Genealogy Books - On Writing Well, 25th Anniversary : The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (On Writing Well)

Back to On Writing Well, 25th Anniversary : The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (On Writing Well)

Spotlight customer reviews:
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Summary: Practical advice
Comment: The classic has been upgraded well...lots of examples of good writing and at times funny.

Customer Rating:

Summary: How To Improve Your Book Reviews on Amazon
Comment: Zinsser asserts that writing well can be learned. This is good news. I thought I wrote well until
I compared my reviews to those of some of the consistent top reviewers on Amazon. How do they do
that?

According to Zinsser (and affirmed by Tom Clancy on a TV interview), good writers
follow rules, editing each sentence and paragraph multiple times. They write against deadlines
whether or not they're feeling inspired. When done properly, the finished product can look
deceptively simple to write. Following is my liberally abridged summary of Zinsser's rules: />
1. Do - prune out every word that does not perform a necessary function. Strip each
sentence to its cleanest components. A clear sentence is no accident.

2. Do - use the
thesaurus liberally. Learn the small gradations between words that seem to be synonyms.
/>3. Do - try to improve the rhythm by reversing the order of a sentence, substituting a word that
has freshness or oddity, and by varying the lengths of sentences.

4. Do - make your
first sentence the best one - your lead must capture the reader.

5. Do - make each
sentence lead into the next. Readers think linearly.

6. Do - Take special care with
the last sentence in your paragraph - its the springboard to the next paragraph.

7. Do
- make your paragraphs short. Readers think in segments.

8. Do - pay special attention
to the last sentence. The perfect ending should take your reader slightly by surprise and yet seem
exactly right.

9. Do - Read it aloud to see how it sounds and re-edit - then do it
again. Clear writing is the result of lots of tinkering.

On the other hand: />
1. Don't - use passive verbs unless there is no comfortable way to use an active verb. />
2. Don't - use adverbs that convey the same meaning as your strong active verb - prune it
out.

3. Don't - use adjectives when the concept is already in your carefully chosen
noun - prune it out.

4. Don't - use small words that qualify how you feel: "a bit," "a
little," "sort of," and dozens more. Good writing is lean and confident.

5. Don't -
use concept nouns:
Instead of - "The common reaction is incredulous laughter."

Write - "Most people just laugh with disbelief."

6. Don't - use the exclamation point
unless you must, do use the period more frequently, don't forget the versatile dash, and cut down on
the use of semi-colons and colons. If you don't know how to punctuate, get a grammar book. />

The next book I read was the New York Times bestseller, "Shadow Divers," by Robert
Kurson. I read slowly with Zinsser's rules in mind, analyzing individual words, sentences and
paragraphs. I looked for clutter, excess wordage, grandiose exaggerations, qualifiers, bad
punctuation - and other common errors Zinsser considered awful. I couldn't find any. What I
consistently found were techniques listed in the "do" list and just good creative writing. No
wonder this author was successful. Within two chapters I was hooked, dropped my analysis, and
finished the book very late that night.

Clancy said, "I hate writing - it's too much
work. I put off starting as long as possible, and when I do start, it takes a year for me to write
a book." Maybe not a recommended method for plugging a book, but Clancy's statement reveals the
sweat equity he puts into each phrase.

Zinsser's book says we can learn to write better
using proven techniques, and offers plenty of advice in this story-book type narrative. I plan on
keeping it close by, next to my new thesaurus.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Brilliant
Comment: I've been writing professionally for 40 years and I still learned a huge amount from this book.
Covers a broad spectrum of writing too. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Well Written
Comment: For once, here is a well written book to tell you how to do exactly that -- write well. I recommend
this book to anyone that writes at all.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Secret Sauce for Writing Well
Comment: I am a proud owner of a yellowing copy of this manual. All I can tell you is that it is never too
late to write, and you can always write about something. There is a writer within all of us, and you
can discover the writer within you with the help of this book.

This gem of a book by
William Zinsser was recommended by an editor. He pointed out that my articles were interesting, but
that my writing needed to improve. Flab creeps into your writing very easily, and laziness is a
contributory factor to this process. Before you know it, you are writing flabby and ornate sentences
to convey your idea like I am doing now.

Like many people I have had my fair share of
struggle when I have to had to write something. I found that if the subject interests me then I am
able to find my style and flow and get those words out of my head. But I often struggle to find the
right opening, transition, and ending to convey my message.

There is no secret sauce
for writing well and William Zinsser points that out in this well-written book titled, "On Writing
Well." In this book he systematically decomposes the process of writing well, and urges us to write
in simple and interesting way. The book is liberally sprinkled with examples that helps us learn how
to write well.

This book encourages us to explore our ability to write, and not shy
away from it. "No subject is too specialized or too quirky if you make an honest connection with it
when you write about it," says Zinsser. With that kind of encouragement we should be able to become
good writers.

Back to On Writing Well, 25th Anniversary : The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (On Writing Well)

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