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 almost 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 popular memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you fundamental priciples as well as the insights of a distinguished writer 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.

Whether you write an occasional professional letter or a daily newspaper column, 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 actually say) and write under 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 trouble spots as science and technical writing, business writing, sports, and humor.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent content, engaging presentation
Comment: 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.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: More than back to basics
Comment: 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.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: If it's interesting, make it interesting. Don't clutter.
Comment: 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!)

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Inspiring and practical instruction on writing
Comment: 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.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Best of the best
Comment: 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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