One of underestimated tasks in nonfiction writing is to impose narrative shape on an unwieldy mass of material. William Zinsser More Quotes by William Zinsser More Quotes From William Zinsser I think a sentence is a fine thing to put a preposition at the end of. William Zinsser fine-things ends thinking As a writer I try to operate within a framework of Christian principles, and the words that are important to me are religious words: witness, pilgrimage, intention. William Zinsser important religious christian Avoid the ecstatic adjectives that occupy such disproportionate space in every critic's quiver - words like "enthralling" and "luminous." William Zinsser quiver adjectives space Don’t say you were a bit confused and sort of tired and a little depressed and somewhat annoyed. Be tired. Be confused. Be depressed. Be annoyed. Don’t hedge your prose with little timidities. Good writing is lean and confident. William Zinsser confused tired writing A writer will do anything to avoid the act of writing. William Zinsser writing Writing is learned by imitation. If anyone asked me how I learned to write, I'd say I learned by reading the men and women who were doing the kind of writing I wanted to do and trying to figure out how they did it. William Zinsser reading writing men All writers should strive to deliver something fresh-something editors or readers won't know they want until they see it. William Zinsser strive editors want Writing is thinking on paper. Anyone who thinks clearly should be able to write clearly-about any subject at all. William Zinsser paper writing thinking My four articles of faith: clarity, simplicity, brevity and humanity. William Zinsser simplicity humanity writing There are all kinds of writers and all kinds of methods, and any method that helps you to say what you want to say is the right method for you. William Zinsser want writing helping Never say anything in writing that you wouldn't comfortably say in conversation. Be yourself when you write. If you're not a person who says 'indeed' or 'moreover,' or who calls someone an individual ('he's a fine individual'), please don't write it. William Zinsser being-yourself say-anything writing I almost always urge people to write in the first person. ... Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it. William Zinsser ego writing people A clear sentence is no accident. William Zinsser sentences clear writing Ultimately the product that any writer has to sell is not the subject being written about, but who he or she is. William Zinsser writing-well subjects products Don't try to guess what sort of thing editors want to publish or what you think the country is in a mood to read. Editors and readers don't know what they want to read until they read it. Besides, they're always looking for something new. William Zinsser writing country thinking Good writers are visible just behind their words. William Zinsser visible behinds writing Never hesitate to imitate another writer - every person learning a craft or an art needs models. Eventually you'll find your own voice and will shed the skin of the writer you imitated. William Zinsser voice skins art Writing improves in direct ratio to the things we can keep out of it that shouldn't be there. William Zinsser ratios direct writing Even a poor translator couldn't kill a style that moves with such narrative clarity. William Zinsser style narrative moving Don't hedge your prose with little timidities. Good writing is lean and confident. . . . Every little qualifier whittles away some fraction of the reader's trust. Readers want a writer who believes in himself and in what he is saying. Don't diminish that belief. Don't be kind of bold. Be bold. William Zinsser want writing believe
