On writing well

Mostly solid advice for anyone who writes.

Parts of the book have not aged well: sexist “humor'”, resistance to change (“an illegal alien is now an undocumented resident,” Zinsser complains), and Eurocentric takes on “the exotic”. When describing the Black jazz musicians Willie Ruff and Dwike Mitchell, Zinsser says “they speak good and often eloquent English.” Cringe.

“He” is the default pronoun throughout the book. I disagree with Zinsser's claim that “a style that converts every ‘he' into a ‘they' will quickly turn to mush.”

Many long examples could have been cut considerably. Strunk and White's “The Elements of Style”, which this book was modeled after, is a quarter as long and twice as helpful. Still, there are some gems:

“Clear thinking becomes clear writing: one can't exist without the other.” (p. 8)
“If the reader is lost, it's usually because the writer hasn't been careful enough.” (p. 8)
“Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident.”(p. 9)
“Never say anything in writing that you wouldn't comfortably say in conversation.” (p. 26)
“Good writers of prose must be part poet, always listening to what they write.” (p. 36)
“You learn to write by writing. It's a truism, but what makes it a truism is that it's true.” (p. 49)
“All writing is ultimately a question of solving a problem.” (p. 49)
“The most important sentence in any article is the first one.” (p. 54)
“Don't say you were a bit confused and sort of tired and a little depressed and somewhat annoyed. Be confused. Be tired. Be depressed. Be annoyed. Don't hedge your prose with little timidities. Good writing is lean and confident.” (p. 70)
“Writing is an evolving process, not a finished product. Nobody expects you to get it right the first time, or even the second time.” (p. 84)
“The reader plays a major role in the act of writing and must be given room to play it. Don't annoy your readers by over-explaining—by telling them something they already know or can figure out. Try not to use words like “surprisingly,” “predictably” and “of course,” which put a value on a fact before the reader encounters the fact. Trust your material.” (p. 91)
“Never go into an interview without doing whatever homework you can.” (p. 105)
“If you consciously write for a teacher or for an editor, you'll end up not writing for anybody. If you write for yourself, you'll reach the people you want to write for.” (p. 134)
“Always start with too much material. Then give your reader just enough.” (p. 156)
“Readers will stop reading if they think you are talking down to them. Nobody wants to be patronized.” (p. 233)
“If you write about subjects you think you would enjoy knowing about, your enjoyment will show in what you write. Learning is a tonic.” (p. 245)
“Much of the trouble that writers get into comes from trying to make one sentence do too much work. Never be afraid to break a long sentence into two short ones, or even three.” (p. 262)
“Decide what you want to do. Then decide to do it. Then do it.” (p. 280)