William Zinsser
William Zinsser
William Knowlton Zinsserwas an American writer, editor, literary critic, and teacher. He began his career as a journalist for the New York Herald Tribune, where he worked as a feature writer, drama editor, film critic and editorial writer. He was a longtime contributor to leading magazines...
reading cutting trying
I try to make what I have written tighter, stronger and more precise, eliminating every element that's not doing useful work. Then I go over it once more, reading it aloud, and am always amazed at how much clutter can still be cut.
writing thinking paper
Writing is thinking on paper. Anyone who thinks clearly should be able to write clearly-about any subject at all.
language scholarship fury
Scholarship hath no fury like that of a language purist faced with sludge.
writing
You learn to write by writing.
thinking rehearsal action
Thought is action in rehearsal.
memories writing thinking
Write about small, self-contained incidents that are still vivid in your memory. If you remember them, it's because they contain a larger truth that your readers will recognize in their own lives. Think small and you'll wind up finding the big themes in your family saga.
funny work humor
What I want to do is to make people laugh so that they'll see things seriously.
believe writing ego
Believe in your own identity and your own opinions. Proceed with confidence, generating it, if necessary, by pure willpower. Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it. Use its energy to keep yourself going.
weed fighting clutter
Fighting clutter is like fighting weeds-the writer is always slightly behind,
writing secret sentences
The secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components,
writing essence games
Rewriting is the essence of writing well - where the game is won or lost.
successful two mind
Every successful piece of nonfiction should leave the reader with one provocative thought that he or she didn't have before. Not two thoughts, or five - just one. So decide what single point you want to leave in the reader's mind.
inspirational eye too-short
There's no sentence that's too short in the eyes of God.
believe writing emotional
Rewriting is the essence of writing well: it's where the game is won or lost. The idea is hard to accept. We all have emotional equity in our first draft; we can't believe that it wasn't born perfect. But the odds are close to 100 percent that it wasn't.