| On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (On Writing Well) | 
 enlarge | Author: William K. Zinsser
Publisher: Collins
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $4.50
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Avg. Customer Rating:  173 reviews
Media: Paperback
Edition: 30 Anv
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 0060891548
Dewey Decimal Number: 808.042
EAN: 9780060891541
Publication Date: May 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: FEW BENT CORNERS Used - Good Default Text
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| Customer Reviews:
 Excellent content, engaging presentation November 22, 2008
I've read several books on writing recently, and this one is the most engaging of them all. I couldn't help but smile as a read--a sure sign the author is doing a great job. Buy this book if you want to become a better writer.
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.
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