Comments on: William Zinsser and On Writing Well

By: If you write, William Zinsser’s book is your bible « Maney | Digital

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:11:21 +0000

[...] is a big part of what I do as a PR professional. I read William Zinsser’s “On Writing Well” in college and re-read it every year to keep my writing as sharp and tight as possible. If you [...]

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:00:38 +0000

I re-read this book every year. Wish more marketing/PR pros would read it

By: Michelle Rafter

Michelle Rafter — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:35:16 +0000

Marshall, if you like this, I’d also suggest William Blundell’s The Art and Craft of Feature Writing – another classic. Blundell was a writing coach at the WSJ and this book first came out in 1986 – not sure if it’s still in print, you could try for used copies at Powell’s.

Michelle

By: Marshall Kirkpatrick

Marshall Kirkpatrick — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:07:01 +0000

Good stuff and excerpts/summary much appreciated. Have been looking for a read just like this.

By: Michelle Rafter

Michelle Rafter — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:07:34 +0000

Kerry: I think in the quote, and the section on style, Zinsser uses “ego” to mean sense of self rather than inflated sense of self; given that, I agree with him that style is about letting the real you shine through.

Michelle

By: Kerry Dexter

Kerry Dexter — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:08:54 +0000

Never studied journalism/ writing — or English, for that matter, got credit by exam — at university, so I came to this book later, and was interested to see that there were a lot of aspects I had picked up on my own, through studying the arts.

The last quote you offer is great, but I think a bit differently about his view on style. I’d say good writing is a matter of both confidence and humility rather than ego.

By: Michelle Rafter

Michelle Rafter — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:45:17 +0000

If you do reread it let me know what you think. I’m thinking of printing out that last paragraph and putting it in my writing journal as inspiration.

MVR

By: --Deb

--Deb — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:07:18 +0000

It’s been a while since I read Zinsser. (College writing class circa 1988-89.) I agree, though, that his book is a classic. Somebody else just mentioned this a couple weeks ago and I’ve been thinking about rereading mine … and now I think I REALLY have to!