Writing

Thinking clearly is a conscious act that writers must force on themselves, as if they were working on any other project that requires logic: … doing an algebra problem.

Good writing doesn’t come naturally, though most people seem to think it does.

On Writing Well, William Zinsser

meeting you through writing is always a gift

Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident.

Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time.

Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is hard.

On Writing Well, William Zinsser

Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can’t exist without the other.

It’s impossible for a muddy thinker to write good English. He may get away with it for a paragraph or two, but soon the reader will be lost, and there’s no sin so grave…

On Writing Well, William Zinsser

Ultimately the product that any writer has to sell is not the subject being written about, but who he or she is.

I often find myself reading with interest about a topic I never thought would interest me... What holds me is the enthusiasm of the writer for his field.

How was he drawn into it? What emotional baggage did he bring along? How did it cha

“I write when I’m inspired, so I see to it I’m inspired every morning at nine o’clock.” ~ Peter De Vries

Writers must therefore constantly ask: what am I trying to say?

Surprisingly often they don’t know.

Then they must look at what they have written and ask: have I said it?
Is it clear to someone encountering the subject for the first time?

On Writing Well, William Zinsser

Write in the tone of the body