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. William Zinsser More Quotes by William Zinsser More Quotes From William Zinsser Writing is thinking on paper. William Zinsser paperwritingthinking Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it's because it is hard. It's one of the hardest things that people do William Zinsser hard-workwritingpeople Hard writing makes easy reading. Easy writing makes hard reading. William Zinsser readingeasywriting Writing is not a special language that belongs to a few sensitive souls who have a 'gift for words'. Writing is the logical arrangement of thought. Anyone who thinks clearly should be able to write clearly---about any subject at all. William Zinsser soulwritingthinking Four basic premises of writing: clarity, brevity, simplicity, and humanity. William Zinsser simplicitywritinginspirational Writing is linear and sequential; Sentence B must follow Sentence A, and Sentence C must follow Sentence B, and eventually you get to Sentence Z. The hard part of writing isn't the writing; it's the thinking. You can solve most of your writing problems if you stop after every sentence and ask: What does the reader need to know next? William Zinsser doewritingthinking One of underestimated tasks in nonfiction writing is to impose narrative shape on an unwieldy mass of material. William Zinsser narrativeshapeswriting Few people realize how badly they write. Nobody has shown them how much excess or murkiness has crept into their style. William Zinsser stylewritingpeople You can solve most of your writing problems if you stop after every sentence and ask: what does the reader need to know next? William Zinsser doewritingneeds Many writers are paralyzed by the thought that they are competing with everybody else who is trying to write and presumably doing it better.... Forget the competition and go at your own pace. Your only contest is with yourself. William Zinsser competitionwritingtrying If the nails are weak, your house will collapse. If your verbs are weak and your syntax is rickety, your sentences will fall apart. William Zinsser nailshousefall Examine every word you put on paper. You'll find a surprising number that don't serve any purpose. William Zinsser purposepapernumbers There's not much to be said about the period except that most writers don't reach it soon enough. William Zinsser soon-enoughenoughsaid Clutter is the disease of American writing. We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills, and meaningless jargon. William Zinsser jargondiseasewriting Also bear in mind, when you're choosing your words and stringing them together, how they sound. This may seem absurd: readers read with their eyes. But in fact they hear what they are reading far more than you realize. William Zinsser eyereadingmind If you write for yourself, you'll reach all the people you want to write for. William Zinsser wantwritingpeople If writing seems hard, it's because it is hard. It's one of the hardest things people do. William Zinsser perfectionwritingpeople Writing is a craft not an art. William Zinsser writinginspirationalart To defend what you've written is a sign that you are alive. William Zinsser marketingalivewriting But nothing has replaced the writer. He or she is still stuck with the same old job of saying something that other people will want to read. William Zinsser old-jobjobspeople
