISBN-10: 0-06-273523-3 ISBN-13: 978-0062735232 Suggested retail price: $14.00 (US) Tactical strength: [8/10] |
This book should be on every nonfiction writer's reference shelf. Zinsser practices what he preaches with clear and often witty prose that reveal his philosophies of writing nonfiction that he developed over years of experience.
Zinsser urges writers to create simple, elegant sentences. If it is not a sentence you wouldn't say to your friends over lunch, then you probably shouldn't write it in your article. He believes that every article is an investment of your time and a reflection of yourself. Thus, you should always produce the best work you can. No amount of extra time spent on perfecting a paragraph, sentence, or even word is wasted. And if an editor tries to change your writing to something that is weaker than you wanted, or worse yet, does not reflect your meaning or style, fight back. Even buy the article back if you must.
Zinsser provides invaluable advice on how to view your audience, write a lead, and how to conclude an article. He also provides advice for specific forms of writing: interviews, travel, science and technology, sports, criticism, humor, and memoir. He selects examples that get to the essence of how recognized masters practice each of these forms. But the undercurrent of all the forms is still good, calculated, writing. Writing that was written only to please the author -- that is, the author wrote because it pleased him to write. Of course writers should consider their audience, but if the work doesn't please the author, then it will never please the audience.
I would almost move this book beyond the category of "advice" to "inspiration." Zinsser made me want to write better, to continually strive for simple yet profound writing that needs no other advertisement. Writing that takes the reader for an enjoyable, perhaps even exciting, ride through new territory, that is enjoyable for both the information that is conveyed and the simple beauty of the telling.
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