On Writing Well, 25th Anniversary: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
On Writing Well, 25th Anniversary: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction Books
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 nearly 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 well loved memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you fundamental priciples as well as the insights of a distinguished novelist 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.
Amazon.com Review
Whether you write an occasional professional letter or a daily newspaper discourse, 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 really say) and write below 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 distress spots as science and technical writing, business writing, sports, and humor.
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This is an brilliant book in nearly every respect, except for his occasional digressions to preach political correctness with reference to gender issues. He doesnt like masculine pronouns because females are equal yadda, yadda, yadda; and his female readers scolded him about his insensitivity to their pain. You will want to break out in song when you come upon them: “Anything you can do, I can do better! I can do anything better than you!” I suspect it has to do with what Mencken called being “Chalky Pedagogues.” Yo! Zinsser! Lighten up! Women remain, for most intents and purposes, coat-holders & horse-holders in the grand scheme of things.
But other-wise the book is terrific.
Rating: 4 / 5
Zinsser may know writing technique but his content is sometimes really off-base.
His attacks on Richard Feynman’s books are really ludicrous. Those books are suppose to be tongue-in-cheek humorous books. If Zinsser had bother to read the addendum to those books, it would show Feynman’s serious side and show that the man may possibly really write well.
I read Zinsser’s books once. But I never will read them again.
Rating: 1 / 5
Don’t buy this book. Save your effort and money.This book won’t help you to become a better novelist. I bought the book because I was influenced by 5-stars reviews on this board, and, for my pity, I absolutely ignored opinions of those who was disappointed with this book ( Sorry!)Those who rate the book 5-stars, it seems to me that them just didn’t read really fantastic books on writing: John Gardner ” Apt a Novelist” and ” Art of Fiction”; “The elements of style” of Shrunk & White; Thomas S. Kane “Essential guide to writing”.
Rating: 1 / 5
How Zinsser can call himself a novelist is beyond me. This book is filled with hostility, arrogance, and hypocrisy. All of the points Zinsser makes about being an effective novelist are contradicted at some top throughout the book, either directly via a comment, or through his own writing style.
‘Part-time’ writers are trivialized and all forms of writing except that which Zinsser purports to do are criticized.
This book is nothing more than a blatant attempt at self-aggrandization.
If you’re truly interested in being a novelist, ignore all of the nonsensical garbage Zinsser writes. Trust me, I’ve been a newspaper editor for 25 years.
Rating: 1 / 5
I am not a fan of this book. He starts by saying Do not use complicated words when a simple one will do. Then he continues by using complicated words throughout the entire book. He proceeds by telling the reader to do everything they were told not to do: use “I” and start sentences with “but.” He is the only person I have heard of that is pro “I” and I refuse to do poorly on future essays because he likes it even as no one else does. Much of his style is absolutely subjective–he doesn’t clarify well why he likes some phrases and dislikes others. One thing I’m sure of, no matter what I’d write, he’d despise it, including this review. In my attitude, the author can be described by words he uses frequently in the book: pompous and absolutely (he’d say that word is unecessary but oh, I reckon it is) pretentious.
Rating: 1 / 5