On writing well

This book is simultaneously a must-read and a slog. When it soars, it's the best writing book I've picked up; when it slows down, it's like trudging through waist-high mud. But Zinsser's prose is clear, consistent, and easy to skim. I found in the slower chapters that I could normally read the first and last sentence of each paragraph and get what I needed. This tells me two things: (1) if those particular chapters were more relevant to me (they were focused on particular kinds of non-fiction writing), they would be wellsprings of information; (2) Zinsser so carefully used topic-sentence conclusion-sentence in his writing that his paragraphs can sing with just two sentences. It's startling writing, and refreshing to read. It also wakes you up to your own tics and shortcomings. Terrific book!at first, I wrote “a bit of a slog,” but then remembered Zinnser's advice: if something's a slog, say it's a slog; don't hedge your opinion behind weak phrases.

A little didactic, but it lives up to its longstanding rep as an essential to writing non-fiction. Doesn't dip into the wonders of creative nonfiction or the current term, narrative non-fiction, among its topics.

Faction read as fiction. A really enjoyable, easy to read and useful book that in an easy and effective language inspires me to write and gives me some simple tools to improve my work.

Pour un livre sur l'écriture ça a été une lecture extrêmement fastidieuse. Là où les quelques conseils (épars) sont extrêmement intéressants, l'auteur se perd en exemples à n'en plus finir qui allongent affreusement le livre et fatiguent énormément. Il y avait de plus une certaine inconsistance à mes yeux dans les choix d'extraits bons ou mauvais, basés uniquement sur ce que l'auteur juge être des “mots puissants” et d'autres des “mots faibles”, les deux extraits étant pourtant souvent tout aussi pénibles à lire l'un que l'autre (le premier n'ayant à son égard que l'apanage du temps). Pour un livre appelant à être concis, s'étaler sur 300 pages de manière souvent inutile est un comble. Bref j'en retire quelques apprentissages intéressants, mais ce n'est absolument pas une lecture que j'ai appréciée pour le coup.

Much better than Stephen King's [b:On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft 10569 On Writing A Memoir of the Craft Stephen King https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436735207l/10569.SY75.jpg 150292] but it is greatly leans on narrative nonfiction writing or more like journalistic nonfiction writing.

Rating - 3.5
YMMV

On Writing Well's key message is to be economical in your writing. Find the most efficient way to express your ideas. Skip the fancy prose, because your readers will see through its pretentiousness, and instead focus on expressing your ideas clearly.

As a writer you might worry that by doing this, you will lose any chance standing out and having your own unique writing style. But like carpentry, you have to start from the foundations. And over time, your style will grow.

The book reiterates some of the advice laid out in the Elements of Style:
* Use active verbs
* Cut out most adverbs (e.g. “blared loudly” and “blared” mean the same thing)
* Skip little qualifiers like “a little” or “sort of” as it reduces your authoritativeness

Some more general writing tips include:
* Practice writing every day
* Read your writing out loud to make sure it flows well
* Write for yourself

> “If you write for yourself, you'll reach the people want to write for.”

There are chapters on writing about different genres of non-fiction writing. On travel writing: skip the cliches. Everyone already knows the Grand Canyon is majestic. What's more interesting to your readers is your own experiences. The book covers other topics like business, sports and memoirs. For me, these were the most boring since I had no interest in these genres.

Something I have a bad habit of doing is using exclamation points, and Zinsser discourages use of this as well. Your readers are smart enough to pick up on when something is exciting or unusual, without you having to point it out to them with a “!”.

The only dated part of this book is the use of “he” as a default when talking about hypothetical situations. As part of the 30th Anniversary Edition, the author says he has replaced 300+ usages of “he”, since many women brought it up to him after they had read the book. However he didn't replace them all, and disappointingly he says:

> “But let's face it: the English language is stuck with the generic masculine. To turn every ‘he' into a ‘he or she' . . . would clog the language.”

Otherwise, this book is still quite relevant today, and I would definitely recommend it for serious writers. For a hobby writer like me, I would have preferred it to be a little bit shorter.

I think that On Writing Well is a good novel that tends to be a tad preachy at times. The author does have some good points. He manages to convince the reader that writing is a process, and is a process moreover that takes time and contains many different elements. The only word of caution that I can offer is that the idea of writing voice and such elements as using contractions should be done only when it is appropriate, compared to what Zinsser says. Also, some of these elements and chapters are not always appropriate and useful, depending what you actually want to write, but one can always skip them if they wish. Still, this is a good book that one can learn a lot from if they choose to. I give it a four out of five.

I'm writing a math book, and after I published the first few chapters, someone offered to buy me a copy of this book. It's a nice gesture if you don't think very hard about it.

Anyway, on to the book. It's got some good points: write for yourself, ruthlessly trim prose, and decide on a consistent tone before getting started. That's it; now you don't need to buy this book as I did.

Zinsser goes on several tirades about the sanctity of language, about how he refuses to use any neologisms, and so too should you. The book suddenly begins to show its age; none of his examples were words I had ever considered to be problematic. Maybe “trek” was once contested, but finds itself safely ensconced in the language today.

The majority of “On Writing Well” is “how to write newspaper articles about topic X.” Business, news, artistic reviews, you name it. I briefly skimmed over the science section, thinking it might be helpful in my pursuits. It wasn't. Zinsser takes the viewpoint that science is scary, audiences don't care, and so a writer must do ones best to handhold the reader along. Science reporting at its finest.

In conclusion, I learned a few things, but it wasn't worth my $14. Guess I should have let that guy buy it for me instead.