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On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction | 
| Authors: William K. Zinsser, Zinsser William K.
Category: Book
List Price: $12.95
Buy New: $11.61
You Save: $1.34 (10%)
New (5) Used (9) from $7.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  172 reviews
Sales Rank: 1181895
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Audio Cassette
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 4.6 x 0.6
ASIN: B000IOESD8
Publication Date: October 1, 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Whether you write an occasional professional letter or a daily newspaper column, William Zinsser's On Writing Well should be required reading. Simplicity is Zinsser's mantra: he preaches a stripped-down writing style, strong and clear. He has no patience for excess (most use of adjectives and adverbs, he writes, just adds clutter) or tired phraseology (for instance, he'd like to outlaw all leads involving those "future archaeologists" most often found "stumbl[ing] upon the remains of our civilization"). He recommends that all writers of nonfiction read their work aloud (don't commit something to paper that you wouldn't actually say) and write under the assumption that "the reader knows nothing" (not to be confused with assuming the reader's an idiot). In addition to the chapters on the expected--usage, audience, interviews, leads--Zinsser also focuses on such trouble spots as science and technical writing, business writing, sports, and humor.
Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 167 more reviews...
 More than back to basics November 20, 2008
This book done taught me to write more better. :-) Seriously, I love this book. I have not looked at it since graduating more than a decade ago, and I purchased it expecting to brush up on the basics. It offers much more and is an engaging read. It has replaced novels on my bedside table for my evening unwind reading. It's a must-have.
If it's interesting, make it interesting. Don't clutter. October 29, 2008
I love that Zinsser includes a draft with his edits on it. He advocates the sparcity of writing. Remove all excess words. Clean, crisp, clear. Prune ruthlessly.
He does not romanticise writing, but enables you to just get on with it, and then severely edit to remove all extraneous material (like the latter phrase!)
Some key points I enjoyed:
- "If your job is to write every day, you learn to do it like any other job."
- The reader has an attention span of 30 seconds. Don't make them word too hard. What do you want to say? Have you said it?
- Be yourself. Relax and have confidence. Find the interesting and describe it. Leave out the mundane. Be curious. The truth is interesting. Write what you care about.
- "You learn to write by writing. Force yourself to produce words on a regular basis."
- Think small. Choose your section and cover it well. The detail matters.
- "Rewriting is the essence of writing well: it's where the game is won or lost."
He urges the power of being real, and writing your truth in the brilliance of this quote "Try to commit an act of writing and your readers will jump overboard to get away".
You don't need to be a literary genius. Just get on with it (and then prune it!)
Inspiring and practical instruction on writing October 24, 2008
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3SOY5891YP5FI This is by far the best book on writing any kind of non-fiction. He encourages you to be clear, and gives practical tips and instruction so that you feel that you know what good writing looks like. I'd also recommend Bird By Bird by Lamott for fiction writers, or anyone who needs moral support for the writing process.
Best of the best October 19, 2008
William Zinsser's career as a nonfiction writer of over fifteen books spans decades. Among many impressive credentials, he taught writing at Yale and became general editor of the Book-of-the-Month club. He knows whereof he writes.
On Writing Well is worth going over and over because it's so packed with good information that it would be impossible to truly take in everything during the first read.
On every page, Zinsser urges writers to simplify and clarify, and he tells us how it's done. He never makes a point without supporting it with entertaining examples. He tells stories about his life and the lives of other writers, humorists, ball players, students, and politicians, mixing those stories with tales about adjectives, verbs, nouns, and phrases, until we feel affectionate admiration for the parts of speech.
Zinsser's book made me think of the subtitle: Everything You've Always Needed to Understand About Writing but Didn't Know Enough to Ask. Fortunately for the reader, Zinsser does know--and shares what he knows.
An excellent writing guide September 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I first purchased this product from Amazon for an English class at the local community college, and received it two weeks before class started. While some reviewers here have complained about the personal antecdotes, I found those to be the most helpful. Zinsser used his own real life examples on writing styles, as well as stressing how un-glamorous the writer's life actually is, especially if being a writer IS your day job. The book itself was suprisingly small, which worked out great for a student on the go, like myself. But for its deceptively small size, it is crammed full of helpful tips for the would-be writer. And though it is geared more towards the non-fiction writer, much of it could easily be geared toward the fiction writer as well. Now that I am working on my own writing project (for fun, and hopefully, for publishing), this book is becoming highly useful to me once more. This is a must read for any English or Journalism class (Speech students might find it useful as well).
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