writing

I agree with the other reviewers here who advise you to get a copy of Strunk & White and the other "rule books". But in "On Writing Well", William Zinsser goes beyond do's and dont's to discuss *effective* communication, a subtler and more difficult skill to develop. He also preaches patience: like any skill, you hone it over time and have to keep practicing.

As you'd expect, the writing is clear and logical throughout and the book is also well organized. The chapters in the first half focus on general issues -- "Simplicity", "Clutter", "The Lead and The Ending". The second half focusses on writing within specific fields -- Science and Technology, Business (a *wonderful* chapter everyone should read), The Arts, and so on.

What I most appreciated about Zinsser's approach is that he does not aim for the lowest common denominator in his target audience, and assumes the reader knows how to write correct English. I know people have been critical of Zinsser's approach and his apparent political bent (keep in mind this was first written on the heels of the Watergate scandal -- this 25th anniversary edition is more up to date). But any of these critics, regardless of their views, would be doing well to express themselves as clearly as Zinsser does, and that is exactly the point of this book.

Before I read William Zinsser's book On Writing Well, I was notaware that any book that deals with such thorny issues as grammar andword choice could be fun and entertaining. But Zinsser's book destroys the stereotype-it teaches great writing while being humorous.

The first of four parts, Principles, discusses matters such as word choice and style, especially simplicity. Part two is Methods. It cites examples of good writing, and discusses the various attributes of those pieces, including an invaluable short section on grammar. The third part, Forms, includes details on how to write for specific genres. And the final part, Attitudes, addresses what I consider the writer's most valuable thing: his view of his craft.

In the first part, the author explains that the principles that make a great writer can be learned. He shows that revising does not become unnecessary, even as one progresses in the craft. The chapter includes two pages of a heavily written manuscript written by Zinsser himself. The author discourages the use of jargon, arguing that it cheapens your style. Instead, clearness and simplicity are what you should strive for.

In part two, Zinsser discusses the various methods of good writing. He first emphasizes unity, and then moves to what I consider the most useful section of the book-a chapter titled "Bits and Pieces." As its name suggests, this chapter comprises all the miscellaneous writing errors noticed by the author. And instead of using "25 columns of type" as Fowler does in his Modern English Usage, Zinsser explains the difference between that and which in a single page. Each section in "Bits and Pieces" is short, but that makes the chapter more useful because it doesn't take too long to read. Zinsser explains each method with grace and humor.

The third part, Forms, is the longest and seemed to me at first to be the least useful. There is a chapter about interviewing, and another about writing the memoir. .... Other chapters, such as "Science and Technology," were more directly pertinent to my goals, and the chapter on humor made me laugh out loud. But I came to understand the value of reading about other forms of the craft of writing as well as my own-it showed me that my own focus is just a small part of the whole. I came to appreciate the care put into news stories that use interviews; reading about it was no waste of time.

The final section of the book is devoted to attitudes. The author delves into the psychology of the writer when writing. He advises us to not confine ourselves to a certain field because a good writer can write about anything. He uses an example from his own experience, telling how he came to appreciate the work of a respected photographer and painter of birds by writing the man's story. Before he did this, the Zinsser had never really written a similar pieces. Next comes a chapter titled "The Tyranny of the Final Product." It discusses how some people write for a specific magazine or audience, and in doing so never allow their work to develop into something new and exciting. Finally, Zinsser tells us to write as well and with as much enthusiasm as we can-and that our efforts will be rewarded. He ends the final chapter with a powerful message: if we don't write as well as we can, we may disappoint our readers.

Before reading On Writing Well, I already had come to value simplicity over complexity and brevity over verbosity. But Zinsser's tips helped me refine my ideas and approach. I also found valuable the explanations of the process a writer takes: what he thinks as he organizes his work, as he uses his voice. Writing is a craft; great writing follows patterns. Zinsser's On Writing Well traces these patterns out, and makes an invaluable guide. It is worthy of your bookcase if you write and want to write more well.

A book on writing well should be impeccably written. This one isn't. Extraordinary.