These are notes I've taken while reading On Writing Well by William Zinsser.
Book Notes: On Writing Well
- Rewriting is the essence of writing
- The secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components
- Writer must constantly ask: what am I trying to say?
- Examine every word that you put on paper. You'll find a surprising number that don't serve any purpose
- You are writing for yourself; don't try to visualize the mass audience
- Notice the decisions that writers make in their choice of words
- If you have any doubt on what a word means, look it up
- Read aloud your writing
- An occasional short sentence can carry a tremendous punch. It stays in the reader's ear
- Good usage consists of using good words if they already exist—as they always do—to express myself clearly and simply to someone else
- Whenever you write, ask yourself, "How much do I want to cover?" and What point do I want to make?"
- The most important sentence is the first one
- Active verbs enable us to visualize an activity because they require a pronoun, noun or a person to put them in motion
- Prune out the small words that qualify how you feel (a bit, a little, sort of, kind of)
- DON'T USE "could've"
- A difficult problem in a sentence can often be solved by removing it
- Try not use words like "surprisingly," "predictably" and "of course"
- If you work for an institution, be yourself when you write... you will stand out
- Read what you've written aloud and see if you like the sound of your voice
- Writing that will endure tends to consist of words that are short and strong
- After verbs, plain nouns are your strongest tools; they resonate with emotion
- All your clear and pleasing sentences will fall apart if you don't keep remembering that writing is linear and sequential, that logic is the glue that holds it together