Name: Matt Stein's review of On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition by William Zinsser
Item: On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition
Rating: 5
Author: Matt Stein

William Zinsser

On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth of its style. It is a book for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost everybody does in the age of e-mail and the Internet. Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts or about yourself in the increasingly popular memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you fundamental priciples as well as the insights of a distinguished writer and teacher. With more than a million copies sole, this volume has stood the test of time and remains a valuable resource for writers and would-be writers.

The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition

Dhrumil Patel

Keep your paragraphs short. Writing is visual — it catches the eye before it has a chance to catch the brain. Short paragraphs put air around what you write and make it look inviting, whereas a long chunk of type can discourage a reader from even starting to read.

The act of writing generates some cluster of thoughts or memories that you didn't anticipate. Don't fight such a current if it feels right. Trust your material if it's taking you into terrain you didn't intend to enter but where the vibrations are good. Adjust your style accordingly and proceed to whatever destination you reach. Don't become the prisoner of a preconceived plan. Writing is no respecter of blueprints.

You must choose the tense in which you are principally going to address the reader, no matter how many glances you may take backward or forward along the way.

“Who am I writing for?" It's a fundamental question, and it has a fundamental answer: You are writing for yourself. Don't try to visualize the great mass audience. There is no such audience-every reader is a different person.

Ultimately the product that any writer has to sell is not the subject being written about, but who he or she is.

Ivy Chen

One of the richest travel books written by an American is Walden, though Thoreau only went a mile out of town. Finally, however, what brings a place alive is human activity: people doing the things that give a locale its character. 

Keep your paragraphs short. Writing is visual-it catches the eve before it has a chance to catch the brain. 

Matt Stein

My absolute favorite book on writing. Warm, practical advice for writing with clarity, precision, and humanity.

Erwin Lemuel Oliva

Still good the second time. One of the best books in writing. Apart from the basics, Zinsser gives good examples to make a clear point about his "rules" in writing. I wish I read this book before I entered journalism. Non-fiction writing is clear writing. Writing well is the result of a clear mind.

Eva Decker

Mostly solid advice for anyone who writes.

Parts of the book have not aged well: sexist “humor’”, resistance to change (“an illegal alien is now an undocumented resident,” Zinsser complains), and Eurocentric takes on “the exotic”. When describing the Black jazz musicians Willie Ruff and Dwike Mitchell, Zinsser says “they speak good and often eloquent English.” Cringe.

“He” is the default pronoun throughout the book. I disagree with Zinsser’s claim that “a style that converts every ‘he’ into a ‘they’ will quickly turn to mush.”

Many long examples could have been cut considerably. Strunk and White’s “The Elements of Style”, which this book was modeled after, is a quarter as long and twice as helpful. Still, there are some gems:

“Clear thinking becomes clear writing: one can’t exist without the other.” (p. 8)
“If the reader is lost, it’s usually because the writer hasn’t been careful enough.” (p. 8)
“Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident.”(p. 9)
“Never say anything in writing that you wouldn’t comfortably say in conversation.” (p. 26)
“Good writers of prose must be part poet, always listening to what they write.” (p. 36)
“You learn to write by writing. It’s a truism, but what makes it a truism is that it’s true.” (p. 49)
“All writing is ultimately a question of solving a problem.” (p. 49)
“The most important sentence in any article is the first one.” (p. 54)
“Don’t say you were a bit confused and sort of tired and a little depressed and somewhat annoyed. Be confused. Be tired. Be depressed. Be annoyed. Don’t hedge your prose with little timidities. Good writing is lean and confident.” (p. 70)
“Writing is an evolving process, not a finished product. Nobody expects you to get it right the first time, or even the second time.” (p. 84)
“The reader plays a major role in the act of writing and must be given room to play it. Don’t annoy your readers by over-explaining—by telling them something they already know or can figure out. Try not to use words like “surprisingly,” “predictably” and “of course,” which put a value on a fact before the reader encounters the fact. Trust your material.” (p. 91)
“Never go into an interview without doing whatever homework you can.” (p. 105)
“If you consciously write for a teacher or for an editor, you’ll end up not writing for anybody. If you write for yourself, you’ll reach the people you want to write for.” (p. 134)
“Always start with too much material. Then give your reader just enough.” (p. 156)
“Readers will stop reading if they think you are talking down to them. Nobody wants to be patronized.” (p. 233)
“If you write about subjects you think you would enjoy knowing about, your enjoyment will show in what you write. Learning is a tonic.” (p. 245)
“Much of the trouble that writers get into comes from trying to make one sentence do too much work. Never be afraid to break a long sentence into two short ones, or even three.” (p. 262)
“Decide what you want to do. Then decide to do it. Then do it.” (p. 280)

