On Writing Well, by William Zinsser, first published in 1976, is one of my favorite books about writing.
Zinsser was a journalist who taught a nonfiction workshop at Yale, but his book should be read by anyone who wants to write in any genre.
I read and loved the second edition. The book has been updated six more times since then. What I loved about his book was his style. In writing about how he approached the first edition, Zinsser says:
I would write from my own convictions—take ’em or leave ’em—and I would illustrate my points with passages by writers I admired. I would treat the English language spaciously, as a gift waiting for anyone to unwrap….
I recall aching over the beauty of the passages he chose, because I wanted so badly to be able to write that well. I also recall loving his voice as he spoke about the passages. I loved Zinsser because he loved winsome words and deep thought and clear communication that moved with grace and beauty and never trudged along in clunky, black work boots.
Now that I’ve read his article on all his revisions, I’m convinced I need to buy the 30th Anniversary edition of On Writing Well.
If you haven’t discovered Mr. Zinsser, I encourage you to give On Writing Well a go.
Thanks for bringing this book (back) to light, Sally. I haven’t read Zinsser’s work, but your high marks make me think I should check this out.
Thanks for this wonderful link, Sally! I took a few minutes to read Zinsser’s article, “Visions and Revisions,” and I particularly liked this sentence:
“Books that teach, if they have a long life, should reflect who the writer has become at later stages of his own long life—what new work he has done and how his thinking has evolved.”
We always continue to grow as writers, and our new experiences and insight end up in our writing. Hey, that’s encouraging to know that Zinsser was 52 before he published his life-defining work. yahoo!
I have the 25th edition of On Writing Well sitting on my desk right now. It’s one of my favorites. Your post has inspired me to slip it in my beach bag this summer and take it along with me while I soak up the rays beneath my beach umbrella.
[...] my good friend Sally Apokedak alerted me to this captivating article by William Zinsser, on how he wrote his perennial [...]
Thank you, Sally. Back in the seventies, I had no idea how his insightful and entertaining book would change the way I approach nonfiction–and fiction as well.