Deyana

As a writer, it's always difficult to judge others' writing. It feels a tad immoral. Every process is different, but regardless of Zinsser and I's competing views on writing, I had a much more difficult time getting through this material simply because of Zinsser's attitude and contradictions. I'll call it what it is, sexism under the guise of feigned equality, and as other reviewers have pointed out, one need only look at the language in his own pieces while he uses distinct words to describe other folks outside of his white-washed writing mannerisms. 

All I know is that if I had Zinsser as a professor, I might have thought that writing wasn't for me. I'm glad I read this if only to remind me what wonderful privileges I have had as an individual and as a writer in both my education and workplace in terms of pursuing writing. This book, at least to a reader unfamiliar with Zinsser, felt more like a self-serving project and an amalgamation of his other works, supplemented with what he calls "humor" and personality. I'll reserve my comments on this for perhaps another time. In the meantime, I've got writing to do.

Emma Friedheim

I thought this would be a reference book, but it honestly reads like a novel (or at least a really good, if long, article). Zinsser sounds like he was an amazing professor. I read this as I wrote my grad school application essays and I really think it helped me cut out a ton of fluff and jargon. Love live concise, straightforward writing!

Sebastian Witowski

Succinct advices on writing, nice and short read.

Magdalene Lim

"Writing is like a good watch - it should run smoothly and have no extra parts."

The book is filled with quips like these to help you to write better in various situations. If your job requires you to write, read this book. If your job doesn't require you to write, but you want to shine/surprise/convey your ideas more clearly through writing, read this book.

I like that this was written as an "informal guide". It's not all grammar rules and boring stuff. It's readable and the best part is, the author says that the onus is on the author to keep the reader entertained. If you ever feel tired of reading something, you never have to feel bad about stopping. 

So did I ever feel like stopping? Yes. My only gripe would be the writing samples he includes to illustrate his points. I didn't find them as engaging as he professed them to be. Still, an overall useful read so I recommend it.

An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction

Clementine Jinhee

Pragmatic advice on writing efficiently and clearly. I didn't manage to finish the book in one go though. I am reading a new chapter every now and then to pick up on some tips and strategies for improving my writing. Overall easy to read. Enjoyed the section about the principles on writing well, the importance of reducing clutter and striving for simplicity. 

Lance Willett

This is a book I'll read once a year to freshen up my writing craftsmanship. A great balance of practical and intangible. The author tells us if writing feels hard, it's because it is hard. I love books like this that embody the principles they teach. A fun and enjoyable read that instructs and illustrates.

Ilia Markov

This is a really good book, just keep in mind that it’s more a collection of essays than an actual textbook.

Artas Bartas

I came across this book by way of Amazon recommendations. It's the best recommendation I received from Amazon to date. As the title suggests, "On Writing Well" is a guide to better writing. William Zinsser covers a very broad territory in his book: from discussing style issues tripping up the novices and craft secrets employed by celebrity writers to practical advice on writing a good travel story or organizing your memories into a publishable memoir.

Over the years, I have read several books of the same genre, and it strikes me how different Zinsser is in his approach. He avoids the temptation of romanticizing the craft of writing and instead tackles the nitty-gritty questions that any man (or woman) of letters has to confront: How to quote the people you interviewed? Where to start a travelogue? What makes for a great science article? And when to stop writing? The book offers illuminating answers to these questions.

Another refreshing thing about this book is how confident William Zinsser is about his writing. To put it bluntly, here is an author not afraid to quote his work as the standard of quality. How many millennials would have the guts to set their humblebragging manners aside and just say "here is how it should be done!"? Unexpected as it is, this approach yields valuable insights: you can read excerpts from Zinsser's articles *and* learn about the motives and considerations that shaped them. 

"On Writing Well" was originally published in 1976. It has been reissued at least nine times since then. This explains why many cultural, social, and political references you come across feel dated. But when it comes to writing advice, the book feels as relevant in 2017 as it was back in the 1980s. I think about it as a first aid kit to overcoming writer's block.

Dhrumil Patel &
On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition by William Zinsser

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Dhrumil Patel &On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition by William Zinsser

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Join the club

Dhrumil Patel &
On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition by William Zinsser